Scattering Ashes Songs
About Scattering Ashes Songs Funeral Songs
Scattering ashes songs accompany a uniquely intimate ceremony — a small group in a meaningful place, releasing a loved one into the landscape they cherished. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole is the most chosen song for ash scattering, its gentle ukulele and hopeful lyrics creating a sense of peaceful release. "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd captures the symbolism of letting go — the ashes carried by wind mirror the song's theme of freedom. "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong celebrates the beauty of the natural world that the deceased is returning to. Scattering ceremonies differ fundamentally from church services — they are held in nature, attended by few, and centred on the act of physical release. The music needs to work outdoors, from a portable speaker, in whatever weather the day brings. Songs about nature, freedom, and the beauty of the world work better than songs about grief or loss. For sea scatterings, songs with water imagery ("Beyond the Sea," "Sail Away") feel natural. For mountain or forest scatterings, folk and acoustic songs complement the landscape. The best scattering songs honour both the release of the ashes and the beauty of the place chosen — because the location was chosen for a reason, and the music should honour that connection.
Top Scattering Ashes Songs Funeral Songs
Amazing Grace
Traditional
This beloved hymn speaks of salvation and the journey from loss to grace, offering profound comfort to those grieving.
Precious Lord, Take My Hand
Mahalia Jackson
Its heartfelt plea for divine guidance through life's darkness resonates deeply with mourners.
When the Saints Go Marching In
Louis Armstrong
Embodies New Orleans jazz funeral tradition - mourning the loss while celebrating the soul's journey to heaven.
Danny Boy
Traditional Irish
The ultimate Irish funeral song. The promise to sleep in peace until the loved one returns is deeply moving.
Hallelujah
Leonard Cohen
Cohen's masterpiece captures the bittersweet nature of life and love, resonating deeply at farewell moments.
Tips for Choosing Scattering Ashes Songs Funeral Songs
Tip 1. Consider the location — Songs about the sea work for coastal scatterings. Nature songs suit mountain or forest locations. Choose music that matches the landscape.
Tip 2. Use a portable speaker — Most scattering ceremonies are outdoors. Bring a quality waterproof Bluetooth speaker with a fully charged battery.
Tip 3. Keep the playlist short — Ash scattering ceremonies are typically brief (10-20 minutes). Two or three songs is usually enough.
Tip 4. Songs about freedom resonate — "Free Bird," "Spirit in the Sky," and "Fly Away" capture the symbolism of release that scattering represents.
Tip 5. Think about wind and weather — Outdoor music competes with wind. Choose songs with strong melodies that carry even in breezy conditions.
Tip 6. The moment of scattering — Have one specific song playing during the actual release of ashes. This becomes the defining musical memory of the ceremony.
Complete List of Scattering Ashes Songs Funeral Songs
Amazing Grace
Traditional
A timeless hymn of redemption and hope that has comforted mourners for centuries.
Why it's meaningful: This beloved hymn speaks of salvation and the journey from loss to grace, offering profound comfort to those grieving.
Best moment: Often played during the processional or as a closing hymn.
Precious Lord, Take My Hand
Mahalia Jackson
Written by Thomas Dorsey after losing his wife and infant son, this deeply personal hymn has become the quintessential gospel funeral song.
Why it's meaningful: Its heartfelt plea for divine guidance through life's darkness resonates deeply with mourners.
Best moment: Perfect for processional or during reflection moments.
When the Saints Go Marching In
Louis Armstrong
The quintessential New Orleans jazz funeral song, starting somber then exploding into joyful celebration during the second line.
Why it's meaningful: Embodies New Orleans jazz funeral tradition - mourning the loss while celebrating the soul's journey to heaven.
Best moment: Recessional or second line celebration, especially for New Orleans funerals.
Danny Boy
Traditional Irish
Ireland's most beloved song—a parent's farewell to a child going away, perhaps forever.
Why it's meaningful: The ultimate Irish funeral song. The promise to sleep in peace until the loved one returns is deeply moving.
Best moment: During the service or graveside. No Irish funeral is complete without it.
Hallelujah
Leonard Cohen
A haunting meditation on love, loss, and the complexity of human emotion.
Why it's meaningful: Cohen's masterpiece captures the bittersweet nature of life and love, resonating deeply at farewell moments.
Best moment: Perfect for reflection during the service or viewing.
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Israel Kamakawiwoʻole
A gentle ukulele version that transforms the classic into a peaceful farewell.
Why it's meaningful: The Hawaiian rendition brings a sense of peace and the promise of a better place.
Best moment: Creates a serene atmosphere during reflection or exit.
Adagio for Strings
Samuel Barber
One of the most emotionally powerful pieces in classical music.
Why it's meaningful: Expresses grief with such depth that it has become synonymous with mourning and remembrance.
Best moment: Creates a profound atmosphere during the most solemn moments of the service.
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Simon and Garfunkel
A promise of support and comfort through life's troubled waters.
Why it's meaningful: Celebrates those who were sources of strength and refuge for others.
Best moment: Perfect for honoring someone who was always there for others.
The Prayer
Celine Dion & Andrea Bocelli
A beautiful duet prayer for guidance and protection in multiple languages.
Why it's meaningful: Combines English and Italian to create a universal prayer for peace and guidance.
Best moment: Creates a transcendent moment during the service.
Going Up Yonder
Walter Hawkins
This uplifting anthem celebrates the promise of heaven and eternal life, transforming grief into hope.
Why it's meaningful: A staple in Black Protestant funeral traditions, it focuses on the glorious reunion awaiting believers in heaven during homegoing services.
Best moment: Powerful as a recessional or celebration of life moment.
Soon and Very Soon
Andraé Crouch
This triumphant song anticipates the joy of seeing Jesus and being reunited with loved ones in heaven.
Why it's meaningful: Based on Revelation 21:3-4, it speaks of no more crying or dying. Performed at Michael Jackson's memorial service.
Best moment: Celebratory recessional or closing hymn.
I'll Fly Away
Albert Brumley
This song uses the metaphor of a bird freed from prison to describe the soul's joyous release into heaven.
Why it's meaningful: The most recorded gospel song of all time with over 1,000 versions, celebrating joyous liberation death brings to believers.
Best moment: Perfect for New Orleans jazz funerals and celebration of life services.
It Is Well With My Soul
Horatio Spafford
Written as Spafford sailed over the spot where his four daughters drowned, this hymn of faith emerged from unimaginable grief.
Why it's meaningful: Despite devastating loss, Spafford declared 'it is well' - a profound statement of faith that inspires mourners.
Best moment: Powerful testimony of faith during the darkest moments.
One Sweet Day
Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men
A powerful duet about missing someone and looking forward to reunion, expressing all the things left unsaid.
Why it's meaningful: The soaring harmonies and emotional vocals create a cathartic release while offering hope of eventual reunion and expressing unspoken love.
Best moment: Emotional peak moment during service, allows congregants to fully feel their grief.
I Can Only Imagine
MercyMe
Written by lead singer Bart Millard about his father's death, imagining what it will be like to finally see Jesus face to face.
Why it's meaningful: For families of faith, this song processes grief through the lens of eventual reunion in God's presence.
Best moment: Powerful for Christian services, building from quiet contemplation to triumphant hope.
Free Bird
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Southern rock anthem about freedom and living without constraints, featuring one of rock's greatest guitar solos.
Why it's meaningful: For free spirits who refused to be caged, this song celebrates independence and the soul's liberation.
Best moment: Perfect for brothers or men who lived boldly and valued freedom.
Knockin' on Heaven's Door
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan's folk-rock classic about preparing for death, originally written for the film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.
Why it's meaningful: The tired resignation in the lyrics honors those ready to rest after life's long journey.
Best moment: For honoring lives of struggle or those ready to lay down burdens.
Fire and Rain
James Taylor
James Taylor's deeply personal song written about the suicide of a close friend.
Why it's meaningful: Written about the death of a friend, this song captures the specific shock and ongoing pain of unexpected loss.
Best moment: Powerful for sudden losses or honoring those who struggled with mental health.
Landslide
Fleetwood Mac
Stevie Nicks' reflective ballad about aging, change, and the passage of time.
Why it's meaningful: The honest confrontation with time's passage resonates deeply at funerals.
Best moment: Powerful for honoring women and reflecting on life's journey.
A Change Is Gonna Come
Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke's civil rights anthem about hope and perseverance through struggle.
Why it's meaningful: Written shortly before Cooke's death, it carries prophetic weight about change and justice.
Best moment: Powerful for activists, civil rights advocates, or those who persevered through injustice.
Ain't No Mountain High Enough
Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
Motown classic about unwavering devotion and the promise to be there no matter what obstacles arise.
Why it's meaningful: The promise that nothing can keep us apart offers hope that death itself cannot sever the bonds of love.
Best moment: Uplifting choice for celebrating unshakeable devotion and enduring connection.
Will the Circle Be Unbroken
The Carter Family
Classic American folk hymn about family reunion in heaven, with the Carter Family's iconic harmonies.
Why it's meaningful: The promise of reuniting in an unbroken circle offers hope that families separated by death will be together again.
Best moment: Perfect for family patriarchs/matriarchs or emphasizing heavenly reunion.
Georgia on My Mind
Ray Charles
Ray Charles' iconic soul interpretation of the Hoagy Carmichael classic, full of longing for home.
Why it's meaningful: The longing for Georgia represents nostalgia for home and better times, honoring those who cherished their roots.
Best moment: Perfect for Georgia natives or honoring homesick souls.
Let's Stay Together
Al Green
Al Green's silky soul classic about eternal commitment and standing by your love.
Why it's meaningful: The promise to stay together through good and bad times honors marriages that endured all seasons.
Best moment: Perfect for long-term marriages built on commitment and devotion.
Midnight Train to Georgia
Gladys Knight & the Pips
Gladys Knight's soulful story of devotion, following love back home no matter what.
Why it's meaningful: The journey back home represents the soul's return to where it belongs.
Best moment: For Georgia natives or honoring the journey home to rest.
You'll Never Walk Alone
From Carousel (1945)
Powerful anthem of hope and companionship through life's darkest storms.
Why it's meaningful: Reassures mourners they are not alone in their grief journey.
Best moment: Inspiring as a closing hymn or recessional.
Caledonia
Dougie MacLean
Scotland's unofficial national anthem — a song of homesickness where 'home' becomes a metaphor for the afterlife.
Why it's meaningful: For a Scot dying anywhere in the world, the lyric about being called home is the most powerful sentiment available. Death reframed as homecoming.
Best moment: Main tribute moment or recessional. The Dougie MacLean original is tender; the Paolo Nutini cover is soulful.
I Hope You Dance
Lee Ann Womack
A parent giving advice to a child — the 'dance' is a metaphor for engaging with life fully, taking risks, and never becoming bitter.
Why it's meaningful: Functions as a final blessing from the deceased to the living. Alleviates survivor's guilt by saying 'Go live.'
Best moment: Recessional or final moment. Redirects focus from the coffin to the future.
Live Like You Were Dying
Tim McGraw
Inspired by McGraw's own father's cancer diagnosis. A man given a terminal diagnosis decides to live fully in his remaining time.
Why it's meaningful: Celebrates seizing life rather than fearing death. Reframes the funeral as honouring someone who truly lived.
Best moment: Celebration of life services, especially for those who lived boldly or fought illness.
Take Me Home, Country Roads
John Denver
Folk-country anthem about returning to West Virginia. 'Home' becomes a metaphor for heaven, earth, or the memory of ancestors.
Why it's meaningful: A massive singalong that turns individual loss into collective belonging. The physical act of singing provides comfort.
Best moment: Recessional or celebration of life. Congregation singing creates palpable community support.
Spirit in the Sky
Norman Greenbaum
Psychedelic rock-gospel fusion with a gritty fuzz guitar riff. The most direct funeral instruction in rock history.
Why it's meaningful: Reframes death as preparation for the 'place that's the best.' The stomping beat forces a march-like exit, turning the recessional into a parade.
Best moment: Recessional. The definitive choice for the 'cool dad' or rock-and-roll enthusiast.
Simply the Best
Tina Turner
80s power anthem with synthesizer stabs and Turner's raspy, powerful vocals. A direct eulogy in song form.
Why it's meaningful: Validates the grief (we are sad because you were the best) while celebrating the person's value. Allows leaving with heads held high.
Best moment: Recessional. Particularly popular for spouses and sports fans.
Don't Stop Me Now
Queen
High-tempo, piano-driven rock about having the time of your life. Freddie Mercury's vocals are ecstatic and infectious.
Why it's meaningful: The 'Party Funeral' anthem. Suggests the deceased's life was a continuous burst of energy that death cannot fully arrest.
Best moment: Recessional for young people or those who lived joyful, hedonistic lives.
Here Comes the Sun
The Beatles
George Harrison's gentle acoustic anthem about darkness giving way to light. One of the most hopeful songs ever written.
Why it's meaningful: Frames grief as a long winter that will eventually end. The simple melody and warm acoustic guitar provide genuine comfort.
Best moment: Recessional or end of service. Universally appropriate and deeply comforting.
The Lord's My Shepherd
Traditional (Psalm 23, Crimond tune)
The metrical Psalm 23 set to the 'Crimond' tune, famous for its soaring descant. The bedrock of Presbyterian hymnody and the most requested funeral psalm worldwide.
Why it's meaningful: Frames death as walking through a 'valley of shadow' with a divine protector. The familiar words provide muscle-memory comfort even for those who haven't attended church in decades.
Best moment: After the Old Testament reading or during reflection. The congregation knows the words instinctively.
Jerusalem
William Blake / Hubert Parry
Blake's visionary poem set to Parry's majestic march. A secondary national anthem in England evoking fierce resilience and the triumph of building heaven on earth.
Why it's meaningful: Less about personal grief, more about collective resilience and victory. Sends the congregation out on a triumphant, defiant note.
Best moment: Almost exclusively a recessional. The rousing march requires a strong organ and confident congregation.
Air on the G String
J.S. Bach
Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major. The 'walking bass' line is steady and heartbeat-like, providing order and calm. Written for exactly this kind of solemn occasion.
Why it's meaningful: The bass line acts as a metronome for pallbearers. It brings structure when emotions are chaotic — literally organizing grief into rhythm.
Best moment: Entrance processional. The steady tempo (~60 BPM) matches a dignified walking pace. Duration: ~4-5 minutes.
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Simon & Garfunkel
A secular hymn of support. Dignified, grand, and speaks to the endurance of care. The 'silver girl' verse is often associated with aging gracefully.
Why it's meaningful: Functions as a non-religious hymn of unconditional support. The gospel-influenced piano builds to a cathartic climax.
Best moment: Reflection. Universally known and respected across all demographics.
My Girl
The Temptations
The definitive Motown love song — sunshine on a cloudy day. David Ruffin's tenor makes ordinary devotion feel transcendent.
Why it's meaningful: For daughters, wives, and mothers who were someone's 'sunshine.' The warmth and simplicity capture what it meant to have them in your life.
Best moment: Tribute or slideshow. The iconic bass line creates instant recognition and emotional connection.
Everybody Hurts
R.E.M.
Michael Stipe's direct message to anyone in pain — 'Hold on.' Written deliberately simply so the message couldn't be missed.
Why it's meaningful: At funerals it shifts meaning — not just 'hold on through this grief' but also validation that the deceased's pain is over. Permission to grieve openly.
Best moment: Reflection or tribute. The slow build from whisper to full band mirrors the communal nature of grief.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes Scattering Ashes Songs funeral songs appropriate for memorial services?
Scattering Ashes Songs funeral songs are chosen for memorial services because they resonate emotionally with mourners. These songs often feature themes of remembrance, comfort, and hope that help people process grief while honoring the deceased's life and legacy.
Can I play Scattering Ashes Songs songs during the entire funeral service?
Yes, you can use Scattering Ashes Songs songs throughout the service including processional, during the service, and recessional. However, you may want to mix them with other styles to create emotional variety and keep the atmosphere appropriate for different parts of the memorial.
Which Scattering Ashes Songs songs are most popular for funerals?
The most popular Scattering Ashes Songs funeral songs tend to be those with meaningful lyrics about loss, love, or spiritual peace. Songs that are emotionally resonant, not too fast-paced, and familiar to the congregation work best. Check our curated list above for top recommendations.
Are there any Scattering Ashes Songs songs I should avoid at a funeral?
Avoid songs with overly upbeat tempos that seem inappropriate for mourning, or lyrics that might be offensive or divisive. Consider the deceased's preferences and the family's cultural or religious background when selecting songs.
Can we have live Scattering Ashes Songs musicians at the funeral?
Yes, live musicians are often very meaningful at funerals. Many venues and funeral homes welcome live performers. You may need to coordinate with the funeral home or place of worship, and consider acoustic arrangements rather than amplified versions for a more intimate atmosphere.
How do I choose between popular and lesser-known Scattering Ashes Songs funeral songs?
Both approaches work well. Popular songs help mourners connect emotionally since they may already know them, while lesser-known pieces can feel more personal and unique. Consider mixing both to create a meaningful tribute that feels authentic to who the deceased was.