Songs for Grandma
Thirty-four songs for the grandmother who raised you, the one you call on Sundays, and the one you lost. The classics come first, then three we wrote from scratch so you can hear what a song about your own grandmother would sound like.
Updated September 202634 songs
Ten songs to start with
- Grandma’s HandsBill Withers · 1971
The only song here that is literally about a grandmother — Withers wrote it about his own. Play it if yours clapped in church.
- Coat of Many ColorsDolly Parton · 1971
For the grandmother who made things by hand and made you feel rich when the family wasn’t.
- You Are My SunshineJimmie Davis & Charles Mitchell · 1940
She probably sang this to you. Singing it back to her is most of the gift.
- In My LifeThe Beatles · 1965
The safest choice for a birthday slideshow. It looks back without sounding like a eulogy.
- Humble and KindTim McGraw · 2016
If her advice sounded like a list of rules for being a decent person, this is her song.
- LandslideFleetwood Mac · 1975
For a grandmother you have lost, or one whose health has changed. Handle it carefully in a room full of people.
- Forever YoungBob Dylan · 1974
A blessing more than a song. Works when she is the one who did the blessing.
- The RoseBette Midler · 1979
For the grandmother who kept planting things — literally or otherwise — long after it made sense to.
- Sweet CarolineNeil Diamond · 1969
The one everyone at the party can sing without being told the words. Good for a big anniversary.
- Over the RainbowJudy Garland · 1939
If she grew up on the film, this is a shortcut to being eight years old in her living room.
How to actually choose one
Pick from her life, not from yours. The single most common mistake is choosing a song you find moving and assuming she will too. Ask someone older in the family what was playing in her house when she was young, what she sang while she cooked, what she and your grandfather danced to. A song she already loves will beat a better song she has never heard, every time.
Match the song to the room, not just to her. A funeral, a birthday party and a slideshow at a family reunion need three different registers. “Landslide” is a beautiful song and it will empty a birthday party. “September” is a great party record and it is wrong for a service. Decide what the room is supposed to feel like at the moment the song plays, then choose backwards from that.
Watch the length and the lyrics. Anything over four minutes will be talked over unless people are seated. And read the whole lyric before you commit — several of the standards on this page turn somewhere in the second verse, and a line about a lover lands strangely when the song is meant for a grandmother. If a song is right for eighty per cent of its running time, it is the wrong song.
If nothing fits, that is normal. Famous songs are about other people’s families. They are general on purpose, because they were written to sell to everyone. The thing that would actually move her — her name, the town, the recipe, the nickname only your family uses — is exactly the thing a hit record cannot contain.
By the grandmother you have
The one who still laughs
Upbeat picks for a birthday, an anniversary, or a Sunday lunch where nobody wants to cry.
- Ain’t No Mountain High EnoughMarvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell · 1967
Gets everyone in the kitchen moving, including the ones who claim they don’t dance.
- Dancing QueenABBA · 1976
For the grandmother who was, in fact, seventeen once and will tell you about it.
- SeptemberEarth, Wind & Fire · 1978
The reliable choice when three generations are in the room and nobody agrees on anything else.
- Walking on SunshineKatrina and the Waves · 1983
Loud, silly, and impossible to be sad through. Good for a video montage.
- Young at HeartFrank Sinatra · 1953
She may have danced to this the first time around. It says the thing you were going to say in the toast.
- Everyday PeopleSly and the Family Stone · 1968
For a grandmother who kept the whole extended family speaking to each other.
- Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m YoursStevie Wonder · 1970
Short, bright, and it fits under a slideshow without anyone reaching for tissues.
- Put a Little Love in Your HeartJackie DeShannon · 1969
For the grandmother whose answer to every problem was to feed somebody.
The one who raised you
For a grandmother who was really a second mother — the school runs, the spare bedroom, the years nobody talks about.
- Wind Beneath My WingsBette Midler · 1989
Obvious, and it still works. Say the specific thing in your toast and let the song do the rest.
- I’ll Stand by YouThe Pretenders · 1994
The promise she made without ever announcing it.
- Lean on MeBill Withers · 1972
For the grandmother the whole family called first. Sings well in a group.
- Bridge Over Troubled WaterSimon & Garfunkel · 1970
Big and slow. Better for a sit-down moment than for background music.
- You’ve Got a FriendCarole King · 1971
Warmer and less grand than the last one, if the room is small.
- A Song for MamaBoyz II Men · 1997
Written for a mother, and the right register for a grandmother who did that job.
- Because You Loved MeCéline Dion · 1996
A straight thank-you set to music. Reads as sincere rather than clever, which is the point.
- Simple ManLynyrd Skynyrd · 1973
Advice from an older woman to a young person, which is exactly what you are trying to honour.
The one you’ve lost
Memorial and funeral picks, gentle ones first. Our funeral songs for grandma page splits these by service, slideshow and reception.
- Supermarket FlowersEd Sheeran · 2017
Sheeran wrote it about his own grandmother, after her funeral. The details are small and domestic, which is why it lands.
- Go Rest High on That MountainVince Gill · 1995
The standard at Southern funerals for good reason. Comforting rather than crushing.
- Amazing GraceTraditional, words by John Newton · 1772
If she went to church, this needs no explanation and everyone can join in.
- I’ll Fly AwayAlbert E. Brumley · 1929
Faster and more hopeful than most hymns. Good for the reception rather than the service.
- Precious Lord, Take My HandThomas A. Dorsey · 1932
For a Black church tradition where this is the song, and a soloist will know it cold.
- AngelsRobbie Williams · 1997
The British funeral standard. Choose it if the family is more comfortable with a pop song than a hymn.
- See You AgainCarrie Underwood · 2012
For grandchildren who need a song that says goodbye without saying gone.
- 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.
Three demonstration songs
What a song about your grandmother sounds like
We wrote these three from made-up answers to the same five questions you would fill in. They are not customer work. Listen for the details — the town, the recipe, the nickname — because those are the parts a famous song can never have.
Start her song- Biscuit Tin ElaineAcoustic · a mother who worked eleven years of night shifts2:50
- Ray at Sixty-OneCountry · thirty-one years at the plant, same truck since nineteen3:29
- Vera in AugustFolk · read out at a memorial, dahlias and all3:07
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 song to dedicate to a grandmother?
- Start with what she listened to when she was young, not what you like now. Ask someone in the family what was playing in her house. If you want two safe defaults, “Grandma’s Hands” and “You Are My Sunshine” fit almost every grandmother.
- Is there a song actually written about a grandmother?
- Two on this list. Bill Withers wrote “Grandma’s Hands” about his own grandmother in 1971, and Ed Sheeran wrote “Supermarket Flowers” about his after her funeral in 2017. Most other songs on this page are about mothers or partners and get borrowed.
- What songs work for a grandmother’s funeral?
- Gentle ones first, then something she actually loved. If she went to church, a hymn everyone can sing beats a pop song nobody knows. Our funeral songs for grandma page splits the picks by service, slideshow and reception.
- What should I play at a grandma’s birthday slideshow?
- Something warm that does not make the room cry before the cake. “In My Life”, “September” and “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours” all sit under photographs without taking over.
- Can I get a song written about my grandma?
- Yes. Answer five questions about her — her name, the occasion, three details only your family knows, the feeling you want and the style she likes — and you will hear a 30-second preview in about two minutes. The full song is $19.