Songs for a memorial slideshow

A red rose on an old sheet of piano music

Music says what words can't. One song can carry a whole room back to a summer evening, a wedding dance, a kitchen radio, a long drive home. Here are songs families often choose for a memorial slideshow and the service, sorted so you can find one that sounds like them.

How to choose music for the service

It can feel like too big a decision right now. A few ways to narrow it down:

  • By mood: peaceful, uplifting, reflective, or celebrating a life.
  • By who they were to you: songs for a mom, a dad, a husband or wife, a grandparent or a friend.
  • By style: hymns, classic songs, country or classical.
  • By memory: the song they sang along to in the car. That one is often the right one.

About the music in your video

Your InMemoryVideo comes with calm instrumental music from our library. You listen to each piece before you choose, and the photos move with it.

If a song meant a lot to them, upload it as an MP3 or M4A file and the video moves with it. You can also play it at the service before or after the video.

Find a song for the service

(choose a filter, tap Listen to hear a song, or Copy to keep its name)

  • Amazing GraceTraditional hymn
  • Time to Say GoodbyeAndrea Bocelli & Sarah Brightman
  • My WayFrank Sinatra
  • Somewhere Over the RainbowEva Cassidy
  • How Great Thou ArtTraditional hymn
  • Wind Beneath My WingsBette Midler
  • What a Wonderful WorldLouis Armstrong
  • Abide with MeTraditional hymn
  • You Raise Me UpJosh Groban
  • Supermarket FlowersEd Sheeran
  • HallelujahLeonard Cohen
  • Go Rest High on That MountainVince Gill
  • Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful WorldIsrael Kamakawiwo'ole
  • You'll Never Walk AloneGerry and the Pacemakers
  • I Can Only ImagineMercyMe
  • Tears in HeavenEric Clapton
  • The BestTina Turner
  • We'll Meet AgainVera Lynn
  • On Eagle's WingsMichael Joncas
  • It Is Well with My SoulTraditional hymn
  • The Lord's My ShepherdTraditional hymn
  • Ave MariaFranz Schubert
  • Dancing in the SkyDani and Lizzy
  • I'll Fly AwayTraditional gospel
  • AngelsRobbie Williams
  • Dance with My FatherLuther Vandross
  • The DanceGarth Brooks
  • In the GardenTraditional hymn
  • Danny BoyTraditional Irish
  • UnforgettableNat King Cole
  • Bridge over Troubled WaterSimon & Garfunkel
  • Let It BeThe Beatles
  • Fields of GoldEva Cassidy
  • I Will Always Love YouWhitney Houston
  • The Old Rugged CrossTraditional hymn
  • Precious Lord, Take My HandThomas A. Dorsey
  • Holes in the Floor of HeavenSteve Wariner
  • See You AgainCarrie Underwood
  • All Things Bright and BeautifulTraditional hymn
  • Morning Has BrokenTraditional hymn
  • Always Look on the Bright Side of LifeMonty Python
  • Spirit in the SkyNorman Greenbaum
  • Can't Help Falling in LoveElvis Presley
  • Unchained MelodyThe Righteous Brothers
  • Hold OnChord Overstreet
  • Someone You LovedLewis Capaldi
  • Here Comes the SunThe Beatles
  • In My LifeThe Beatles
  • Who Wants to Live ForeverQueen
  • Wish You Were HerePink Floyd

50 songs. Listen opens Spotify's player: press play there to hear a short part, or the whole song if you're signed in to Spotify. Copy keeps the name and artist for YouTube, Spotify or a note to the funeral home.

Longer lists, with a line on each song

Why music matters

The right music holds the room together. It gives people a moment to breathe and to feel close to the person they came to honor. Whether it's a funeral, a celebration of life or a quiet family evening, music sets the tone before anyone says a word.

Songs families come back to

Amazing Grace, What a Wonderful World, Tears in Heaven, Go Rest High on That Mountain. Old hymns and favorite records sit side by side, because a life is never only one kind of song.

A record player and a vase of lilac on a sideboard at home

Questions about memorial songs

How many songs should I use?

A song usually runs 3 to 4 minutes. A 5-minute video needs one or two songs; a 10-minute video, about three. There's no wrong answer here. Go with your heart.

Can I use any song?

You can pick calm instrumental music from our library or upload songs of your own, up to 10, as MP3 or M4A files. Use only songs you have the right to use. Posting a video with a well-known recording online has its own rules: YouTube or Facebook may mute it.

Which songs are played at funerals most often?

Some songs families come back to again and again: Amazing Grace, What a Wonderful World, Over the Rainbow, Hallelujah and Wind Beneath My Wings. Still, the best song is the one that sounds like them.

Make a memorial video, free preview