Funerals can be our chance at closure in saying our final goodbye to someone who has passed away. While some people prefer to celebrate the life their loved ones lived, others may want to have a funeral that lets them mourn and say goodbye.
A final goodbye is the saddest goodbye.
If you’re searching for the right song that evokes all of those hard-to-process feelings you experience the day of the funeral, here are some sad funeral songs you can choose.
1. “Dont Forget About Me” by CLOVES
Song Year: 2016
“Don’t Forget About Me” is a heart-wrenching song with crushing lyrics that consider where someone they love has gone. With a stunning sound and beautiful voice, this song hits you where it hurts.
It gives our heartbreak a perspective and expresses how this person exiting our lives will be devastating.
2. “The Night We Met” by Hozier
Song Year: 2015
Hozier breaks hearts with their song “The Night We Met.” The lyrics yearn to go back in time before everything went wrong. The sound is hauntingly beautiful and fits perfectly as a funeral song to grieve, with the central theme being loss.
3. “All I Want” by Kodaline
Song Year: 2013
“All I Want” is a pain-filled song about not fully understanding why someone has left but having to deal with the grief of still wanting them despite knowing they’ll never return.
Another song with beautiful instrumentals, Kodaline creates a grief-struck masterpiece and a great song for funerals.
4. “Supermarket Flowers” by Ed Sheeran
Song Year: 2017
“Supermarket Flowers” is a song about coping with loss and the life we live after we lose a loved one. Ed Sheeran has a gentle voice to evoke raw emotions in his music; this song is no exception.
It’s a song that reminds us everyday life has to go on, but we carry those we’ve loved and lost with us every day.
5. “Heal” by Tom Odell
Song Year: 2013
With a beautiful piano to start, “Heal” glides into a simple yet heart-wrenching song about pain, loss, and healing. Tom Odell effortlessly captures what it feels like to heal after losing someone you love. You heal because it’s all you can do. You take what happens to you and cope.
6. “Angel” by Sarah McLachlan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLZ9Ike2Geo
Song Year: 1997
“Angel” is a classic funeral song for a reason. Not only has a loved one passed on and become an angel to all those they left behind, but Sarah McLachlan has a voice that captures that heavenly sound.
It’s a beautiful song of acceptance and acknowledgment that those who have died find peace eventually.
7. “What Hurts the Most” by Rascal Flatts
Song Year: 2006
“What Hurts the Most” is sorrowful and regretful in its grief. Rascal Flatts gives us a song that captivates and brings us to tears with lyrics showcasing the worst parts of grieving.
The hard-to-face truth is that we continue living not only with their death but our regrets.
8. “Ghost of You” by 5 Seconds of Summer
Song Year: 2018
One of the most taxing parts of grieving is the lack of someone’s presence. “Ghost of You” is about the aftermath of losing a loved one and going back to the daily lives that they used to exist in.
Every day is a constant reminder of everything they did. Their love lives on within memories, and their possessions remind us of their existence. It’s a gut-wrenching feeling, seeing someone every day to never again.
9. “Hear You Me” by Jimmy Eat World
Song Year: 2001
As a farewell funeral song, “Hear You Me” is beautiful and fitting. It still contains hints of that sadness, especially with the soft music, but the lyrics are about acceptance and saying goodbye.
There’s no room for anger or resentment despite not getting to say everything we wish we could have. This song is simply full of hope that the person who has passed has also found peace.
10. “All of the Stars” by Ed Sheeran
Song Year: 2014
“All of the Stars” is another Ed Sheeran song that beautifully details the connection we never lose no matter how far the distance is between two souls.
The stars are the connector because of their ethereal and real-life qualities, and no matter where our loved one is now, it’s a comforting thought that they can see them too.
11. “Repeat Until Death” by Novo Amor
Song Year: 2018
Novo Amor has an other-worldly quality and delicacy to their sound in “Repeat Until Death”. The voice and piano are enough to crackle within our hearts, but the lyrics are just as devastating. They beg their loved ones to not leave because they take up half of who they are as a person.
They grieve their loved ones and the life they could have lived. Without them, it’s hard to breathe.
12. “Fix You” by Coldplay
Song Year: 2005
“Fix You” is a well-known Coldplay song that fits into a similar sadness to the rest of these songs. It’s about everything that happens out of your control, despite doing every you can to make things right.
This song makes for such a sad, yet beautiful, funeral song because the entire point is eventually finding peace within someone or something. It can be seen as, although our loved one has passed, they’ve found peace and light.
13. “Lights Are On” by Tom Rosenthal
Song Year: 2018
“Lights Are On” openly admits how unfair it is to lose someone you love. Anger and resentment are normal emotions, especially when you lose a love so special and near to your heart. It may be a love you feel you’ll never find again.
14. “The Love You Left Behind” by Michael Schulte
Song Year: 2019
“The Love You Left Behind” is a heartbreaking song about how when we lose someone we love, we may be changed forever. Time can heal, but we’ll never forget that love, and we will never be able to give that love to another in the same way.
15. “Funeral” by Phoebe Bridgers
Song Year: 2017
While the name seems to be enough for this Phoebe Bridgers song to be fitting, the content of the lyrics makes it perfect. A funeral is a focal point, but the underlying meaning is genuine sadness.
Grief can feel impossible, and this song embodies that.
16. “LET THE GRASS GROW” by Ruel
Song Year: 2022
“LET THE GRASS GROW” is about feeling such a strong emptiness and sadness that you don’t feel like doing anything but waiting until your time comes. Losing someone we love can make us feel as though we’d be better off joining them, although that’s never the case.
Grieving is letting the grass grow until you’re ready to cut it down and start fresh.
17. “When I’m Gone” by Eminem
Song Year: 2009
The chorus of Eminem’s “When I’m Gone” is heart-breaking to listen to, especially after losing someone we loved. It’s their voice, the perspective of the person who has left us, telling us to carry on and not dwell in pain.
The entire theme of this song is to love and not take anyone we love for granted. Life can be short, so you need to find peace in knowing you are loved.
18. “In My Veins” by Andrew Belle
Song Year: 2012
“In My Veins” is a difficult listen because of how raw and true the lyrics feel to us. It’s a song about how the people we love engrave themselves in our lives and hearts, and it’s nearly impossible to forget them or move on.
As a funeral song, the gentle rhythm and voice of Andrew Belle make this perfectly fitting.
19. “How Do I Say Goodbye” by Dean Lewis
Song Year: 2022
This song is specifically about losing a father. “How Do I Say Goodbye” is a song that deals with the grief of losing someone who has guided us our entire lives and how it’s impossible to imagine life without them when they’re emotionally and biologically a part of us.
20. “marjorie” by Taylor Swift
Song Year: 2020
Despite the fact this song addresses someone by their name, this song is heavy with grief, coping, and remembering. It’s about feeling a loved one’s presence and keeping them alive through your memories, the lessons they taught you, and the love they gave you.
Even when our loved ones pass on, they don’t leave us in the end. We keep them in our hearts and minds forever.
21. “There You’ll Be” by Faith Hill
Song Year: 2001
“There You’ll Be” is another song that reminds us death doesn’t mean the end. We hold onto our loved ones even when they leave us, and whether it’s in memories or dreams, they’ll live on with us.
When someone meant so much to us and was always there for us in life, death could never change that.
22. “Drink a Beer” by Luke Bryan
Song Year: 2018
“Drink a Beer” is a song about a strong friendship, brotherhood, or sisterhood that carries on through death. Sometimes there is nothing to do but be alone, remember them, and grieve.
23. “Visiting Hours” by Ed Sheeran
Song Year: 2021
Ed Sheeran makes a third appearance on our list for his beautiful song “Visiting Hours.” It’s a song about wishing we could see our loved ones again, soon after death and over the years so that we can confide in them and fill them in on everything.
Especially when this person was someone we looked up to, sought advice from, and loved for the majority of our lives. Even if we could just visit them, it would mean the world.
24. “Never Say Never” by The Fray
Song Year: 2009
From the heart-breaking piano introduction to the end of the song, The Fray’s “Never Say Never” is a difficult listen. It embodies grief in a desperate voice that begs their loved one to never them go. As a funeral song, this might be one of the saddest on our list.
25. “Sinking In” by Katelyn Tarver, Jake Scott
Song Year: 2019
“Sinking In” is a song about the ugly truth dawning on us when we realize we may lose someone or do lose them. We have that moment where we know life will never be the same, and neither will we.
Losing someone we love feels like losing ourselves, and sometimes we grieve the loss of more than one person, despite only one person having died.
26. “Please Don’t Go” by Stephanie Rainey
Song Year: 2015
Death, whether expected or shocking, causes the same pain. “Please Don’t Go” is about loving someone as much as you can before they pass when you know they eventually will, and the aftermath of losing someone you never expected to.
27. “Lost Without You” by Freya Ridings
Song Year: 2018
“Lost Without You” is about being accustomed to your life and feeling like you know who you are, but the moment you lose the one you love, you realize you’re completely lost. It’s impossible to cope without the one person who could’ve helped you through it.
28. “Happiest Year” by Jaymes Young
Song Year: 2020
While this song specifically mentions one year, the lyrics metaphorically refer to having finally found ourselves with the one we love, only to lose them and ourselves in the blink of an eye.
What makes this song a beautiful funeral song is that it is essentially saying “thank you” and “goodbye.” It’s a song about closure.
29. “Not About Angels” by Birdy
Song Year: 2014
“Not About Angels” is about a tragic, inevitable end, yet still loving fully, knowing it will break us in the end. A life without love is worse than a life with love lost. It’s unbearable to lose someone we love, but would we give up their memory to not feel this pain?
30. “Cloud” by Elias
Song Year: 2016
With a powerful piano, “Cloud” is a stunning song paired with heart-wrenching lyrics about giving up a fight. Whether this gets taken as the moment we finally accept the death of a loved one, or as something else entirely, this song is fitting for a funeral.
31. “Waves” by Dean Lewis
Song Year: 2016
“Waves” is a song that represents grief in an understanding way. Losing someone we love will never be easy, and the grief and sorrow will be overpowering some days and weaker the others, there for weeks and go for some.
It’s different for everyone, but the truth is, it’ll always remain no matter how it comes.
32. “Hallelujah” by Rufus Wainwright
Song Year: 2001
“Hallelujah” is another song that’s classically used for funerals because of its religious background and references. Even if you aren’t religious, this song is heart-breaking in its lyrics and instrumental.
33. “Safe & Sound” by Taylor Swift
Song Year: 2012
Taylor Swift sounds ethereal in this beautiful, sorrowful song about protecting the ones we love and waiting for the storm to pass. The singer’s voice is reassuring, although there is no certainty in anything happening around them.
“Safe & Sound” reminds us we can do everything in our capabilities to protect those we love, but there’s no certainty in life.
34. “I Never Told You” by Colbie Caillat
Song Year: 2010
“I Never Told You” is a difficult listen because of the yearning, sorrow, and regret in Colbie Caillat’s voice. It makes us rethink everything we said and did before we lost our loved ones, and nothing will keep us from missing them and loving them until we reach our end.
35. “In the Stars” by Benson Boone
Song Year: 2022
Benson Boone beautifully sings about how life without a loved one is impossible because we hold onto everything they said and did. We lose ourselves with them, and “In The Stars” is about being stuck in-between life and death. We live on, but our soul dies with them.
36. “Wait” by M83
Song Year: 2012
“Wait” is a song that relies heavily on its instruments to deliver a beautifully heart-breaking funeral song. The lyrics, while few, hold a strong impact with the repetition of the same two words that essentially say there was no time.
Losing someone so soon can feel like we have been robbed of the time we should have gotten with them.
37. “The Scientist” by Coldplay
Song Year: 2002
Rounding off the list with my favorite song of all time, “The Scientist” is a sound with a beautiful piano and heart-breaking lyrics of wishing to go back in time. It acknowledges the difficulty and pain of loving someone and how nothing can prepare you for it.
Saddest Funeral Songs, Final Thoughts
That’s out list of sad funeral songs. Grief and sorrow are difficult emotions to cope with, especially on the day you’re meant to say goodbye. Funerals are sad no matter how you look at them because even those that celebrate the life of a loved one are bittersweet.
Forever goodbyes are heart-breaking, and sometimes the only way to get through them is to feel them deep in our cores. Sad music helps us express those raw, intense emotions, and this list has a variety of songs to pick from.