Funereal fun
Despite Christmas being ‘a season of joy’ my family were in morbid mood over December. The hot topic of conversation was what music people wanted played at their funeral. We like to plan ahead you see.
Grandma: some obtuse serenade I can’t remember the name of (that’s Mums job)
Mum: Ravel’s ‘Bolero’ (we know, she’s been reminding us of this for 20 years at least)
Dad: doesn’t care, he’ll be dead (I’m threatening him with something I like then. Possibly this.)
Mr C: ‘The Blue Room’ by The Orb (lets hope he’s joking)
And me? Well, I’m leaning towards ‘Theme from A Summer Place’ by Percy Faith at the moment. However, that could all change by tomorrow obviously.
So how’s your funeral music planning going?*
* Anyone who offers up ‘Stairway to Heaven’ will be duly ignored.
January 23rd, 2011 at 10:43 pm
This, every time. It’s by a French guitarist called Jean-Paul Albert. I can’t listen to it without flooding up.
January 24th, 2011 at 7:35 am
‘Paraniod’ by Black Sabbath. I want eardrums to bleed at my funeral.
January 24th, 2011 at 12:47 pm
Will that be the full 40 minute version of Blue Room then?
Paranoid sounds good to me too, although I’m still considering going the whole hog and requesting Slayer.
When MrsB’s Dad died we had trouble with his requests as the crematorium had upgraded to CD while he was still a cassette man (and we were 300 miles from home) so I’m now wondering whether the current crop are i-pod friendly.
January 24th, 2011 at 1:52 pm
It’s got to be Meet On The Ledge by Fairport Convention. And I defy you not to cry.
January 24th, 2011 at 6:35 pm
No ‘Stairway to Heaven’?!!! It’ll have to be ‘Angels’ by Robbie Williams then..
January 24th, 2011 at 8:20 pm
Looks like I should be going for a memorable, gut-renching selection then. Perhaps a track from Metal Machine Music then? Or something nice by Stockhausen?
VS, I’ll allow you ‘Angels’ – on the proviso that I can come and enforce it.
January 24th, 2011 at 8:21 pm
PS. That is very nice Mr Medd. I’m coming to yours!
January 24th, 2011 at 9:00 pm
I always think you should have you favourite song. Mine is ‘Here Comes The Flood’, which DOES contain the lyrics ‘we must say goodbye to flesh and blood’, which is apt…
January 24th, 2011 at 10:39 pm
‘Here comes the Flood’? Is that a hymn then?!
You know, David Essex DOES look like Peter Gabriel…
January 25th, 2011 at 12:55 am
It would be Caroline by Status Quo. Any tears (and lets face it there wouldn’t be many) would soon stop when that came on. Some thing up, rockin’ and non sentimental. Also uncool and thats me till i die.
January 25th, 2011 at 9:58 pm
Just looked Caroline up on Youtube Carl. Great track – I think it would see you off to the other side very well. Everyone would have to be leaving with a grin on their face. Will you be dressed in denim to accompany the song?
January 26th, 2011 at 11:28 am
Of course, denim is de rigor when it comes to Quo :)
January 26th, 2011 at 10:38 pm
I rather like what comedian Malcolm Hardee had at his a few years back…. ‘Return to Sender’! Went down very well I understand!
For me it’d have to be Robbie and Angels, followed by that Titanic song…. (joke!)
Actually I blogged it in passing a few years back. Mine will be ‘i have lived’ by marc almond. Am typing this on my phone, so cant add any links, but no doubt on youtube somewhere. The lyrics are spot on. Would also have the hymn Abide with Me.
P
January 27th, 2011 at 8:19 pm
hey ho! I’m at a PC now, so just in case you were vaguely interested here’s the song:
You can listen to the original audio track here
and there’s some sneaky audience filmed footage of Marc singing it with a full BBC orchestra here. This was a recording of the Radio 2 programme ‘Friday Night Is Music Night, and I managed to blag in! (not me who filmed it though!)
January 29th, 2011 at 1:22 pm
Hello Piley, I’ve been listening to your funeral song and I can see why you’ve gone with it. It is a nicer, less arrogant ’screw you’ version of ‘My Way’. Defiant but nice! It must be weird though for Marc Almond to be singing a song when he is still very much alive? I wonder if he is naturally morbid?! In any case, I suspect that he is a man who’s done a lot of serious thinking about his life.
January 30th, 2011 at 11:11 pm
I’d like to think I could resist the temptation to be too maudlin (way too much scope there anyway). How about this uplifting Jackie Wilson to send me on my way?
January 31st, 2011 at 8:19 pm
Nice choice, Hoops. I’d go for the cheery over the miserable any day. And its nice and short too!
January 31st, 2011 at 9:37 pm
Hi Cocktails, glad you liked it! Marc has spent 30 years singing about death, destruction, doom and gloom, so I’d imagine it’s a subject he has thought on time and time again – especially since he very nearly died a few years back. This track however is a cover version of a Charles Aznavour song, although Marc has tweaked the odd lyric here and there. The CA version is good too!
February 22nd, 2011 at 12:35 am
I’ll make the bastards listen to the full Mogwai Zidane album. Yass!
October 7th, 2011 at 9:05 pm
The Laughing Policeman.