Requiem Redux

When I mentioned in an earlier post that Abide with Me is a traditional English hymn for a funeral and one that I would like played at mine, a childhood friend e-mailed me and said that it isn’t common any longer in England. But I didn’t care: I find it comforting. My decision was vindicated last week, when a military band played it as Gerald Ford’s coffin was moved to its final resting place in the winter twilight of a Michigan afternoon.

I saw what Diana meant a couple of days ago, when I learned, via Incendiary Granny, of the existence of a list of the top ten songs played at funerals in England. It is as follows:

1. Goodbye My Lover - James Blunt
   
2. Angels - Robbie Williams
   
3. I've Had The Time Of My Life - Jennifer Warnes and Bill Medley
   
4. Wind Beneath My Wings - Bette Midler
   
5. Pie Jesu - Requiem
   
6. Candle In The Wind - Elton John
   
7. With Or Without You - U2
   
8. Tears In Heaven - Eric Clapton
   
9. Every Breath You Take - The Police
   
10. Unchained Melody - Righteous Brothers

Some of these I have never heard of, and although the list originally contained twenty titles, I can’t track down the second ten.

Maybe that’s just as well: I would hate to think of my countrymen going to their final resting place to the sounds of the march from The Bridge over the River Kwai or a selection from Abba.