The 10 songs you should actually listen to in your dying moments

Marie Curie’s list of the most popular songs people listen to in their final moments is somewhat mawkish. Here are some better ideas

What song would you choose to listen to if you were terminally ill and about to die? It’s an interesting question that –thankfully – most of us haven’t had to ponder. 
But hospice charity Marie Curie has compiled a list of the most popular tracks played by people in their final moments. The top 10 songs include Whitney Houston’s version of Dolly Parton’s I Will Always Love You, Frank Sinatra’s My Way and Christina Aguilera’s Beautiful. The list was compiled after Marie Curie polled 1,000 UK adults whose loved ones have experienced end-of-life care. Other tracks include The Best by Tina Turner, Hey Jude by The Beatles and Angels by Robbie Williams.
There are some moving songs on the list. Who could argue with the sentiments of Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World or Queen’s These Are The Days of Our Lives? But for anyone who feels these tracks tend towards the mawkish, the obvious or the sentimental, here is our alternative list of end-of-life songs.
This 1966 Beatles song will appeal to anyone worried about changes to the inheritance tax regime in Rachel Reeves’s Budget on October 30. As George Harrison sang, “Now my advice for those who die/ Declare the pennies on your eyes.” Steady on. We know that the Chancellor has tough choices to make, but we hope that her difficult decisions will stop short of this. 
We all know Eric Idle’s song from the Life of Brian film and I’m sure many of us think it’s overplayed. But it’s the greatest anthem to stoicism you’ll ever hear. “For life is quite absurd/ And death’s the final word/ You must always face the curtain with a bow,” Idle sings, while – lest we forget – leashed to a cross during a mass crucifixion. He goes on: “Always look on the bright side of death/ Just before you draw your terminal breath.” A manifesto.
A literal interpretation of events for people who have opted to be buried when they die. See also the Living in a Box by Living in a Box or It’s Oh So Quiet by Björk. For those who are being cremated, darkly macabre choices would be I’m On Fire by Bruce Springsteen, Ashes to Ashes by David Bowie or Light My Fire by The Doors. 
Surely the only ever number one pop song about probate. Swift’s 2022 track describes the reading of a will following her death. Things don’t work out for everyone as planned. “I have this dream my daughter-in-law kills me for the money/ She thinks I left them in the will,” Swift sings. “The family gathers ‘round and reads it/ And then someone screams out/ ‘She’s laughing up at us from hell!’” Family members who hear a loved one play this as their last song should perhaps brace themselves for bad news.
I’m surprised this wasn’t on the list though I imagine it will be in a few years’ time. Ezra’s upbeat song, again from 2022, was inspired by a trip he made to the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. There, he witnessed a vibrant street party that turned out to be the funeral wake for three people. Next to green, green grass and under a clear blue sky, you’d “better throw a party on the day that I die”, Ezra sings in the earworm chorus. Can death be life-affirming? This song suggests so. Pass the rum.
One for the miserabilists. In fact, The Smiths’ ballad about loneliness from 1986 might just be so depressing that it makes you feel less bad about dying. Morrissey opens by telling his mother that he can “feel the soil falling over [his] head” as his empty bed becomes a metaphorical grave. He’s alone and unloved. But, and here’s the rub, the song is also exquisitely beautiful, with Johnny Marr’s guitar creeping like a graveyard vine around Morrissey’s deliciously mournful lyrics.
Whether you believe in reincarnation or not, I’ve always thought that Vera Lynn’s wartime song could be repurposed for the deathbed to provide succour to everyone present. Telling your loved ones as you breathe your last that you “know we’ll meet again some sunny day” is surely a wonderful sentiment. This is the song I want at my funeral, though I’d choose the Johnny Cash version, his bone-shaking bass-baritone adding a dollop of fire and brimstone to the overall message of reassurance. 
Why not go out with an incongruously upbeat number from a musical? The final track from Grease is about as sugary, positive, silly and joyous as it’s possible to be. It has a breakdown that lends itself to different family members singing different parts – “Uncle Mungo, you sing the ‘A-boogity-boogity’ line while, Mum, you take the ‘Ramma-lamma-lammas’” – and it ends with the repeated refrain of “We’ll always be together” which may not be strictly true but is a nice thought all the same. See also You Give a Little Love from Bugsy Malone. Added splurge guns optional.
Leonard Cohen’s 1967 song is about breaking up with someone (obviously – it’s Leonard Cohen). But the sweet sorrow of parting was given a positive twist by the late Canadian lothario, thereby making it a glass-half-full farewell song. The key refrain of “Your eyes are soft with sorrow/ Hey, that’s no way to say goodbye” would be perfect to lift the mood of an otherwise desperately sad situation. Cohen also expresses deep affection for the person he’s about to split from. “You know my love goes with you as your love stays with me,” he sings. It’s a nice sentiment.
Boney M’s 1978 disco track is guaranteed – guaranteed – to get everyone dancing, from the rolling tom-toms and handclaps at the start to the “Hey-Hey-Hey” refrain two minutes in. If you’re going to shuffle off this mortal coil, then you may as well go out leaping around like a vodka-soaked Cossack. And, without being too crude about it, Rasputin dies at the end of the song too, so – well – you’ll be in good company on your journey to the pearly gates.
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