My last song
Less than one third of Brits want a hymn played at their funeral, according to music web site My Last Song.
In an online poll conducted on the web site, people were asked to vote on the type of music they wanted played at their funeral. Around 59 per cent of the 150 voters chose modern secular music, while only 29 per cent said they wanted hymns. A meagre 6 per cent said they wanted religious classical music.
Only two people out of 48 who submitted names of their top piece of funeral music chose a hymn; the majority by far wanted ‘It’s a wonderful world’, as sung by Louis Armstrong.
My Last Song founder Paul Hensby said the poor showing of hymns confirms the trend towards funerals with a greater secular content. He explained: ‘The baby boomer generation that, 50 years ago, redefined the youth culture is now redefining how society looks at death and dying.
‘They don’t want the cut-and-paste anonymity of traditional funerals, which is why secular music at funeral ceremonies is now so popular’.
According to the My Last Song web site, other features of the modern British funeral include informal dress codes, colourful eco-friendly coffins, greater accessibility to mourners of other faiths, and interment in woodland burial sites.
