Funeral music charts

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Funeral music chart

We’re fascinated by funeral music choices and have been compiling funeral music charts for the past 20 years.

The charts show the nation's most popular farewell songs, providing inspiration for anyone arranging a funeral now or thinking about what music they'd like at their own funeral.

Find out who is number one in our charts this year!

2021 Funeral music chart

Based on the data and insights of our funeral directors and funeral arrangers, who conduct up to 100,000 funerals a year, we can reveal that our 2021 chart winner is... 'You'll Never Walk Alone' by Gerry and the Pacemakers.*

The emotional melody has hit the top spot for the first time, knocking previous multi-time winner, Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ from the number one position.

	Track	Artist/Composer	Movement since 2019 chart
1	You'll Never Walk Alone	Gerry and The Pacemakers	New entry
2	My Way	Frank Sinatra	Down 1 place
3	Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life	Eric Idle	Up 7 places
4	Simply The Best	Tina Turner	New entry
5	Supermarket Flowers	Ed Sheeran	Up 1 place
6	Time To Say Goodbye	Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman	Down 4 places
7	The Chain	Fleetwood Mac	New entry
8	Somewhere Over the Rainbow	Eva Cassidy	Down 5 places
9	We'll Meet Again	Vera Lynn	Non-mover
10	This Is Me	The Greatest Showman	New entry

Exciting new entries into this year’s chart include Tina Turner’s feelgood hit ‘Simply the Best’ at number 4 and Fleetwood Mac’s ‘The Chain’ – whose haunting riffs are used in Grand Prix television packages – at number 7. The Greatest Showman’s theatrical showstopper ‘This Is Me’ enters the chart for the first time at number 10.

Featuring in our top 10 chart since 2014, Monty Python’s cheerful ditty, ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’ ranks at number 3, climbing 7 places from 2019. Songs to make people laugh and smile at funerals are becoming more popular, but this Life of Brian anthem remains the firm favourite in the UK.

Classics such as ‘Time To Say Goodbye’ by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman, ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ by Eva Cassidy and Vera Lynn’s ‘We’ll Meet Again’ stand firm at 6, 8 and 9. With their moving and sentimental lyrics, all 3 songs have proven popular time and time again.

Interestingly, this is the second time that traditional hymns do not feature in the top 10, suggesting a shift in musical trends. 'The Lord's My Shepherd', 'All Things Bright and Beautiful' and 'Abide With Me' have appeared in previous top 10's.

2021 modern pop chart

Choosing a loved one's favourite pop song for their funeral is a great way to personalise the service. The lyrics of a pop song can make them the perfect choice for a funeral. For instance, Ed Sheeran's 'Supermarket Flowers' has very emotional and relatable lyrics that many people find make it a perfect funeral song for their mum or grandma.

	Track	Artist/Composer	Movement since 2019 chart
1	Supermarket Flowers	Ed Sheeran	Up 2 places
2	You Raise Me Up	Westlife	Non-mover
3	Dancing Queen	ABBA	Up 2 places
4	Chasing Cars	Snow Patrol	New entry
5	Dancing In The Sky	Dani and Lizzi	Up 2 places
6	See You Again	Wiz Khalifa	Down 2 places
7	Valerie	Amy Winehouse	New entry
8	Angels	Robbie Williams	Down 7 places
9	Lost Without You	Freya Ridings	New entry
10	A Thousand Years	Christina Perri	New entry

2021 classical chart

Classical music can evoke heartfelt emotions when used as a tribute for a loved one. This year's classical chart contains soothing melodies such as 'Clair De Lune' and 'Ave Maria' that may bring a sense peace to a funeral service.

	Track	Artist/Composer	Movement since 2019 chart
1	Time To Say Goodbye	Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman	Up 1 place
2	Nimrod	Edward Elgar	Down 1 place
3	Canon in D	Pachelbel	Non-mover
4	Ave Maria	Franz Schubert	Non-mover
5	The Four Seasons	Vivaldi	Up 4 places
6	Nessun Dorma	The Three Tenors	New entry
7	Adagio For Strings	Samuel Barber	Non-mover
8	Air on a G String	Bach	Non-mover
9	Blue Danube	Andre Rieu	New entry
10	Clair De Lune	Claude Debussy	New entry

The singing undertaker

James, a funeral director from Wales, has been singing for bereaved families throughout lockdown. Known locally as ‘the singing undertaker’, he's been performing for families who've lost a loved one since the Welsh Government imposed restrictions on congregational singing in places of worship.

The baritone singer has been fulfilling the wishes of families by singing live versions of hymns, one of the most popular choices being the welsh hymn Calon Lan, as well as welsh choral classics. James said "It is a privilege to sing to people who are grieving and it’s something that I plan to carry on doing.”

2021 hymns chart

Although there are no hymns in the overall top 10 this year, they're still a popular choice of music, especially for funerals that take place in a religious setting.

	Track	Artist/Composer	Movement since 2019 chart
1	Abide By Me	Traditional	Non-mover
2	The Lord Is My Shepherd	Traditional	Up 1 place
3	Amazing Grace	Traditional	Up 2 places
4	Jerusalem	Traditional	Up 2 places
5	How Great Thou Art	Traditional	Down 1 place
6	All Things Bright and Beautiful	Traditional	Down 4 places
7	Make Me a Channel of Your Peace	Traditional	New entry
8	Morning Has Broken	Traditional	Down 1 place
9	Old Ragged Cross	Traditional	Down 1 place
10	Lord of Hopefulness	Traditional	New entry

2021 films & TV chart

Choosing a song from a loved one's favourite film or TV programme is becoming really popular as we can see from our overall chart. The lyrics might not always be meaningful or emotional, but they don't have to be. It could simply be to celebrate your loved one's favourite theme.

	Track	Artist/Composer	Movement since 2019 chart
1	Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life	Eric Idle	Up 4 places
2	This Is Me	The Greatest Showman	New entry
3	(I've had) The Time Of My Life	Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes	New entry
4	Vicar of Dibley	Theme	New entry
5	Only Fools and Horses	Theme	Down 4 places
6	Match of the Day	Theme	Down 2 places
7	Bring Me Sunshine	Morecambe and Wise	Down 1 place
8	Last of the Summer Wine	Theme	Down 6 places
9	My Heart Will Go On	Titanic	New entry
10	I Will Always Love You	Whitney Houston	New entry

^*Research was conducted among Co-op’s Funeral directors and arrangers in August 2021 based on approximately 100,000 funerals conducted in the last 12 months

2019 music charts

Frank Sinatra's - 'My Way'took the number one spot in 2019, for the second time running.

We took a look at specific genres of music, and spoke to people about what they’d like at their own funeral when the time comes. We interestingly found:

The 'Game of Thrones theme' song may make it into future funeral charts, as 1 in 20 UK adults voted it as a song they would consider for their own funeral. Our survey found that humour is important to many of us, with choices such as 'Another One Bites The Dust' (Queen) ‘Going Underground’ (The Jam) and 'Highway To Hell' (ACDC) being considered.

When looking into specific music genres, new entrants included Ed Sheeran's 'Supermarket Flowers' placed at number 3 and Abba's 'Dancing Queen' which came in at number 6. Wiz Khalifa’s 'See You Again' dedicated to the late Paul Walker, which was new to the 2016 chart placed at number 4 in 2019.

Previous Top 10 Charts

Top 10 Overall Chart 2019

	Track	Artist/Composer	Genre
1	My Way	Frank Sinatra	Old Favourites
2	Time To Say Goodbye	Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman	Classical
3	Over the Rainbow	Eva Cassidy	Rock, Pop & Old Favourites
4	Wind Beneath My Wings	Bette Midler	Rock, Pop & Old Favourites
5	Angels	Robbie Williams	Rock/Pop
6	Supermarket Flowers	Ed Sheeran	Rock/Pop
7	Unforgettable	Nat King Cole	Old Favourites
8	You Raise Me Up	Westlife	Rock/Pop
9	We'll Meet Again	Vera Lynn	Old Favourites
10	Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life	Eric Idle - from Monty Python's 'Life of Brian'	Humour, Film & TV

Modern Funeral Songs

Top 10 Pop Songs 2019

	Track	Artist/Composer	Movement since 2016 chart
1	Angels	Robbie Williams	Non mover
2	You Raise Me Up	Westlife	Non mover
3	Supermarket Flowers	Ed Sheeran	New entry
4	See You Again	Wiz Khalifa	Down one place
5	Dancing Queen	ABBA	New entry
6	Lay Me Down	Sam Smith	Up 3 places
7	Dancing In The Sky	Dani and Lizzi	New entry
8	Flying Without Wings	Westlife	Down 5 places
9	How Long Will I Love You	Ellie Goulding	Down 5 places
10	7 Years	Lukas Graham	New entry

Funeral songs for Dad

Sport top 10 chart 2019

	Track	Artist/Composer	Movement since 2016 chart
1	Theme Tune	Match of the day	Up 1 place
2	Soul Limbo / Cricket theme tune	Booker T and MG	Up 1 place
3	You'll Never Walk Alone	Gerry and the Pacemakers	Down two places
4	The Chain (F1 theme song)	Fleetwood Mac	Non mover
5	I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles	West Ham UTD	Non mover
6	Blue Moon (Manchester City theme song)	Frank Sinatra	New entry
7	Golf theme tune	BBC	New entry
8	Bolton Wonders songs		New entry
9	Bring me sunshine	Morecambe FC	New entry
10	Racing theme tune	C4	New entry

Classical funeral music

Classical top 10 chart 2019

	Track	Artist/Composer	Movement since 2016 chart
1	Nimrod	Edward Elgar	Up 1 place
2	Time To Say Goodbye	Andrea Bocelli & Sarah Brightman	Down 1 place
3	Canon in D	Pachelbel	Up 1 place
4	Ave Maria	Franz Schubert	Up 3 places
5	The Lark Ascending	Ralph Vaughan Williams	Up 5 places
6	Pie Jesu	Faure	Up 3 places
7	Adagio For Strings	Samuel Barber	Down one Place
8	Air on the G string	Bach	New entry
9	Four Seasons	Vivaldi	Down 4 places
10	Claire De Lune	Claude Debussy	New entry

Uplifting funeral music 2019

	Track	Artist/Composer
1	Angels	Robbie Williams
2	You Raise Me Up	Westlife
3	See You Again	Wiz Khalifa
4	Flying Without Wings	Westlife
5	How long will I love you	Ellie Goulding
6	I'll see you again	Westlife
7	Hello	Adele

Top 10 Overall Chart 2016

	Track	Artist/Composer	Genre
1	My Way	Frank Sinatra	Old Favourites
2	Time To Say Goodbye	Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman	Classical
3	Over the Rainbow	Eva Cassidy	Rock, Pop & Old Favourites
4	Wind Beneath My Wings	Bette Midler	Rock, Pop & Old Favourites
5	The Lord's My Shepherd	Psalm 23/Crimond	Hymns
6	We'll Meet Again	Vera Lynn	Rock, Pop & Old Favourites
7	All Things Bright and Beautiful	Traditional	Hymns
8	Always Look on the Bright Side of Life	Eric Idle - from Monty Python's 'Life of Brian'	Humour, Film & TV
9	Abide with Me	Traditional	Hymns
10	Unforgettable	Nat King Cole	Rock, Pop & Old Favourites

Top 10 Overall Chart 2014

	Track	Artist/Composer	Genre
1	Always Look on the Bright Side of Life	Eric Idle - from Monty Python's 'Life of Brian'	Humour, Film & TV
2	The Lord is My Shepherd	Psalm 23/Crimond	Hymns
3	Abide with Me	Traditional	Hymns
4	Match of the Day	Theme Tune	Sport
5	My Way	Frank Sinatra	Rock, Pop & Old Favourites
6	All Things Bright and Beautiful	Traditional	Hymns
7	Angels	Robbie Williams	Rock, Pop & Old Favourites
8	Enigma Variations - Nimrod	Elgar	Classical
9	You'll Never Walk Alone	Gerry and the Pacemakers	Pop, Rock & Old Favourites, Sport
10	Soul Limbo / Cricket Theme	Booker T. & the MG's	Sport