Over the course of her remarkable career, Celine Dion has recorded and released some of popular music’s most immensely emotional songs. The combination of her unparalleled voice and gorgeous lyrics from some of the industry’s best songwriters has a power to touch our hearts that few others can match.
Jump ahead to these sections:
- Sad Celine Dion Songs Suitable for a Funeral
- Uplifting Celine Dion Songs for a Funeral
- Celine Dion Songs in French for a Funeral
That’s why playing a Celine Dion song at a funeral can be an excellent choice. Many people play songs at funerals if they feel music can express their feelings, help mourners find peace, and even provide answers at times when it seems impossible to understand why we must lose those we love.
Many Celine Dion songs in particular have this essential quality. Consider these examples. If you’re looking for the best funeral songs, there’s a good chance you’ll find one here.
Virtual funeral tip: If you're hosting a virtual funeral using a service like GatheringUs, you can still play these Celine Dion songs for your online guests. Coordinate with your event planner and ensure you have the right digital file types, microphones, and speakers for a smooth experience.
Sad Celine Dion Songs Suitable for a Funeral
Whether you’re looking for a sad Celine Dion song for a touching funeral slideshow, or simply choosing something to play at a key moment in the service, these are a few worth thinking about:
1. “Goodbye’s (The Saddest Word)”
Sometimes the simplest messages have the strongest effect. For example, with this song, Celine Dion clearly and plainly describes the important role a mother can play in their child’s life.
It also highlights how, when a mother plays such a role, saying goodbye to her is an incredibly painful experience. Consider playing this Celine Dion song at a funeral if you want to pay tribute to a mother who gave you all the love a child needs.
2. “Where Does My Heart Beat Now”
A soulmate can make us feel as though our lives were somehow incomplete before we met them. Sadly, that means that when a spouse or romantic partner dies, we can feel a profound emptiness, as if we’re cut off from a part of ourselves.
That’s the experience Celine Dion beautifully sings of in “Where Does My Heart Beat Now.” It’s a deeply honest song that perfectly captures the grief you might feel after losing a soulmate.
That said, it doesn’t wallow in hopelessness either. By the end of the song, the lyrics have changed their focus, touching on the hope that a heart can recover from this pain.
3. “All By Myself”
Celine Dion’s cover of “All By Myself” is another option to consider if you need a song that embodies the sadness you might feel after a romantic partner’s death. It’s slow, melancholy, and most importantly, truthful.
4. “Just Walk Away”
Although this song clearly describes a breakup, it captures the thoughts and feelings of someone trying to move on after losing an important person. Luckily, while it is a genuinely sad song, it also offers some hope, explaining how it’s possible to feel pain over a loss, while still moving forward and living a full life.
5. “If You Could See Me Now”
Many of us try to “put on a brave face” when struggling with grief. Even if we’re willing to acknowledge our sadness, we might downplay it.
That’s an understandable impulse. However, sometimes, it’s acceptable (and maybe even healthy) to admit you’re truly in pain.
You could do so with this Celine Dion funeral song. It describes missing someone desperately and feeling that their absence has hurt you so much that you’re no longer the strong person you were when they were in your life.
Uplifting Celine Dion Songs for a Funeral
Not all funeral songs need to be sad. Sometimes, uplifting funeral songs can offer a sense of hope someone needs during a challenging time. Celine Dion songs that may have this effect include:
6. “My Heart Will Go On”
Let’s get the most obvious entry out of the way! Some would say Celine Dion’s contribution to Titanic is one of the most tremendously powerful love songs ever.
It’s also a perfect choice if you’re looking for an uplifting Celine Dion funeral song. It expresses the beautiful idea that, even when someone dies, if they remain in your heart, in some way, they’re still alive.
Just keep in mind, while this does qualify as an uplifting song, you can be sure just about everyone in attendance will be in tears by the time it’s over.
7. “Fly”
People who’ve lost loved ones often take some comfort in the belief that their soul has now gone on to a better place. This Celine Dion song describes that belief, encouraging a “little wing” whose “endless journey has begun” to “leave this lonely world of ours.”
8. “Because You Loved Me”
People often use funerals as opportunities to express the gratitude they have for the way a lost loved one changed their life. If that’s the type of message you want to share when choosing a Celine Dion funeral song, you can’t do any better than “Because You Loved Me.”
9. “That’s the Way It Is”
You might feel this song is a little too upbeat in tone for a funeral. However, if you think an upbeat tune would help lift everyone’s spirits, this is definitely one worth keeping in mind.
The song’s lyrics can also be particularly helpful for those seeking answers when coping with a loss. They admit that simple answers to life’s hardest questions don’t always exist, but through faith, we can find a way to overcome our struggles. We simply have to persevere.
10. “The Prayer”
While “The Prayer” doesn’t exactly touch on death (or even the feeling of missing someone), its uplifting power earns it a spot on this list.
Additionally, its lyrics touch on the ideas of children’s lives beginning fresh and seasons changing. Someone in mourning might take comfort in such lyrics, reminding them that death is a natural part of life.
Celine Dion Songs in French for a Funeral
Whether you speak French yourself, your lost loved one was French, or many in attendance speak French, plenty of the best Celine Dion funeral songs are those she recorded in that beautiful language. Options to consider include:
11. “Vole”
“Vole” is another deeply uplifting Celine Dion for a funeral. It just happens to be one of her French releases.
Those who know the language might have also already figured out that “Vole” is the French version of “Fly.” Thus, while the translated lyrics are slightly different, like “Fly,” it describes someone’s soul flying beyond our world to live happily in a better place.
12. “Parler à Mon Père”
In this achingly sad song, Celine Dion sings about everything she wants to do. She wants to “cruise the flight of a gull,” “take down the moon,” “save the Earth,” and much more.
However, as the song ends, she admits “but before everything else, I would like to talk to my father.” The lyrics clearly imply she no longer can.
13. “Je T’aime Encore”
This French Celine Dion song is a wonderful choice for the funeral of a lost soulmate. Its lyrics describe someone moving on and doing their best to live a happy and good life after losing a partner (whether through a breakup or death), while admitting they still love them, even if they can’t hear them say so now.
14. “Je Cherche L'ombre”
You might also consider this track if you’re mourning a lost spouse or partner. With this song, Celine Dion sings of searching “the shadows” to find a way to be with a loved one, and to “cry with you over this too-short life that slips through our fingers.”
It’s worth noting that the translated lyrics are mildly suggestive of sexual desire, so you may not want to use this song if you believe it will make the wrong impression on any French-speakers in attendance, but the sexual implication is extremely limited and never explicit.
15. “La Mémoire d'Abraham”
This is a song you may want to use if you and other mourners take comfort in religion. It describes how, although it can sometimes be difficult to understand why we must experience pain, we can find peace in the belief that a higher power has a plan. That’s a message many need to hear at a funeral.
Celine Dion Funeral Songs: A Voice for Your Pain and Hope
As this list makes clear, Celine Dion has released some of our best modern funeral songs. If you believe her voice could express your own feelings after losing a loved one, one of these options may be a perfect choice.