{"id":827,"date":"2009-05-13T22:10:23","date_gmt":"2009-05-14T03:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.songsthatsavedyourlife.com\/?p=827"},"modified":"2009-05-13T22:10:23","modified_gmt":"2009-05-14T03:10:23","slug":"the-funeral-party-freebird-free-mixes-for-the-afterlife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.songsthatsavedyourlife.com\/2009\/05\/13\/the-funeral-party-freebird-free-mixes-for-the-afterlife\/","title":{"rendered":"The Funeral Party: Freebird-Free Mixes for the Afterlife…"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"nuthinfancy\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Every now and again, I’ll have a sobering thought.\u00a0 The kind of thought that makes the world go still, and the air turn cold, and the hair on the back of the neck stand up.\u00a0 Today’s thought struck me with mortal terror.\u00a0 In looking at a list of songs that Britons want played<\/a> at their funerals, it occurred to me that someone might very well play James Blunt at my funeral.\u00a0 And knowing how important music is to me, and that I run this site, people might feel that I had chosen such a song.\u00a0 And then, as in this life, the afterlife would be full of people who wanted to mock me.\u00a0 Only this time, it would be for eternity… Yikes!\u00a0 And so, with an energy and an enthusiasm I wish I could feel when working on my dissertation, I resolved to put down a few thoughts on the subject.\u00a0 And since it’s a curious sort of subject, I thought I’d ask your opinion…<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In my entry on Mayonaise<\/a> by the Smashing Pumpkins, I raised the subject of playing music at my funeral.\u00a0 To me, this is a perfectly natural thing to wonder about – every bit as appropriate as it might be for a wedding or birthday party – but it has since come to my attention that some people find this to be a rather odd thing to focus on. Growing up with lots of Irish family and friends, many of which have since passed on, I really can’t help but link death and music.\u00a0 In fact, I have at least a dozen recollections of “The Last Rose of Summer” or “Danny Boy” being sung to someone’s bones. { Although, as it turns out, the Church is adopting a “no Stairway!<\/a>” approach to Danny Boy in some places… }\u00a0 Of course, given this effusion of sentimentality, I also can’t help but link wakes and laughter, so there might just be something to this whole “music to be buried to” thing…<\/p>\n

Just now, I was listening to the Clancy Brothers perform Dylan’s “When the Ship Comes In” (and it absolutely<\/em> makes the list), and I got to thinking about revising the playlist I’ve been keeping for just such an occasion.\u00a0 As I’ve written elsewhere, I rather unfortunately laid down on the job when it came to my own father’s funeral, and so I got to experience that most dreadful of clich\u00c3\u00a9d moments as the words “If I leave here tomorrow…” floated overhead.\u00a0 { Somewhere, I am certain, my father waits for his moment to have vengeance.\u00a0 One day, like old Hamlet’s ghost, or Banquo, he will come again, and he’ll be flanked by the Van Zant brothers…} An experience like this does, in fact, elicit something other than rage and unmeasurable embarrassment.\u00a0 For me, it instilled a profound sense of “either you choose, or it will be done for you.\u00a0 Probably by Celine Dion fans…”<\/p>\n

So, given that, a list is needed.\u00a0 In many ways, this presents the classic mix tape<\/a> problems.\u00a0 Except, of course, you’re not trying too woo anyone.\u00a0 I would say that the biggest difficulty posed in conceptualizing such a mix is trying to provide an atmosphere of peace and remembrance without either going “All Elton John, all the time!” or “This is the greatest tragedy since the death of Jesus” in tone.\u00a0 You want the songs to say something about you, and who you were, and you want them to leave the people who have come to see you feeling all right.\u00a0 Hey, you might even want them to smile.<\/p>\n

Which is why you are not allowed to play “Heresy” by NIN or Bon Jovi’s “Blaze of Glory.”\u00a0 I would also maintain that avoiding the lamely ironic (Blue Oyster Cult, anyone?) is probably advisable.\u00a0 Instead, I would argue, you should put that energy into finding a list of things that says something about you and the life you’ve lived.\u00a0 That’s why this list needs revision over the years, and it requires your attention.\u00a0 And, I suppose, it requires someone who will stand up for you, even if you have put “The Rainbow Connection<\/a>” on your list.\u00a0 Sometimes, things just need doing, right?<\/p>\n

But this makes me wonder: should we really do all of the choosing?\u00a0 If the point is to say something about who you were, and what you mean, then surely that’s a task for the mourners?\u00a0 Or the people dancing in joy on your grave (which, I’m guessing, is done to reggae or ska)… So, just how much can we pre-plan an event like this?\u00a0 And what’s the etiquette for telling people that your dying wish was that there would be “nothing awful” playing at the wake or the funeral?<\/p>\n

So, before we go a lot further, I’ll just put my working list here.\u00a0 It’s not complete, and I go back and forth on things, but that’s the way life is.\u00a0 And so, I suppose, that’s how death is.\u00a0 Not every single one of these is going to make the cut, but they all have a reason to be there in my mind. { We’ll just talk about it later, if you’d like… }<\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

Now that you’ve seen mine, I’m sure you’re filled with a newfound appreciation for the fact that blogging software really does let just anyone, regardless of handicap, contribute to the global conversation.\u00a0 Well, good for you!\u00a0 But we’ll turn it around, and I’ll ask you: What songs would you absolutely want played at your funeral, and why?\u00a0 What would cause you to literally turn over in your grave, become a zombie, murder the assembled well-wishers (mmm, brains…), and then return to the underworld to brood about the fact that someone played (well, maybe Underworld) at your funeral? { I’m going to stick with Freebird.\u00a0 Or anything by Celine Dion…}<\/p>\n

Let’s go top five, just to make it more interesting, shall we?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every now and again, I’ll have a sobering thought.\u00a0 The kind of thought that makes the world go still, and the air turn cold, and the hair on the back of the neck stand up.\u00a0 Today’s thought struck me with … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-words-by"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.songsthatsavedyourlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.songsthatsavedyourlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.songsthatsavedyourlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.songsthatsavedyourlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.songsthatsavedyourlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.songsthatsavedyourlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.songsthatsavedyourlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.songsthatsavedyourlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.songsthatsavedyourlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}