As I mentioned a few days ago, Andrea and I went to a funeral last week. It reminded me that Andrea and I have had several conversations about funeral songs over the years.
There are good ones, bad ones, and overused ones.
Andrea wants Kimberly Hoy to sing I Can Only Imagine at her funeral, and she wants Amazing Grace played on the bagpipes. I’m not sure what I want. Nothing overused. No canned karaoke music. No organ.
So, I’ve compiled a list of funeral songs that I’ve seen or heard about or that I’m merely suggesting. There are some good ones and some less stellar ones, so I’ve also added my comments for your reading pleasure.
Please chime in with your ideas or thoughts.
The list got kind of long as I worked on it for several days and asked a few people for suggestions…
In Better Hands – Natalie Grant (Not my style, but a great funeral song.)
Thank You – Ray Boltz (So 1980’s… I would strongly advise against not using it.)
The Dance – Garth Brooks (If you’re into that sort of thing; I’m not.)
Hello Again – Petra (This song could be pretty appropriate. I only want it at my funeral if John Schlitt will come and sing it!)
See You In Heaven – Guardian (I played this at a funeral last year. Great song!)
Wind Beneath My Wings – Bette Midler (I’ve threatened to come back and haunt my wife as a poltergeist for the rest of her life if she has someone sing this at my funeral. I loathe Bette Midler!)
Born to Be Wild – Steppenwolf (Only appropriate at biker funerals.)
Amazing Grace (It’s a classic. Bagpipes get bonus points.)
Because He Lives (This hymn is used a lot, but I wouldn’t vote for it.)
Home – Daughtry (Andrea’s vote for the perfect funeral song.)
Love You ‘Til the End – The Pogues (Andrea wants this one at my funeral. Nice touch! I’d be okay with that.)
In the Garden (A classic hymn. I think my grandmother once told me that my grandfather wants this at his funeral.)
On Friday, Andrea and I attended the funeral of Jay Trusley in Oklahoma City. It was our third trip to OKC in ten days.
Jay was the 24-year-old son of my step-mother, Jana. Technically, Jay was my step-brother; but we didn’t really have any sort of relationship… When my dad and Jana married a few years ago, Jana’s two oldest sons were out of the house. They never really seemed interested in developing any sort of relationship with my siblings.
But I can’t really say that I’ve reached out to them either… In fact, I don’t think I ever had a real conversation with Jay; just a hello in passing. And I’m pretty sure that I’ve only seen Jay’s older brother twice – at the wedding and Jay’s funeral. He lives in New Jersey now, so I’ve got a reasonable excuse.
The funeral was very nice with a lot of flowers and a lot of people.
It was tough one though. Jay’s death was completely unexpected (and currently unexplained). Not to mention that parents aren’t supposed to have to bury their children. Period. Too bad that God doesn’t follow my rules.
One of the ministers read a lot of thoughts written by friends and family. I thought it was interesting that he had even set up a Facebook page for friends and family to leave their memories. Very good use of social networking…
Apparently, Jay was a very funny, larger-than-life kind of guy. Charismatic. People just wanted to be around him. My sister and I discussed after the funeral that we had no idea. It’s sad that we missed the opportunity.
Happy December 29th! I’m sure it’s a holiday somewhere.
The UPS truck pulled up to the house today while I was playing Tiger Woods golf on the Wii. I was surprised because we weren’t expecting anything. It was a CD called Adrienna Valentine by Trent Wagler and Jay Lapp. It was a gift from a guy at work. I had never heard of these guys before but they’re very good. They play Americana Roots stuff. I’ve only been able to listen to a few songs, but I really like it so far. Jay is a mean mandolin player.
My favorite Christmas present this year was from my brother Jason. He was the only person that used my Christmas Wishlist post in selecting a gift for me. He is hooking me up with a new WordPress blog that he is going to host on his server. And he bought me my own domain – www.mandoron.com! I’ve got some work to do to get things up and running over there, so look for the big switch in the next week or two.
We are looking forward to watching the OSU Cowboys play Oregon tomorrow in the Holiday Bowl. Unfortunately, a trip to San Diego wasn’t in the Burgess budget. Did you know that the Oregon ducks have 384 possible uniform variations? That’s crazy!
On Wednesday, Andrea and I will be celebrating our 14th Anniversary. I’m trying to figure out where to take her for dinner.
On Friday, we’ll be attending a funeral. We got a call on the day after Christmas that my step-mother’s middle son, Jay, had passed away in the night. He was only 24. It was unexpected and they still aren’t sure what happened. As you can imagine, the family is in a great deal of shock. Please pray for my step-mom Jana, and the rest of the family.
Please also pray for my brother Jason and his wife Chevy. Chevy had a miscarriage the same day that Jay passed away. That’s really got to suck… It was a sad day.
Posted by mandoron 
Posted by mandoron 
Posted by mandoron 