Top songs played at funerals are revealed – will you choose one of these?
BAT Out of Hell by Meat Loaf is one of our favourite tunes to blast out at funerals, a poll shows.
The 1979 rock anthem — which includes the line “I’ll be gone when the morning comes” — is among the top ten songs chosen for loved ones.
However it emerged that many grieving relatives have no idea what the deceased would like to be played.
Blue Öyster Cult’s defiant 1976 hit (Don’t Fear) The Reaper is another quirky favourite, as is Monty Python’s cheery Always Look On The Bright Side of Life from 1979’s Life of Brian.
But the most popular is Frank Sinatra’s old faithful My Way from 1969, with its opening lyrics: “And now the end is here, And so I face that final curtain.”
Next was 1963’s You’ll Never Walk Alone by Gerry and the Pacemakers, followed by Over the Rainbow, Judy Garland’s whimsical ballad from 1939.
A survey of 100 funeral directors and 1,500 recently bereaved people found that only a quarter of chief mourners knew the deceased’s music preference.
Less than one per cent knew all their loved one’s funeral wishes, according to the poll by SunLife.
About one in five admitted having no idea what they wanted.
Bosses at SunLife have now set up a funeral songs generator to help people choose.
A spokesman said: “When it came to organising a funeral, only 25 per cent knew their loved one’s preference for music.
“Amazingly, just 0.3 per cent knew all of their loved one’s wishes and 18 per cent didn’t know any of their loved one’s preferences at all.”
Its annual Cost of Dying report found the average funeral price was £3,953.