This
list suggests songs for a country goodbye when a loved one has passed
on. One isn't country and it is the instrumental “Raunchy”. This one I feel
would be ideal for that fun, funky loved one who was the life of the
party. Some are funny, in my opinion, and certainly irreverent
I reckon. These require both a sense of humor and boldness to be
played at a funeral. If the beloved deceased was a pot smoker only
ol' Willie could love there's “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die”.
“Roll
me up and smoke me when I die
And if anyone don't like it, just
look 'em in the eye
I didn't come here, and I ain't leavin'
So
don't sit around and cry
Just roll me up and smoke me when I
die...”
There's
two of Merle Haggard's that can lend a touch of humor. They are “Wake
Up” and “I Just Want to Look at You One More Time”. The first
verse of “Wake Up” says:
“Wake
up, don't just lay there like cold granite stone
Wake up, we're
too close to be alone
Wake up, and please, darling, hold me if you
would
Don't just lay there like you've gone away for good...”
There'll
surely be someone who finds this freaky and perhaps they'll be
watching the casket warily, even if it's closed, hoping the deceased
doesn't just sit straight up.
I
always thought “I Just Want to Look at You One More Time” would
be good to play during the time friends and family walk pass the
casket at the end of the service for one last look at the deceased. I
wonder how many would be be leery and wondering if the eyes of the
deceased were going to pop open. The first verse of “I Just Want to
Look at You One More Time” says:
“I
just wanna look at you one more time
I always like to know how
much I leave behind
Let this be the picture that I'll always have
in mind
I just wanna look at you one more time...”
Yes,
I reckon I have a slightly morbid sense of humor.
Trace Adkins sings "If the Sun Comes Up"
On
the flip side I can be fairly serious, even touched by a song. After
they were released, and probably still are, “The Dance” and “Go
Rest High on That Mountain” were popular funeral songs.
After
hearing “When the Thought of You Catches Up With Me” I thought
it, too, would be appropriate. Part of the lyrics are:
“...it
can happen on a Sunday drive...
...Headed down some lonesome
highway
Then you come into view
Mile after mile goes by
But
you're all I see
When the thought of you
Catches up with me...
...when
the thought of you comes to mind
It'll carry me away to a better
place and time...
...it
can happen in the dead of night
Any day of the week...”
Without
question “A Picture of Me Without You” is certainly a good choice
for a funeral. The lyrics:
“Imagine
a world where no music was playing
Then think of a church where
nobody's praying
If you've ever looked up at a sky with no
blue
Then you've seen a picture of me without you
Have you
walked in a garden where nothing was growing
Or stood by a river
where nothing was flowing
If you've seen a red rose unkissed by
the dew
Then you've seen a picture of me without you
Can
you picture Heaven with no angels singing
Or a quiet Sunday
morning with no church bells ringing
If you've watched as the
heart of a child's breaks in two
Then you've seen a picture of me
without you...”
The
following song I first heard at the funeral of my best friends
father. It was sung by one of her brothers who had recorded it on
tape. A good many years passed before I heard it again. I happened
upon it on YouTube. The title was familiar so I had to hear it. It
was the same song but sung by Tex Ritter. After his recitation the song begins with:
“I'll
walk just beyond the moon then I'll stop and wait for you...”
The
last verse says:
“...I'll
just sit there by a star and I'll watch you from afar
'Til I see
you walking toward me someday soon
Then together hand in hand
we'll find our promised land
And we'll settle down forever darlin'
just beyond the moon...”
Miranda
Lambert and Blake Shelton wrote the ballad "Over You" which
is about a personal experience Shelton had as a teenager when his
older brother was killed in a car accident. Part of the lyrics are:
“It
was only December
I still remember the presents, the tree, you and
me
But
you went away
How dare you?
I'll miss you
They say I'll be
okay...”
There
are cowboy themed songs for the deceased cowboy such as “Riding
Fences”, “One Less Tornado”, and “He's Gone, He's Gone Up the
Trail”. The chorus to “One Less Tornado” says:
"...Now there's one less tornado in Texas
And a saddle that's empty tonight
There's one hell of a cowboy in Heaven
At the big rodeo in the sky
Ohh that big rodeo in the sky..."
There is even
a song for the truck driver and it's “Let This Trucker Go”. The lyrics, in
part, say:
“...The
road don't go forever
they
all end I know
and
now that I've reached heaven,
honey
let this trucker go...
I
planned on more time with you
and
less time on the road
The
good Lord he made other plans
and
so he called me home...”
I
feel the instrumental “Ashokan Farewell” would also be appropriate
for the end of service when friends and family pass by the casket. It
is the first song of the military section.
Sons of the Pioneers sing "Me and My Burro"
Lastly
are the Christian, the religious themed, selections. Many are as
standard at a funeral as they are at church on Sunday morning. I
first heard “I Can't Even Walk (Without You Holding My Hand” at
the funeral of a great-uncle. “I'm Going Home” was played in the
video showing pictures from the life of my paternal aunt who passed
on. I loved it and just had to find it.
Tim McGraw sings "If You're Reading This"
Jamey Johnson sings "Lead Me Home"
The songs:
ROLL
ME UP AND SMOKE ME WHEN I DIE- WILLIE NELSON
WAKE
UP- MERLE HAGGARD
I
JUST WANT TO LOOK AT YOU ONE MORE TIME- MERLE HAGGARD
RAUNCHY
(instrumental)- DUANE EDDY
TIL YOU CAN'T- CODY JOHNSON
IF
THE SUN COMES UP- TRACE ADKINS
WHEN IT'S TIME FOR THE WHIPPOORWILL
TO SING - MERLE TRAVIS & JOHNNY BOND
THE
DANCE- GARTH BROOKS
GO
REST HIGH ON THAT MOUNTAIN- VINCE GILL
BLUE
EYES CRYING IN THE RAIN- WILLIE NELSON
WHEN
THE THOUGHT OF YOU CATCHES UP WITH ME- DAVID BALL
A
PICTURE OF ME WITHOUT YOU- GEORGE JONES
JUST
BEYOND THE MOON- TEX RITTER
WHEN
MY LAST SONG IS SUNG- MERLE HAGGARD
HOLES
IN THE FLOOR OF HEAVEN- STEVE WARINER
BARBED
WIRE HALO- AARON WATSON
HAD
A THING- CURTIS GRIMES
HOME-
JOE DIFFIE
SIX
MORE MILE TO THE GRAVEYARD- HANK WILLIAMS, SR.
I'VE
GOT MY BABY ON MY MIND- DAVID BALL
FEEL
LIKE GOING HOME- CHARLIE RICH
OVER
YOU- MIRANDA LAMBERT
YOU'LL
BE THERE- GEORGE STRAIT
RIDING
FENCES- CHRIS LeDOUX
ONE
LESS TORNADO- CHRIS LeDOUX
GOD
MUST BE A COWBOY- CHRIS LeDOUX
HE'S
GONE, HE'S GONE UP THE TRAIL- SONS OF THE PIONEERS
ME
AND MY BURRO- SONS OF THE PIONEERS
AT THE RAINBOW'S END - SONS OF THE PIONEERS
OLD BUCKAROO, GOODBYE- GENE AUTRY
LET
THIS TRUCKER GO- DALE WATSON
ASHOKAN
FAREWELL- From “The Civil War” Soundtrack
BATTLE
HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC- JOHNNY CASH
THE
VACANT CHAIR- KATHY MATTEA
WHERE
THE STARS AND STRIPS AND THE EAGLE FLY- AARON TIPPIN
AMERICAN
SOLDIER- TOBY KEITH
TIL
THE LAST SHOT'S FIRED- TRACE ADKINS
ARLINGTON-
TRACE ADKINS
IF
YOU'RE READING THIS- TIM McGRAW
MANSIONS OF THE LORD
GATHERING
FLOWERS FOR THE MASTER'S BOUQUET- HANK WILLIAMS, SR.
I
HEARD MY SAVIOR CALLING ME- HANK WILLIAMS, SR.
BEYOND THE SUNSET- HANK WILLIAMS, SR.
I
CAN'T EVEN WALK (WITHOUT YOU HOLDING MY HAND)- CODY JOHNSON
HOW
GREAT THOU ART- ALAN JACKSON
I
WANT TO STROLL OVER HEAVEN WITH YOU- ALAN JACKSON
IN
THE GARDEN- ALAN JACKSON
WHEN
WE ALL GET TO HEAVEN- ALAN JACKSON
TURN
YOUR EYES UPON JESUS- ALAN JACKSON
PEACE
IN THE VALLEY- LORETTA LYNN
WHEN
THEY RING THEM GOLDEN BELLS- LORETTA LYNN
IN
THE SWEET BYE AND BYE- LORETTA LYNN
I'D
RATHER HAVE JESUS- LORETTA LYNN
HOW
BEAUTIFUL HEAVEN MUST BE- GEORGE JONES
WHERE
WE'LL NEVER GROW OLD- GEORGE JONES
LONESOME
VALLEY- GEORGE JONES
WHY
ME LORD?- KRIS KRISTOFFERSON
VICTORY
IN JESUS- MERLE HAGGARD
WINGS
OF A DOVE- FERLIN HUSKY
STAIRWAY
TO HEAVEN- STANLEY BROS.
CALL
ME GONE- GENE WATSON
SWING
WIDE THEM GOLDEN GATES- GENE WATSON
BEYOND
THE SUNSET FOR ME- DOYLE LAWSON & QUICKSILVER
THE
DARKEST HOUR IS JUST BEFORE DAWN- RICKY SKAGGS
IT
IS WELL WITH MY SOUL- JIMMY FORTUNE
AMAZING
GRACE- WILLIE NELSON
I'LL
FLY AWAY- WILLIE NELSON & BOBBIE NELSON
WHERE
HE LEADS ME- WILLIE NELSON & BOBBIE NELSON
WHERE
THE SOUL OF MAN NEVER DIES- WILLIE NELSON & BOBBIE NELSON
FARTHER
ALONG- WILLIE NELSON & BOBBIE NELSON
PRECIOUS MEMORIES - WILLIE NELSON
WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN- WILLIE NELSON
SWEET BY AND BY- WILLIE NELSON
WHEN THE ROLL IS CALLED UP YONDER- WILLIE NELSON
WILL
THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN- VARIOUS ARTIST
LITTLE IS MUCH WHEN GOD IS IN IT- GAITHER FRIENDS
JOY COMES IN THE MORNING - GAITHER FRIENDS
GOD ON THE MOUNTAIN - LYNDA RANDALL
BUGLE
CALL FROM HEAVEN- WEBB PIERCE
I'M
GOING HOME- KIM McLEAN
WILL
YOU MISS ME WHEN I'M GONE- RALPH STANLEY W/
KEITH WHITLEY
SWING
WIDE THE GATES- THE INSPIRATIONS
I'LL WEAR A WHITE ROBE- RALPH STANLEY
FURTHER ON UP THE ROAD - JOHNNY CASH
1 CORINTHIANS 15:55 (O, DEATH WHERE IS THY STING...) -
JOHNNY CASH
LEAD ME HOME- JAMEY JOHNSON
WHERE I'M BOUND - PATTY LOVELESS
ACROSS THE BRIDGE- JIM REEVES
LAY
ME DOWN- LORETTA LYNN feat. WILLIE NELSON
FAR SIDE BANKS OF JORDAN - JOHNNY & JUNE CARTER CASH
WHEN THE ANGELS CARRY ME HOME- THE EARLS OF
LEICESTER
WHERE HER HEART HAS ALWAYS BEEN - ALAN JACKSON (he wrote
Below is a YouTube playlist I created entitled "Songs with Spirit". Spirit does not refer to ghosts and the like, though after tossing back more than a few you may see such a spirit!I also highlight just a few songs.
*Before I highlight a few songs I just want to implore you, if you drink please DO NOT get behind the wheel and drive. Have a designated driver. If you're turning to alcohol during bouts of depression, seek help not just for the drinking but also for the depression. Your physician can prescribe an anti-depressant, even recommend someone to counsel you. Trust me, alcohol doesn't help or make the depression go away.*
One
song on the moonshine list is “Thunder Road” which was the theme
song for the movie of the same name. Robert Mitchum wrote the story
that was made into a screen play and ultimately found its way onto
the big screen. It's the story of a
veteran, Lucas Doolin (portrayed by Mitchum), going back to his
mountain home after the Korean War to take over the family
moonshining business. He finds himself in a different kind of war as
big-city gangsters are trying to take over the family's business and
the police are trying to put him in prison.
Way
down on the whiskey list is the song “Rye Whiskey” sung by the
late David “Stringbean” Akeman. Stringbean was a
singer-songwriter, musician, comedian, actor and a semiprofessional
baseball player. He was known for picking his banjo in the
old-fashioned style and for a balanced mix of comedy and music during his shows. His
wardrobe was amusing.
He wore a long
nightshirt tucked into a pair of short blue jeans which were belted
around his knees — giving him the comical appearance of a very tall
man with stubby legs. I remember Stringbean from the country music variety
show Hee-Haw.
In addition to being a regular on Hee-Haw
he was also a member of The
Grand Old Opry.
Stringbean and his wife Estell were murdered on a Saturday night, the Nov. 10, 1973. He and Estell performed that night at the G.O.O.
Their murderers were at their home looking for the large sum of money
rumored to be hidden in the Akeman home. Because of Depression-era
bank failures Stringbean didn't trust banks. He and Estell were
frugal and they lived a very modest lifestyle. Their only luxuries
were a color t.v. and a Cadillac. Cousins John Brown and Marvin D.
Brown, in the act of ransacking the home, shot Stringbean first and
then Estell, who begged for her life, as soon as they arrived home.
The Browns never found the cash. All they got away with were a
chainsaw and some firearms. The Akeman's neighbor and friend Louis
“Grandpa” Jones found them the next day. The Browns were caught,
tried and convicted. My memory of Stringbean is so vague since I was
so young at the time. I was just 10 when he and his wife were
murdered. “The
Ballad of Stringbean and Estell” was written by Sam Bush, Guy
Clark, and Verlon Thompson. You can hear it at YouTube by clicking
this link: https://youtu.be/43Er1Pu37us
David 'Stringbean' Akeman
The
subject of a ballad brings to mind the one about Popcorn Sutton.
Google his name, even search for his name on YouTube. He was a
fascinating individual.
The ballad of Popcorn Sutton
Warning: a naughty at the end.
Popcorn Sutton
While
some songs celebrate moonshine and the making of it, getting away with breaking
the law and close calls with the law, Dolly Parton's “Daddy's
Moonshine Still” reveals the adversity a family faces when the
husband/father operates a still. Toward the end of the first verse
she wrote “...we'd all've been better off dead than to live a life
of shame and strife 'cause of Daddy's moonshine still...”. She
reveals how his moonshine business made their home a living hell. Whether this is a true tale of her daddy or not, I don't know.
There's
some humor to be had in these songs. There's Joe Nichols' “Tequila
Makes Her Clothes Fall Off” and Roger Creagar's “Everclear Song”.
NOTE:
Sometimes a video gets deleted by the one who posted it in the first
place or it will be marked 'not allowed in country' or some such (as
I forget the actual wording). Sometimes I can find another video of
the same song to replace the one gone but not always. So if you click
the link to the playlist at You Tube to hear a particular song and it
isn't there you know why.
Grandpa Jones singing "Good Old Mountain Dew".
MOONSHINE:
WHITE
LIGHTNING- GEORGE JONES
CHUG-A-LUG- ROGER MILLER
MOUNTAIN
DEW- GRANDPA JONES
FRANKLIN
COUNTY MOONSHINE- JEAN SHEPARD
LET THE
MOONSHINE- LUKE COMBS
BALLAD OF
THUNDER ROAD- ROBERT MITCHUM
COPPER
KETTLE- JOAN BAEZ
DADDY'S
MOONSHINE STILL-DOLLY PARTON
MOONSHINE
MAN - MEL STREET
APPLE PIE
MOONSHINE- JAKE OWEN
KENTUCKY
MOONSHINER-GEORGE TUCKER
POPCORN
SUTTON- DAN LEWIS
DARLING
COREY- BILL MONROE
TEAR MY
STILLHOUSE DOWN- GILLIAN WELCH
COPPERHEAD
ROAD- STEVE EARLE
THE LEGEND OF JB RADER- CHAD TRIPLETT
MOONSHINE MAN- THE BLUEGRASS BROTHERS (not the same as Mel Street's "Moonshine Man")
BEER:
I LIKE
BEER- TOM T HALL
BEER, BAIT,
AND AMMO- KEVIN FOWLER
BEER RUN
(extended version)- TODD SNIDER
REDNECKS,
WHITE SOCKS AND
BLUE
RIBBON BEER- JOHNNY RUSSELL
HELL, YEAH,
I LIKE BEER- KEVIN FOWLER
BEER
DRINKING WEATHER- CANAAN SMITH
LONE STAR
BEER AND BOB
WILLS
MUSIC- RED STEAGALL
THERE'S A
TEAR IN MY BEER- HANK WILLIAMS, JR.
BEER
THIRTY- BROOKS AND DUNN
BUBBLES IN
MY BEER- BOB WILLS W/ TOMMY DUNCAN
BEER FOR MY
HORSES- TOBY KEITH FEAT. WILLIE NELSON
PRETTY GOOD
AT DRINKING BEER- BILLY CURRINGTON
99
BOTTLES- ZANE WILLIAMS
WHAT MADE
MILWAUKEE FAMOUS- JERRY LEE LEWIS
COLD BEER
CONVERSATION- GEORGE STRAIT
A SIX PACK
TO GO- HANK THOMPSON
HOLD MY
BEER- TRACE ADKINS
WHO DRANK
MY BEER- TOMMY DUNCAN
BEER BARREL
POLKA- FRANKIE YANKOVIC & HIS YANKS
WHISKEY:
WHISKEY
UNDER THE BRIDGE- BROOKS AND DUNN
WHISKEY
TRIP- GARY STEWART
JACK
DANIELS, IF YOU PLEASE- DAVID ALLEN COE
TENNESSEE
WHISKEY- GEORGE JONES
WHISKEY
RIVER- WILLIE NELSON
WHISKEY
WHISKEY- KRIS KRISTOFFERSON
AIN'T WORTH
THE WHISKEY- COLE SWINDELL
WHISKEY AND
YOU- CHRIS STAPLETON
WHISKEY AND
RAIN- MICHAEL RAY
WEED,
WHISKEY, AND WILLIE- BROTHERS OSBORNE
WHISKEY IF
YOU WERE A WOMAN- HIGHWAY 101
DROVE ME TO
THE WHISKEY- CASEY DONAHEW
WHISKEY
BENT AND HELL BOUND- HANK WILLIAMS, JR.
THE WHISKEY
AIN'T WORKING- TRAVIS TRITT & MARTY STUART
BOURBON IN
KENTUCKY- DIERKS BENTLEY
WAY DOWN IN
MY WHISKEY- ALAN JACKSON
MUST BE THE
WHISKEY- CODY JINKS
IT AIN'T
THE WHISKEY- GARY ALLAN
BRAND NEW
WHISKEY- GARY STEWART
WHISKEY- PAT
GREEN
SMOOTH SHOT
OF WHISKEY- MIKE & THE MOONPIES
WHISKEY AND
WHITLEY- JOSH WARD
WHISKEY IN
YOUR WATER- EVAN FELKER
SHE'S MY
WHISKEY- MARK WINSTON KIRK
ME AND
JACK- JON PARDI
RYE
WHISKEY- STRINGBEAN
WHISKEY
LULLABY- BRAD PAISLEY & ALISON KRAUSS
WHISKEY ROAD- MERLE KILGORE
George Jones singing "Tennessee Whiskey"
TEQUILA:
STRAIGHT
TEQUILA NIGHT- JOHN ANDERSON
TEQUILA
MAKES HER CLOTHES FALL
OFF- JOE NICHOLS
CODIGO- GEORGE
STRAIT
TEQUILA- THE
CHAMPS
POUR
ME ANOTHER TEQUILA- EDDIE RABBITT
TEN
ROUNDS OF JOSE CUEVERO- TRACY BYRD
JOSE CUEVERO- SHELLY WEST
TEQUILA
SHEILA- BOBBY BARE
TEQUILA- BROOKS
AND DUNN (not the same as "Tequila" by The Champs")
