that cold black cloud is comin' down
via stereogum: something called the bereavement register offers up survey data (n=5,000, presumably in the UK) on the songs people wish to have played at their funerals. evidently, about half of us have given this question some thought. here are the top 10 in the survey:1. Goodbye My Lover - James Blunt
2. Angels - Robbie Williams
3. I've Had the Time of My Life - Jennifer Warnes and Bill Medley
4. Wind Beneath My Wings - Bette Midler
5. Pie Jesu - Requiem
6. Candle in the Wind - Elton John
7. With or Without You - U2
8. Tears in Heaven - Eric Clapton
9. Every Breath You Take - The Police
10. Unchained Melody - Righteous Brothers
uh, no. treacly won't work for me -- and every breath you take is just plain creepy. why candle in the wind but not funeral for a friend? knockin' on heaven's door made the top 20 (dylan rather than guns n' roses, of course), but i see no real rockers. i wouldn't opt for gloomy death metal, but wouldn't you prefer a greasy, sweaty, loud, and triumphant send-off? my kids will understand, i'm sure. so my current pick is humble pie's i don't need no doctor. presumably, at that point, i will not in fact need no doctor.*
Which song would you select? i wanna be sedated? dead skunk? walkin' on sunshine? electric funeral? comfortably numb? vacation? a love supreme?
* recognize the skinny kid with the big red hollow-body off to the right? he sold 16 million records five years later. i bumped into the video researching the thesis that jack white is steve marriott. i'd have suggested 30 days in the hole, which is kind of funny in a funeral context, but the drug references leave me cold, so to speak.
posted by christopher uggen @ 12:34 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
How about these?
Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell--Flaming Lips
Monkey Gone to Heaven--Pixies
I've Seen the Land Beyond--Beck (only if he offers to sing it out of tune with a two-dollar guitar in hand, and if he passes out the lyrics to the attendees for a rousing singalong)
Good Old World [Waltz]--Tom Waits (or, depending on the crowd, "Jesus Gonna Be Here")
I am not saying these are fitting for me necessarily, but someone should consider them.
--Wes
I could go for a jazz funeral myself.
nice ideas, wes and sarah. i almost forgot one of my old-timey favorites: john prine's please don't bury me. fun, irreverent, and relentlessly upbeat.
Woke up this morning.
Put on my slippers.
Walked in the kitchen and died.
And oh what a feeling!
When my soul went thru the ceiling.
And on up into heaven I did ride.
When I got there they did say John it happened this-a-way.
You slipped upon the floor and hit your head.
And all the angels say, just before you passed away, these were the very last words that you said.
Chorus:
Please don't bury me, down in that cold cold ground.
No, I'd druther have em' cut me up and pass me all around.
Throw my brain in a hurricane and the blind can have my eyes.
and the deaf can take both of my ears if they don't mind the size.
Give my stomach to Milwaukee if they run out of beer
Put my socks in a cedar box just get em' out of here
Venus de Milo can have my arms look out! I've got your nose.
Sell my heart to the junkman and give my love to Rose
Give my feet to the footloose careless, fancy free.
Give my knees to the needy don't pull that stuff on me.
Hand me down my walking cane it's a sin to tell a lie.
Send my mouth way down south and kiss my ass goodbye.
Please don't bury me, down in that cold cold ground.
No, I'd druther have em' cut me up and pass me all around.
Throw my brain in a hurricane and the blind can have my eyes.
and the deaf can take both of my ears if they don't mind the size.
Post a Comment
<< Home