Funeral music poll results
August 18th, 2010 by Paul HensbyLess than one in five people who voted in a poll on funeral music choices on My Last Song chose hymns to be played at their funerals.
The poll, carried out between 14 June and 16 August, asked people to vote on the type of music they wanted played at their funeral.
Thirty nine percent of the 150 voters chose modern secular while those who wanted a mixture of all categories accounted for 27 per cent. The full results are given later.
The poor showing of hymns confirms the trend towards funerals with a greater secular content.
My Last Song describes funerals which mix religious and secular elements as the Modern British Funeral.
It is more celebratory than grieving as family and friends give tributes to the loved one rather than listening to readings delivered by the minister.
Other features of the Modern British Funeral include informal dress codes, colourful eco-friendly coffins, greater accessibility to mourners of other faiths and interment in Woodland burial sites.
Modern British Funerals also include civil ceremonies held at local council buildings or other suitable non-religious locations. Civil celebrants are trained to officiate at funerals which mix secular and religious elements.
Once people face their own mortality, the more likely they are to want a Modern British Funeral. If they leave it to others, it is more likely they will have a traditional funeral that doesn’t reflect their views or lifestyle.
The choices, and number of votes, were:
Hymns: 27;
Modern secular (popular music from about the 1920s onwards): 59;
Classical secular (non-religious classical music): 11;
Classical religious (songs from requiems, Ave Maria, sacred classical music): 6;
A mix of these: 40;
Something else (poetry and non-musical readings): 7.
Visitors to My Last Song contribute their favourite five farewell songs. So far 48 people have contributed their five farewell songs. Only two people have asked for a hymn.
The most popular farewell songs that visitors have so far contributed are:
What A Wonderful World: Louis Armstrong
Heartbeats: José González
Here Comes the Sun: The Beatles
I Say A Little Prayer: Aretha Franklin
How Can You Mend A Broken Heart: Al Green
Je ne regrette rien: Edith Piaf
My Funny Valentine: Sarah Vaughan
Start Me Up: The Rolling Stones
Tags: civil ceremonies, farewell music, funeral music, funeral songs, hymns, modern British funeral, religious funerals, secular funerals, traditional funerals