Funeral Songs for Grandpa
Thirty-four songs for a grandfather’s funeral. If he served, the honours come with their own music and their own timing, so that is first. Then the records from his decade, then the ones the grandchildren will want.
Updated September 202634 songs
Ten to start with
- Grandpa (Tell Me ’Bout the Good Old Days)The Judds · 1986
The one song on this page written from a grandchild to a grandfather. If you only use one thing from this list, use this.
- TapsUnited States military bugle call · 1862
For a veteran, at the graveside, played live. Twenty-four notes and it will undo everybody. Arrange it in advance.
- Amazing GraceTraditional, words by John Newton · 1772
On bagpipes at a graveside it is a different song from the one in the hymnal. Decide which you want and say so.
- Danny BoyWords by Frederic Weatherly · 1913
Sung to the Londonderry Air. For an Irish family this is not optional, and everyone over sixty knows it.
- Go Rest High on That MountainVince Gill · 1995
Comforting rather than crushing, which is rare. Safe in the middle of a service.
- The DanceGarth Brooks · 1990
About being glad you had it even knowing how it ends. Probably the most-requested country song at American funerals.
- Bring Him HomeClaude-Michel Schönberg & Herbert Kretzmer, from Les Misérables · 1985
A prayer for a young man, sung by an old one. Only with a singer who can genuinely reach it.
- Ol’ Man RiverJerome Kern & Oscar Hammerstein II · 1927
About endurance and work. For a grandfather who did hard things for a long time without discussing them.
- UnforgettableNat King Cole · 1951
Warm and unhurried, and the title does the work so the eulogy does not have to.
- What a Wonderful WorldLouis Armstrong · 1967
Two minutes, ends properly, and nobody has ever objected to it. The safest slideshow song there is.
If he served
Military funeral honours in the United States are a legal entitlement for eligible veterans, and they are free. At minimum they mean two uniformed people, the folding and presenting of the flag, and Taps. The funeral director arranges it with the relevant service branch, but it needs notice, so raise it in the first conversation rather than the last.
Taps belongs at the graveside, after the flag, not inside the service. A live bugler is provided where one is available; where one is not, a ceremonial bugle with an insert is used instead. Nobody in the family should be asked to play it. Do not schedule any other music near it.
For everything else, choose a generation earlier than feels right. A grandfather who died in his late eighties in 2026 was young in the 1950s. The songs he knew the words to are older than the ones you associate with him, and the ones his own father played are older still.
Give the grandchildren the reception rather than the service. They will want something from their own decade and they should have it, but a song nobody over sixty recognises is the wrong opening for a room that is mostly over sixty.
By the part of the day
For the service and the honours
Hymns an older congregation carries, and the patriotic pieces that belong at a veteran’s service. Two hymns is plenty.
- Eternal Father, Strong to SaveWords by William Whiting · 1860
The Navy Hymn. For anyone who served at sea, and it is expected rather than optional.
- Battle Hymn of the RepublicWords by Julia Ward Howe · 1862
Big and martial. Better as a closing than an opening, and only if the family is comfortable with it.
- America the BeautifulKatharine Lee Bates & Samuel A. Ward · 1910
Gentler than the anthem and easier to sing. A good compromise when opinions differ.
- God Bless AmericaIrving Berlin · 1938
For a grandfather of the war generation, for whom this was a current song rather than a historical one.
- 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.
- The Old Rugged CrossGeorge Bennard · 1913
For a grandfather whose faith was plain and Protestant. Older mourners start before the organ does.
- Abide with MeWords by Henry Francis Lyte · 1847
Solemn and old. For a formal service in a stone building.
- I’ll Fly AwayAlbert E. Brumley · 1929
Fast and hopeful. The right thing as people leave rather than as they arrive.
The records from his decade
What was on the radio when he was young. Most of these belong at the reception, where people can talk over them.
- Sentimental JourneyDoris Day with Les Brown · 1945
The song American servicemen came home to. For that generation it means one specific thing.
- The Way You Look TonightFred Astaire · 1936
If he and your grandmother had a song, there is a real chance it was this one.
- Take the “A” TrainDuke Ellington · 1941
Instrumental, bright, and it fills a room without demanding attention. Good while people eat.
- Fly Me to the MoonFrank Sinatra · 1964
The version everyone means when they say the title. Light enough for a reception.
- Georgia on My MindRay Charles · 1960
For a grandfather who left somewhere and talked about it for sixty years.
- Sixteen TonsTennessee Ernie Ford · 1955
About work that takes everything. For a man who did that kind and made a joke of it.
- Ring of FireJohnny Cash · 1963
For a grandfather who was not solemn. It will make the room laugh, which is allowed.
- King of the RoadRoger Miller · 1965
Cheerful and short. A good last song before people start putting their coats on.
What the grandchildren choose
For the reception and afterwards. Give them this part of the day rather than the service.
- PhotographEd Sheeran · 2015
Gentle and modern. Usually the one the grandchildren name first.
- See You AgainCarrie Underwood · 2012
Says goodbye without saying gone, which is what most people want by the reception.
- Humble and KindTim McGraw · 2016
If his advice sounded like a list of rules for being decent, this is the song version.
- Simple ManLynyrd Skynyrd · 1973
Advice from an older person to a young one. Exactly what a grandfather is for.
- Forever YoungBob Dylan · 1974
A blessing rather than a farewell. The right last song of the day.
- If Heaven Wasn’t So Far AwayJustin Moore · 2011
Plain-spoken country about wanting one more afternoon. Popular at Southern services for good reason.
- LandslideFleetwood Mac · 1975
About getting older and being afraid of it. Short, which is mercy.
- I’ll Be Seeing YouBillie Holiday · 1944
The bridge between his decade and theirs. A good way to end a day that had both in the room.
Three demonstration songs
What a song about your grandfather 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 ship, the shop, the thing he always said — because that is what none of the records above can have.
Start his song- Vera in AugustFolk · read out at a memorial, dahlias and all3:07
- Ray at Sixty-OneCountry · thirty-one years at the plant, same truck since nineteen3:29
- Marguerite at the StopFolk · forty years from a bus stop in the rain2:19
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 music is played at a military funeral?
- Taps, by a bugler at the graveside, after the flag is folded and presented. It is part of the funeral honours every eligible American veteran is entitled to, arranged through the funeral director at no cost. Everything else in the day is your choice.
- Is “Amazing Grace” played on bagpipes at funerals?
- Often, and it is a different experience from the hymnal version — louder, slower, and outdoors. If that is what you have in mind, book a piper and say so, because a recording will not do the same thing.
- What is a good song from a grandchild to a grandfather?
- “Grandpa (Tell Me ’Bout the Good Old Days)” by The Judds is the only well-known song written for exactly that. After that, “Photograph” and “See You Again” are what grandchildren ask for most, and both belong at the reception rather than in the service.
- How do I pick music for a generation I did not grow up in?
- Go one decade earlier than feels right. A grandfather who died in his late eighties was young in the 1950s. Ask his brothers and sisters, or anyone still alive who was in the house — they will name it in five seconds.
- Can I get a song written about my grandfather?
- Yes. Answer five questions about him — his name, what the day is for, three things only your family knows, the feeling you want and the music he liked — and you will hear a 30-second preview in about two minutes. The full song is $19.
Other funeral lists
Funeral songs for dadFuneral songs for grandmaFuneral songs for momTribute songs for rememberingFor him, not for the day
Songs for grandpa