Most of Van Morrison’s music is rather upbeat and romantic, so you might not automatically turn to the Van Morrison playlist when picking a funeral song for yourself or your loved one. However, if you or your loved one was a superfan of Morrison’s work, his music might be the obvious choice for a funeral.
Jump ahead to these sections:
- Sad or Sorrowful Van Morrison Songs for a Funeral
- Uplifting Van Morrison Songs for a Funeral
- Van Morrison Songs for a Parent’s Funeral
- Van Morrison Songs for a Child or Adult Child’s Funeral
Please understand that if you have your loved one’s funeral at a church, there may be rules against playing popular music at the service. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t use tunes by Van Morrison in other ways. For example, you might have a playlist of favorite songs playing in the background during the funeral meal. You may also want to use Van Morrison’s music during the funeral slideshow.
Additionally, many people are now creating online memorial pages for their loved ones. This will enable you to share instructions regarding the funeral with the correct audience. In addition, online memorial pages give people the opportunities to share memories, photos, and, yes, even music that they think of when reflecting on the life of the deceased.
Sad or Sorrowful Van Morrison Songs for a Funeral
We know that many of the songs in this section of our list aren’t necessarily sorrowful songs. However, if played at a funeral, some of these songs may seem sad.
1. “Into the Mystic” from Moondance
Van Morrison performed “Into the Mystic” for a friend’s funeral. Although the lyrics can be interpreted in a variety of ways, they certainly could be about the brevity of life. One stanza reads,
“Yeah, when that fog horn blows
I will be coming home
Yeah, when that fog horn blows
I wanna hear it
I don’t have to fear it.”
2. “Someone Like You” from Poetic Champions Compose
This romantic song is challenging to categorize. It’s certainly not a sad or sorrowful song—instead, it’s about someone finding true love. This makes it a bittersweet choice for a funeral song.
The song ends with the following lines:
“Someone exactly like you
The best is yet to come
Oh, the best is yet to come
Someone exactly like you
Someone exactly like you.”
3. “Sweet Thing” from Astral Weeks
Here’s another romantic song from Van Morrison. Like the previous song, the lyrics are about finding true love. One particularly poignant line in the song reads,
“And I will raise my hand up
Into the night time sky
And count the stars
That’s shining in your eye.”
4. “Astral Weeks” from Astral Weeks
Some say that the song “Astral Weeks” compares earthly love with the bliss one would find in Heaven. It includes the lines:
“Got a home on high
Ain’t nothing but a stranger in this world
I’m nothing but a stranger in this world
I got a home on high
In another land
So far away.”
Uplifting Van Morrison Songs for a Funeral
Rock music at funerals is becoming more popular, especially since more people have funerals outdoors and in alternative settings. When planning a memorial service for your loved one, here are some Van Morrison songs to consider.
5. “Brown-Eyed Girl” from The Essential Van Morrison
This song, probably one of the most popular of Van Morrison’s, might be considered a choice for an uplifting funeral song for a brown-eyed girl. While most of the song’s lyrics detail a person thinking back to good times spent with a particular brown-eyed girl, one stanza clarifies that the relationship didn’t last.
“So hard to find my way
Now that I’m all on my own
I saw you just the other day
My, how you have grown
Cast my memory back there, Lord
Sometimes I’m overcome thinking ’bout it
Making love in the green grass
Behind the stadium with you.”
6. “Ballerina” from Astral Weeks
In “Ballerina,” the speaker is in love with a blue-eyed ballerina. This, alone, might make it the perfect funeral song for a particular person.
7. “Moondance” from Moondance
This romantic song may have been important to you and your partner. While certainly most wouldn’t consider this a funeral song, you might include it if it was a particular favorite of your loved one.
Some might consider this choice particularly bittersweet, as the chorus repeats the question:
“Can I just have one more moondance with you, my love?”
8. “Warm Love” from Hard Nose the Highway
This song is about a peaceful, warm relationship. One poignant stanza reads,
“The sky is crying and it’s time to go home
And we shall hurry to the car from the foam
Sit by the fire and dry out our wet clothes
It’s raining outside from the skies up above
Inside it’s warm love
Inside it’s warm love.”
Van Morrison Songs for a Parent’s Funeral
Some of you might automatically think of your parents when you hear particular songs by Van Morrison. So, if one of the songs on our list were an important part of your parent’s relationship, consider using it for either your mom’s or dad’s funeral.
According to an article in the Belfast Telegraph, Van Morrison performed three songs at his mother’s funeral in 2016. Here are the three he chose for the occasion.
9. “By His Grace” from Hymns to the Silence
Van Morrison played this song at the funeral for his own mother. The song begins,
“You’ve got to try, for the kingdom
You’ve got to try, for the kingdom
On high, you’ve got to try,
By His grace, by His grace.”
10. “On Hynford Street'' from Hymns to the Silence
Morrison also played this song at his mother’s funeral. In this nostalgic song (which has a melancholy feel), Morrison speaks the lyrics. The song ends,
“On Hyndford Street where you could feel the silence
At half-past eleven on long summer nights
As the wireless played Radio Luxembourg
And the voices whispered across Beechie River
And in the quietness, we sank into restful slumber in silence
And carried on dreaming in God.”
While this might not be an excellent choice to play at the funeral for your parents, it might inspire you to think of another nostalgic song that your parent said reminded them of their youth.
11. “Joyous Sound” from A Period of Transitions
The third song Van Morrison performed for his own mother’s funeral was “Joyous Sound.”
This “joyous” song is about being reunited with loved ones after death. It begins,
“How sweet that joyous sound
Whenever we meet, whenever we meet
How sweet that joyous sound
Whenever we meet again.”
Van Morrison Songs for a Child or Adult Child’s Funeral
The loss of a child is devastating, and you may dread trying to find a good funeral song for the occasion. While we certainly don’t suggest that using an upbeat, happy song would be the right choice for everyone, here are two Van Morrison songs about love that may remind you of your child.
12. “Crazy Love” from Moondance
This song is most likely about romantic love. However, the first few lines, in particular, may speak to the love you would feel for a child. The song begins,
“I can hear her heart beat for a thousand miles
And the heaven’s open every time she smiles
And when I come to her that’s where I belong
Yet I’m running to her like a river’s song.”
13. “Tupelo Honey” from Tupelo Honey
Like the previous song, “Tupelo Honey” is probably a song about romantic love. However, the chorus might make you think of the love a parent feels for a child.
“You can take all the tea in China
Put it in a big brown bag for me
Sail it right around the seven oceans
Drop it smack dab in the middle of the deep blue sea
Because she’s as sweet as tupelo honey
She’s an angel of the first degree
She’s as sweet as tupelo honey
Just like honey from the bee.”
Create a Funeral Plan
As you consider your own end-of-life services, you may not care about the type of flowers that adorn your casket or the cover of your funeral bulletin. However, you probably have an opinion on whether you would like to be buried or cremated and the songs played at your services.
That’s why everyone should create a funeral plan. Let your loved one’s know your preferred method of disposition and what songs you would like others to listen to as they reflect on your life.