Funeral Songs for Grandma
Thirty-four songs for a grandmother’s funeral. The hymns she would have known come first, then the records from her own decade, then the ones the grandchildren will actually get through. Each has a note on where it belongs in the day.
Updated September 202634 songs
Ten to start with
- Amazing GraceTraditional, words by John Newton · 1772
If she went to church at all, this is the one everyone will sing without being asked. Say which recording you want.
- Supermarket FlowersEd Sheeran · 2017
Sheeran wrote it about his own grandmother, after her funeral, while clearing her hospital room. No other song on this page is this specific.
- In the GardenC. Austin Miles · 1912
A hymn about being alone with God in a garden. For a grandmother who grew things and kept her faith quiet.
- How Great Thou ArtCarl Boberg, English words by Stuart K. Hine · 1949
The safest congregational hymn in the American songbook. Nobody has to look at the order of service.
- Grandma’s HandsBill Withers · 1971
Withers wrote it about his own grandmother, and it is one of very few songs that is. Play it if hers clapped in church.
- Go Rest High on That MountainVince Gill · 1995
Comforting rather than crushing. One of the few that can sit in the middle of a service without emptying the room.
- Somewhere Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful WorldIsrael Kamakawiwoʻole · 1993
The ukulele medley. Slow enough to hold a long slideshow and familiar enough to comfort people.
- What a Wonderful WorldLouis Armstrong · 1967
Two minutes, warm the whole way through, ends properly. Almost purpose-built for a montage.
- Fields of GoldEva Cassidy · 1998
Cassidy’s version, not Sting’s, is the one that plays at services. Quiet enough for people to arrive to.
- I’ll Fly AwayAlbert E. Brumley · 1929
Faster and more hopeful than the rest. Better as people leave than as they arrive.
Choosing for a generation that is not yours
The single most useful question is what was playing in her house when she was young, not what you associate with her. A grandmother who died in her eighties in 2026 was a teenager somewhere around 1960; one who died in her nineties, around 1950. That is the decade her music comes from, and it is usually a decade earlier than people guess.
If she was a churchgoer, the hymnal does most of the work. A hymn everyone in the room can sing beats a better song nobody knows, every time, and it gives people something to do with their hands. Ask the minister which two the congregation actually sings rather than choosing from a list.
Split the day between her generation and the grandchildren’s. The service can belong to her, and the reception can belong to the family — that is where “Photograph” and “See You Again” go. Trying to make one song satisfy both ends up satisfying neither.
One practical note: several of the hymns here exist in wildly different arrangements, from a solo voice to a full gospel choir. “Amazing Grace” alone ranges from two minutes to seven. Send the funeral director the exact file, not the title.
By what she would have known
Hymns from her hymnal
The ones an older congregation sings from memory. Pick two at most; more and the service becomes a church service with a coffin in it.
- The Old Rugged CrossGeorge Bennard · 1913
For a grandmother whose faith was plain and Protestant. Older mourners will start singing before the organ does.
- Blessed AssuranceFanny Crosby · 1873
Bright for a hymn, which makes it a good closing rather than an opening.
- It Is Well with My SoulHoratio Spafford · 1876
Spafford wrote it after his four daughters drowned. Families who know that tend to want it; families who do not should be told before the day.
- Abide with MeWords by Henry Francis Lyte · 1847
Solemn and old. For a formal service in a stone building.
- Precious Lord, Take My HandThomas A. Dorsey · 1932
In a Black church tradition this is the song, and any soloist will know it cold.
- In the Sweet By-and-ByS. Fillmore Bennett · 1868
Gentle and almost lilting. Good for a small country chapel and for a grandmother who liked things unfussy.
- Softly and TenderlyWill L. Thompson · 1880
Quiet enough to play under a reading. Works instrumentally if nobody wants to sing.
- Nearer, My God, to TheeWords by Sarah Flower Adams · 1841
The oldest here and the most formal. Some families associate it with the Titanic — ask before you use it.
From her own decade
The music she was young to. This is the group people get wrong most often, usually by choosing a decade too late.
- I’ll Be Seeing YouBillie Holiday · 1944
For a grandmother born in the 1920s or 1930s. It sounds like her mother’s kitchen, not yours.
- UnforgettableNat King Cole · 1951
Warm and unhurried, and the title does the work so you do not have to.
- SmileNat King Cole · 1954
Sweet rather than heavy. It gives a room permission to start talking again.
- Que Sera, SeraDoris Day · 1956
A grandmother singing to a child about not knowing the future. Surprisingly right at a reception.
- What a Diff’rence a Day MakesDinah Washington · 1959
For a grandmother with more style than sentiment. Short and it swings.
- Stand by MeBen E. King · 1961
Everyone across three generations knows it, which is rare in this group.
- Moon RiverAndy Williams · 1962
The one people hum without knowing where from. Good under photographs.
- Bridge Over Troubled WaterSimon & Garfunkel · 1970
The most recent song in this group and the biggest. Slow to start, so put the childhood photographs first.
For the grandchildren
The reception, the drive home, and the ones for people who are twenty-five and have never done this before.
- You Are My SunshineJimmie Davis & Charles Mitchell · 1940
She probably sang it to them. Singing it back is most of what a funeral is for.
- PhotographEd Sheeran · 2015
Gentle and modern. Usually the one the grandchildren ask for by name.
- See You AgainCarrie Underwood · 2012
Says goodbye without saying gone, which is what most people want by the reception.
- Somewhere Only We KnowKeane · 2004
About a place that no longer exists. For grandchildren who are really mourning a house.
- LandslideFleetwood Mac · 1975
About getting older and being afraid of it. Devastating in the right way, and mercifully short.
- AngelsRobbie Williams · 1997
The British funeral standard. Choose it if the family is more comfortable with a pop song than a hymn.
- Both Sides NowJoni Mitchell · 1969
About looking at the same thing from two ages. If you can find her 2000 recording, use that one.
- Forever YoungBob Dylan · 1974
A blessing rather than a farewell. The right last song of the day.
Three demonstration songs
What a song about your grandmother sounds like
We wrote these from made-up answers to the same five questions you would fill in. They are not customer work. Listen for the detail — the church, the recipe, the phrase she used — because that is the part no hymn can have.
Start her song- Vera in AugustFolk · read out at a memorial, dahlias and all3:07
- Marcus at FortyPop · written to be funny, at a friend’s request3:00
- Priya at DawnPop · the first in her family to finish2:27
How it works
Three steps. The first one is the only hard part.
- 1Tell the storyFive questions. Who it’s for, the occasion, three details only you two know, the feeling you want, and the names that have to be in it.
- 2Pick the soundCountry, pop, acoustic, R&B, gospel or rock. A man’s voice or a woman’s.
- 3Listen, then unlockA 30-second preview in about two minutes. Pay only if you love it. You get the full song, the lyrics, and a page you can send.
Common questions
- What is a good hymn for a grandmother’s funeral?
- Ask the minister which two the congregation actually sings rather than choosing from a list. If there is no minister, “Amazing Grace” and “How Great Thou Art” are known by almost every older American congregation and need no rehearsal.
- What song should the grandchildren choose?
- Something from their side of the family rather than hers, and put it at the reception. “Photograph” and “See You Again” are the two most asked for. The service can belong to her generation without the day belonging entirely to it.
- How many songs should a funeral have?
- Three is normal: one as people arrive, one in the service, one as they leave. A slideshow adds a fourth. Past five and the day starts to feel like a programme.
- Is there a song actually written about a grandmother?
- Two on this page. Bill Withers wrote “Grandma’s Hands” about his own in 1971, and Ed Sheeran wrote “Supermarket Flowers” about his after her funeral in 2017. Almost everything else here was written about a mother or a partner and gets borrowed.
- Can I get a song written about my grandmother?
- Yes. Answer five questions about her — her name, what the day is for, three things only your family knows, the feeling you want and the music she liked — and you will hear a 30-second preview in about two minutes. The full song is $19.