by Elmer Dean

Created on: April 03, 2009

Music, a timeless form of art where the musical taste of the listener is a reflection of their experiences. At a funeral, the songs played are meant to have some kind of connection with the deceased. Favorite songs are like time capsules, listening to a favorite song from a past you digs up old sensations of what you were like then, how you thought, what you were doing... It can also do the same for the third party in the funeral. How do you determine the songs you want played at your funeral? The answer is, its all you. Not to be redundant, but you are you. You know how you evolved over time more then anybody else really does, it is just a matter of organizing what you want to be illustrated with the mood you create with the songs you chose.

The songs I would want played at my funeral would be as follows:

1. Turn the Page by Bob Seger.
This song means allot to me for several reasons, one of which being how it portrays the musician and their general lifestyle. I am a musician and I have always listened to this song on days where I feel I need someone who understands the hardships of music making.

2. Dream On by Aerosmith
I use to hear allot of Aerosmith in my childhood, this is a song that can take me back to a time when I was identifying allot of things in life and learning just what the nature of the issues I had to face were.

3. Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd
What can I say? Pink Floyd is one of my favorite bands of all time; I had to include one appropriate song of theirs for this list. This song is not only a statement of my death but those around me who have to deal with it. As Pink Floyd is one opf my favorite bands of all time, The Wall is my all time favorite album of all time. No other album has had such an effect on my being as this one has, I feel a connection with it and its contents like no other musical entity. It would bring recognition from many of my funeral goers.

Those are the three songs, at this point in time, I would like to be played at my funeral. If I died right now, those would be my choices. While I'm certain that the funeral would last quite a bit longer then three songs length, I think that the three songs mentioned could act as guidelines for the people who would be present to chose their own songs. Those would help stimulate their own memories of me, and thus probably be more effective to the purpose.
That or somebody could just play The Wall in its entirety.

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