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. Every song links to the recording on YouTube, so you can hear the whole thing before you decide.
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
A sample lineup for the service
Here is what a selection looks like that nobody regrets:
| Moment | Safe choice | Run time |
|---|---|---|
| Prelude and seating | Bach, Air on the G String (Link) | 3 to 4 minutes |
| During the service | Amazing Grace (Link) | 3 minutes |
| Recessional | Vince Gill, Go Rest High on That Mountain (Link) | 4 to 5 minutes |
| Graveside | Taps (Link) | 1 minute |
| Celebration of life | Leonard Cohen, Hallelujah (Link) | 4 to 5 minutes |
Instead of a famous track you can have a song written for the person who died: with their name, their story and the details only your family knows. Together with our partner CustomSongwriter we write the lyrics and deliver the finished recording with music and vocals. Here is how that sounds, in two styles:
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
The most used prelude in American funeral homes, and the one that asks nothing of the room. It stays level from the first bar to the last, so people can arrive, find a seat and speak quietly without music pulling at them. Four minutes covers most of the seating. Strings or organ both work.
2. Tomaso Albinoni, Adagio in G Minor
Heavier than the Bach and best kept for a moment you choose deliberately, not for the seating. It builds slowly to a peak that stops conversation, which is right before a eulogy and wrong while people are still walking in. Around eight minutes, so agree on where it fades.
3. Ludovico Einaudi, Nuvole Bianche
Solo piano, no lyrics, and the modern alternative to the baroque standards. It suits families who find the organ too churchy but do not want a pop song either. Six minutes on the album version, easy to fade at any point. It carries in a small chapel better than a large sanctuary.
4. Samuel Barber, Adagio for Strings
The most emotionally direct piece of instrumental music on this list, and the reason it is used sparingly. Play it for the closing of the casket or the last moments of a slideshow, not as background. Eight minutes in full. Ask for a shorter arrangement if the service is running tight.
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 one hymn everybody in the room can sing without a program. On bagpipes it does something no other version does, particularly for police, fire and military families, and it works outdoors at the graveside. Three minutes for the sung verses. Two verses is usually enough for a congregation.
6. On Eagle’s Wings
The most requested song at Catholic funerals in the United States, and familiar in many Protestant churches as well. The refrain is easy for a congregation that has not sung together in years. Four minutes. If nobody is comfortable leading, use a choir recording rather than asking the room.
7. How Great Thou Art
The Protestant standard, and the hymn most likely to fill a church with actual singing. It builds through the verses to a chorus that carries a full room, which is a comfort rather than a burden. Four to five minutes. Cut it to three verses so the last one still has voices in it.
8. Franz Schubert, Ave Maria
The classic that fits both a church service and a graveside, and every organist already knows it. When the voice enters, people who were holding it together usually stop, which is sometimes the point of the moment. One verse is enough; two makes the service feel heavy.
9. Precious Lord, Take My Hand
The gospel standard, written after a loss and sung at Dr. King's funeral, which is why it carries weight beyond the melody. In an African American church it is often the only song the family needs to name. Four minutes. A solo voice with piano lands harder than a full choir arrangement.
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 by Vince Gill for his brother, and the most used contemporary funeral song in the country outside the hymnal. It suits a recessional because it moves rather than sits, which helps people leave the room. Five minutes. The Patty Loveless duet version is the one most families ask for.
11. I’ll Fly Away
The rare funeral song that lifts a room instead of pressing on it, which is exactly why families pick it for a celebration of life. It is short, upbeat and easy to clap to. Three minutes. Good as the closing song when the service should end on relief rather than grief.
12. Taps
Twenty four notes, played live by a bugler, and the most solemn minute in any American service. It is reserved for veterans and provided at no cost through military funeral honors, so ask the funeral director early. One minute. Nothing should be scheduled to overlap it.
13. Danny Boy
The Irish American standard, and the one older relatives will expect if the family name is Irish. The lyrics read as a parent speaking to a child, so it lands hardest for a son or daughter who died. Four minutes. A single unaccompanied voice beats an orchestral arrangement here.
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 requested modern song at funerals, and the most misread: several verses are not about grief at all. Ask which version is being used and check the words first. Just under five minutes. The Jeff Buckley recording is the one most people picture, and it is the slower one.
15. Eric Clapton, Tears in Heaven
Written by Clapton after the death of his four year old son, which is why it belongs at a service for a child and rarely fits anywhere else. Quiet, short and plainly worded. Four and a half minutes. Warn the family before it plays; it is not a song people expect to hear.
16. Bette Midler, Wind Beneath My Wings
The song families choose to say thank you rather than goodbye, most often for a mother or a grandmother. It builds to a chorus that gives the room a place to put the feeling instead of holding it. Just under five minutes. Fade after the second chorus if the service is tight.
17. Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, Over the Rainbow
Gentle, unhurried and instantly recognized, which is why it appears at more celebrations of life than any other modern recording. The ukulele keeps it from feeling like a funeral song, and for some families that is the whole reason. Five minutes. It works well under a photo slideshow.
18. Frank Sinatra, My Way
The choice for someone who lived on their own terms, and a room full of people who knew it. It reads as a summing up rather than a lament, so the mood lifts. Four and a half minutes. Listen to the lyrics once first; not every family hears them the same way.
19. James Taylor, Fire and Rain
Quiet and understated, written after the death of a friend, and one of the few songs on this list that does not push the room toward tears. It fits a smaller gathering better than a full church. Three minutes twenty. Use the studio version, the live cuts run much longer.
20. Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth, See You Again
The song younger mourners bring to the service, written for a friend who died, and the one that lands for a death that came far too early. It carries at a celebration of life for someone in their twenties or thirties. Three and a half minutes. Check the lyrics before the day.
What else needs to be arranged in the first few days is laid out in our funeral checklist, and if you are the one speaking, start with how to give a eulogy.
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?
A famous song is recognized instantly by everyone in the room. A song written for the person who died works differently: it names them, it tells their story, and the family keeps it afterwards. Together with our partner CustomSongwriter we write the lyrics and deliver the recording with music and vocals, and you can start a memorial song right here on the site.