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 entrance, reflection, committal and the wake, with run times and how crematorium slots actually work.
Almost nobody comes to this decision prepared. The funeral director asks for three pieces of music, the crematorium has a fixed slot, 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.
Most crematoria run on a fixed slot, often 30 minutes including everyone getting in and out. Three pieces of music is the standard: entrance, reflection and exit. A fourth almost never fits.
And choose with one other person, never alone. Whoever chooses alone carries the decision alone, and that weight comes back on the day itself.
Margaret Pritchard
A sample lineup for the service
Here is what a selection looks like that nobody regrets:
| Moment | Safe choice | Run time |
|---|---|---|
| Entrance | Elgar, Nimrod (Link) | 3 to 4 minutes |
| Reflection | Eva Cassidy, Fields of Gold (Link) | 3 to 4 minutes |
| Committal | Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli, Time to Say Goodbye (Link) | 4 minutes |
| Exit | Frank Sinatra, My Way (Link) | 4 minutes |
| Wake | Vera Lynn, We’ll Meet Again (Link) | 3 minutes |
Instead of a well known track you can have a song written for the person who died: with their name, their work and the habits your family will always remember. Together with our partner SongGifts we write the lyrics and deliver the finished recording with music and vocals. Here is how that sounds, in two styles:
The entrance: while the coffin comes in
This needs to be slow, recognisable at the start and free of lyrics that demand attention. Nobody walking in behind the coffin is listening to words.
1. Edward Elgar, Nimrod
The most played entrance piece in British crematoria, and the one funeral directors suggest when a family has no idea where to start. It builds slowly, without a sudden swell, so it can be faded almost anywhere while people are still finding seats. Four minutes covers a full chapel.
2. Johann Sebastian Bach, Air on the G String
Restrained, dignified and completely level from the first bar to the last, which is what an entrance actually needs. It works from a recording as well as it does on an organ, so it fits a crematorium slot without any live musician. Four minutes. Nothing in it will pull at people arriving.
3. Ludovico Einaudi, Nuvole Bianche
Solo piano, gentle and without drama, and the modern alternative to the baroque pieces. 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 better in a small chapel than a large church.
4. Johann Pachelbel, Canon in D
Even and predictable, which is exactly what you want when the timing of the entrance is uncertain and the bearers may be a minute late. It never peaks, so a fade never sounds like a cut. Four minutes. Ask for a string version rather than a full orchestral arrangement.
5. Gabriel Fauré, Pie Jesu
Very short and very contained, which makes it right when the coffin is already in place before the family enters. A boy treble or a small choir does more here than a soloist. Under four minutes. It is unmistakably religious, so it belongs in a church service rather than a humanist one.
During the service: the reflection
The middle of the service usually has one slot, often called the reflection, sometimes with a photo slideshow. Everyone is seated and listening, so the words carry.
6. The Lord’s My Shepherd (Crimond)
The most sung hymn at British funerals, and the congregation manages it without a hymn sheet, which no other hymn on this list can claim. The Crimond tune is the one people know. Four minutes for the sung verses. Three verses is usually the right length for a room that hasn’t sung in years.
7. Abide with Me
Traditional and unmistakable, and the choice when the family wants the service to feel like a proper church funeral rather than a gathering. It builds through the verses and holds a full room. Four minutes. Cut it to three verses so the last one still has voices in it.
8. Eva Cassidy, Fields of Gold
Probably the most requested reflection track in the country, and gentle enough to sit under a slideshow without competing with the photographs. The voice is close and quiet rather than performed, which is why it does not tip the room over. Under four minutes. Fade it as the last photo holds.
9. Ed Sheeran, Supermarket Flowers
Written by Sheeran for his grandmother, which is why it is used constantly for a mother or a grandmother, and it lands hard. Plainly worded, no metaphors to decode, and the room usually goes very quiet. Just under four minutes. Warn the closest family before it plays.
10. Westlife, You Raise Me Up
Familiar to every generation in the room, from the grandchildren to the great aunts, and it holds up over a photo montage better than most. It builds to a chorus that gives people somewhere to put the feeling. Four and a half minutes. Fade after the second chorus if the slot is tight.
Most UK crematoria use a music system such as Wesley Media or Obitus, with a catalogue of millions of tracks played straight from the booth. You give the funeral director the exact artist and version, not a CD. Anything unusual, a home recording, a live take, a personal song, has to be sent across a few days beforehand so it can be loaded and tested. Church funerals are the opposite case: many parishes only allow live organ and singing during the service itself.
The committal and the exit
The committal, when the curtains close, is the hardest moment of the service and the one where the music carries the most weight. The exit sets what people take with them.
11. Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli, Time to Say Goodbye
Very often chosen and very powerful, which is worth weighing rather than assuming: some families find it too much at the committal, the one moment nobody can leave. Four minutes. If in doubt use it at the entrance instead, where it carries the same weight with less exposure.
12. Frank Sinatra, My Way
The most played exit track in Britain, decade after decade, and it reads as a summing up rather than a lament, so the mood lifts as people leave. Four and a half minutes. Read the lyrics through once first, because not every family hears the middle verse the same way.
13. Monty Python, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
Requested far more often than people expect, usually by the person themselves in advance. It changes the room completely, from a service into a send off, so it has to be a real decision rather than a nice idea. Four minutes. Tell the mourners beforehand, or half of them will not know how to react.
14. Robbie Williams, Angels
The middle ground between solemn and singable, and one many families choose for the walk out because it moves rather than sits. It is familiar without being a novelty, which suits a mixed age congregation. Four and a half minutes, and it fades cleanly after the last chorus.
15. Amazing Grace
Works on bagpipes, on a trumpet or sung, and it fits outside as well, at the graveside or by the door as people leave. The piped version is the one families ask for at police, fire and forces funerals. Three minutes. Two verses is enough for a congregation to manage.
Three tracks of four minutes each is twelve minutes of a thirty minute slot, before a single word is spoken. Ask the funeral director how long the celebrant needs, then trim: for the entrance and the committal, the first two minutes are usually enough. Say clearly where each track should be faded, otherwise the booth guesses.
The wake or celebration of life
Away from the crematorium there are no rules. This is where the music that person actually listened to belongs, and it is usually the part families remember best.
16. Vera Lynn, We’ll Meet Again
The traditional close of a wake, and the one that gets the older half of the room singing without any prompting. It is short, warm and about meeting again rather than parting, which is the right note once the formal part is over. Three minutes. Play it late rather than early.
17. Leonard Cohen, Hallelujah
The most chosen secular funeral song, and the most misread: several verses are not about grief at all. Check which version is being used and read the words first. It runs long, so decide in advance where to fade. The Cohen live recording is slower and heavier than the covers.
18. Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, Over the Rainbow
Light without being out of place, and often chosen when the family did not want sadness at all. The ukulele keeps it from sounding like a funeral piece, which for some families is the entire reason. Five minutes. It works particularly well under a slideshow at the wake.
19. Danny Boy
Short, with a clean ending, and the standard at Irish funerals for good reason: the lyrics read as a parent speaking to a child, so it lands hardest for a son or daughter. Four minutes. A single unaccompanied voice beats an orchestral arrangement here every time.
20. Oasis, Live Forever
The choice at services for younger people, and the one their friends will already be singing by the second chorus. It lifts a room that has been holding itself together all morning, which is often what a wake needs. Four and a half minutes. Keep it for the exit rather than the reflection.
What else has 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
How many pieces of music do you need at a crematorium?
Three: entrance, reflection and exit. Most crematoria run a fixed slot, often 30 minutes including everyone getting in and out, so a fourth piece rarely fits.
Do you have to bring a CD to the crematorium?
No. Most UK crematoria use a music system such as Wesley Media or Obitus and play from a catalogue. Give the funeral director the exact artist and version. Anything unusual, such as a home recording, needs sending a few days beforehand to be loaded and tested.
What is the most played funeral song in the UK?
My Way by Frank Sinatra for the exit, and Time to Say Goodbye by Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli for the committal. Nimrod by Elgar is the most used entrance piece.
How long should a funeral track be?
Two to four minutes, and often faded earlier. Three four-minute tracks take twelve minutes out of a thirty minute slot before anyone speaks, so say where each one should be faded.
Can you play a funny song at a funeral?
Yes, and Always Look on the Bright Side of Life is requested far more often than people expect, usually by the person themselves in advance. It changes the mood of the room completely, so make it a deliberate decision rather than a last-minute one.
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 chart hit can, and the family keeps it long after the service. Together with our partner SongGifts we write the lyrics and deliver the recording with music and vocals, and you can start a memorial song right here on the site.