Pop songs are seriously challenging hymns as preferred music for funerals in the United Kingdom, according to a survey of 300 undertakers and a further 2,000 adults.
“My Way,” Frank Sinatra’s tribute to lifelong narcissism, tops the list, and the first traditional hymn appears in fifth place.
The cheery nihilism of “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” is the eighth-favorite song (“For life is quite absurd, / And death’s the final word. / You must always face the curtain with a bow / Forget about your sin, give the audience a grin, / Enjoy it, it’s the last chance anyhow”).
The 2016 poll indicates these preferences:
- “My Way” by Frank Sinatra
- “Time to Say Goodbye” by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman
- “Over the Rainbow” by Eva Cassidy
- “Wind Beneath My Wings” by Bette Midler
- “The Lord’s My Shepherd (Crimond)”
- “We’ll Meet Again” by Vera Lynn
- “All Things Bright and Beautiful”
- “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” by Monty Python’s Flying Circus
- “Abide with Me”
- “Unforgettable” by Nat King Cole
John Kingsley Martin is a journalist based in London.
