The music has to be chosen in two or three days, usually by someone who just lost a person. Here are 20 funeral songs sorted by prelude, service, committal and celebration of life, with run times and what churches typically allow.
Almost nobody comes to this decision prepared. The funeral home asks for the music, the church has its own rules, and everything else still needs handling. So every song here sits under the moment it will actually play, not in a countdown.
| Moment | Safe choice | Run time |
|---|---|---|
| Prelude and seating | Bach, Air on the G String | 3 to 4 minutes |
| During the service | Amazing Grace | 3 minutes |
| Recessional | Vince Gill, Go Rest High on That Mountain | 4 to 5 minutes |
| Graveside | Taps | 1 minute |
| Celebration of life | Leonard Cohen, Hallelujah | 4 to 5 minutes |
Ask the funeral director how long each musical moment actually runs. The recessional is often under two minutes, and a five minute song gets faded in the worst possible place.
And choose with one other person, never alone. Whoever chooses alone carries the decision alone, and that weight comes back on the day itself.
Rebecca Holloway
Or a song written about them
Some families don’t want a famous track but a song about that one person: the name, the work, the habits, what remains. With our partner Custom Songwriter we deliver the lyrics and a finished recording with music and vocals.
Create a memorial song →The prelude: while people find their seats
This needs to be slow, recognizable at the start and free of lyrics that demand attention. Nobody walking in at that moment is listening to words.
1. Johann Sebastian Bach, Air on the G String
Restrained and dignified, and it works on an organ or from a recording of strings.
2. Tomaso Albinoni, Adagio in G Minor
The most used funeral prelude there is. It builds slowly and can be faded almost anywhere.
3. Ludovico Einaudi, Nuvole Bianche
Solo piano, gentle and without drama. The pick for families who want serious but not heavy.
4. Samuel Barber, Adagio for Strings
Powerful and long. Choose it knowing it sets a very somber tone from the first minute.
During the service
There is room for one or two songs mid service, usually after the eulogy or during communion. Everyone is seated and listening, so the words carry.
5. Amazing Grace
The most requested funeral song in America, in any denomination. On bagpipes it needs no introduction at all.
6. On Eagle’s Wings
The standard at Catholic funeral Masses. The congregation can follow it without a worship aid.
7. How Great Thou Art
The Protestant equivalent, and the hymn most likely to get the whole room singing.
8. Franz Schubert, Ave Maria
The classic no church turns down. If there is one soloist, this is usually what they sing.
9. Precious Lord, Take My Hand
Warm rather than solemn, and the natural choice for a gospel service.
Catholic parishes in particular permit only sacred music during a funeral Mass: no pop, no country, no movie themes. The rule varies by diocese and by pastor, and the deceased’s favorite song almost always fits at the reception or graveside instead. Ask the funeral director to clear it with the church, they do it every day.
The recessional and the committal
This is the hardest moment of the service and the one where the music carries the most weight. It can be louder and more direct here.
10. Vince Gill, Go Rest High on That Mountain
Written after a death in the family, and it shows. The most chosen recessional outside the hymnal.
11. I’ll Fly Away
Upbeat by design. The right call when the family wants the room to leave lifted rather than crushed.
12. Taps
One minute, then silence. At a veteran’s service it does more than any longer piece could.
13. Danny Boy
Short, clean ending, and the standard at Irish American funerals for good reason.
Don’t rely on streaming: signal inside churches and funeral homes almost never holds. Put the files on a USB stick and hand them over the day before, not that morning. Decide too who gives the cue to start: without one named person, the music comes in too early or too late.
Celebration of life or memorial service
Outside the church there are no rules. This is where the music that person actually listened to belongs, and it is usually the part families remember best.
14. Leonard Cohen, Hallelujah
The most chosen secular funeral song. It runs long, so decide in advance where to fade.
15. Eric Clapton, Tears in Heaven
Written about the loss of a child, and used most often for a young death.
16. Bette Midler, Wind Beneath My Wings
The song for a parent or a mentor. Familiar to everyone over forty.
17. Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, Over the Rainbow
Light without being out of place. Often chosen when the family didn’t want sadness.
18. Frank Sinatra, My Way
For someone who did things their own way and would have said so. Read the lyrics once first.
19. James Taylor, Fire and Rain
Quiet and personal rather than ceremonial. Good for a small gathering.
20. Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth, See You Again
The choice at services for younger people, and the one their friends will already know.
How many songs you actually need
Three decisions cover the whole service. The rest is extra:
- Prelude: one instrumental, three to four minutes.
- During the service: one song the room can sing along to.
- Recessional: the song that stays with people, the one tied to the person.
The rest of the arrangements, from paperwork to flowers, sits in the funeral checklist.
Five mistakes that come up often
- Choosing alone. Two people decide better and share the weight.
- Songs that run too long. The recessional is often under two minutes.
- Relying on streaming. Signal inside doesn’t hold: USB stick.
- Not clearing it with the church. Finding out the night before that a song isn’t allowed is the worst case.
- Nobody cueing. You need one named person, not a general agreement.
A song that is only about them
All 20 of these were written for someone else. For most families that is fine, because the melody is familiar and nothing needs explaining. Others want the opposite: a song with the name, the work, the habits, what remains.
We build those with our partner Custom Songwriter. You describe the person, the lyrics get written around that story and arrive as a finished recording with music and vocals. The memorial song is created right here. If you also have to speak, the speech generator works from the same details, and the structure is covered in how to give a eulogy.
A song with their name in it
Written around their story and delivered as a finished recording, in time for the service.
Create the song now →Frequently Asked Questions
What music is played as people are seated at a funeral?
A slow instrumental without lyrics. Bach’s Air on the G String, Albinoni’s Adagio and Einaudi’s Nuvole Bianche are the most used, because they can be faded as soon as everyone has found a seat.
Can you play secular music at a funeral Mass?
Usually not during the Mass itself. Catholic parishes permit only sacred music, and the rule varies by diocese. The person’s favorite song almost always fits at the graveside or the reception instead.
How long should a funeral song be?
Two to four minutes. The recessional is often under two minutes, so a longer track gets faded halfway. Ask the funeral director for the real length of each moment first.
What is the most requested funeral song in the US?
Amazing Grace, in every denomination. On Eagle’s Wings is the standard at Catholic funerals, and Go Rest High on That Mountain by Vince Gill is the most chosen song outside the hymnal.
How many songs do you need for a funeral service?
Three is enough: one for the prelude, one during the service and one for the recessional. The third is the one people remember, so it is the only one worth deliberating over.
Does a custom memorial song make sense?
For some families, yes. A song built on the name, the work and the habits of that person says what no hit record can, and the family keeps it after the service.