Monty Python's "Always Look On The Bright Side of Life" recently beat out Frank Sinatra's "My Way" as the song most people choose to have played at their funerals. I'm guessing that we Boomers can take credit for this. Inspired, I asked my Facebook pals to help me put together a playlist. "What song would YOU like to check out to?" I asked.
The first suggestion? "Don't Fear The Reaper."
Quickly followed by:
"Only The Good Die Young."
"Another One Bites The Dust."
"You Can't Always Get What You Want"
"Is That All There Is?"
After that, the suggestions came fast and furious:
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For."
"Knock Knock Knockin' On Heaven's Door."
"The End" by the Doors.
"You're Going To Miss Me When I'm Gone."
Some folks seemed to be OK with kicking the bucket:
"Who Wants To Live Forever?"
"It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)."
"Up, Up and Away!"
"The Best Is Yet To Come."
Others were less eager to embrace the Sweet Hereafter, choosing songs like:
"Stayin' Alive"
"Please Don't Bury Me" by John Prine.
Pearl Jam's "Just Breathe."
Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now."
Some wanted to take a last look back:
"In My Life."
"Days" by the Kinks.
"What A Long Strange Trip It's Been."
And of course, there were the jokers:
"I plan to be cremated, so my obvious choice is "Light My Fire." Or, if I can find a leisure suit, "Disco Inferno."
"I'll be cremated, too -- I'm going with Elvis Presley's "Burning Love."
"Can we choose music for other people's funerals? Because there are several for whom I'd choose 'Dancin' In The Streets.'"
"The Hokey Pokey!" Because that's what it's all about.
And the hits just kept on coming:
"Hello, Goodbye."
"Stairway to Heaven!"
"Highway to Hell!"
"Sympathy for the Devil."
"Dust in the Wind."
Some friends, I learned, had actually given this topic serious thought:
"I'v already asked for Jimmy Buffet's 'It's Been A Lovely Cruise."
"At my funeral? 'In My Life.' The Sean Connery cover. Seriously."
"'Queen of the Slipstream' by Van Morrison will play at mine."
"My children have been instructed to play "'Your Mother Should Know.'"
"I'm going with "So Long, It's Been Good To Know You."
As for me? I plan to live to 100, after which you can play me out to "Instant Karma." Why? Because we all shine on like the moon and the stars and the sun.
And when I get to Heaven, I expect John Lennon to be there to greet me with "Good choice!"
(Roz Warren is the author of Our Bodies, Our Shelves: A Collection of Library Humor.)