Explore 22 funeral songs tagged as "soul". Each song has been carefully curated to help you create a meaningful memorial service.
by Donny Hathaway
Donny Hathaway's soul masterpiece expressing deep love and gratitude, with raw vocals and intimate piano arrangement.
Why it's meaningful: One of the most personal and vulnerable R&B songs ever recorded, celebrating profound love that transcends time.
Best moment: Perfect for honoring deep love and connection with spouse or parent.
by Ben E. King
Ben E. King's soul classic about steadfast support through darkness and uncertainty.
Why it's meaningful: The promise to stand by someone no matter what honors relationships built on unwavering loyalty and support.
Best moment: Perfect for honoring sisters, brothers, or anyone who stood by you.
by Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke's civil rights anthem about perseverance through hardship, with sweeping orchestration and hopeful message.
Why it's meaningful: Written shortly before Cooke's death, this honors those who fought for justice and believed in better days ahead.
Best moment: Powerful for activists, civil rights advocates, or those who persevered through injustice.
by Bill Withers
Bill Withers' gospel-influenced soul anthem about mutual support and community, with simple piano and powerful message.
Why it's meaningful: Celebrates relationships built on reciprocal support, honoring those who were there for others and let others be there for them.
Best moment: Perfect for community leaders or those who built strong support networks.
by 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.
by Ray Charles
Ray Charles' soulful jazz interpretation of Hoagy Carmichael's standard, with lush orchestration and yearning vocals.
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.
by Al Green
Al Green's smooth soul about commitment and enduring love, with his distinctive falsetto and warm arrangement.
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.
by Gladys Knight & the Pips
Gladys Knight's soul classic about leaving dreams behind to return home, with powerful vocals and train rhythm.
Why it's meaningful: The journey back home represents the soul's final journey to where they truly belong.
Best moment: For Georgia natives or honoring the journey home to rest.
by Etta James
Etta James' heart-wrenching blues about preferring blindness to watching someone leave, with raw emotional power.
Why it's meaningful: The devastating honesty about not wanting to witness loss makes this a powerful expression of grief for departed lovers.
Best moment: Intensely emotional choice for honoring spouses or great loves.
by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes
Classic Philadelphia soul about the depth of long-term love and understanding, with Teddy Pendergrass' passionate vocals.
Why it's meaningful: Honors long marriages where partners truly knew each other, celebrating decades of intimate knowledge and understanding.
Best moment: Beautiful for long-term spouses who deeply understood each other.
by The Impressions
Curtis Mayfield's gospel-soul classic about preparing for a spiritual journey, with train metaphor for heaven.
Why it's meaningful: The gentle gospel message of boarding the train to glory offers comfort that the deceased has begun their spiritual journey.
Best moment: Perfect for Christian funerals with soul music appreciation.
by The Spinners
The Spinners' gentle soul promise to be available whenever needed, with smooth harmonies.
Why it's meaningful: The promise to always be around offers comfort that the deceased's spirit remains accessible.
Best moment: Comforting for honoring those who were always there for others.
by The Temptations
The Temptations' melancholic soul about dreams and longing, with lush arrangement and wistful vocals.
Why it's meaningful: The acknowledgment that happiness was perhaps imagined honors both dreams and difficult realities.
Best moment: For honoring dreamers or acknowledging complicated, idealized relationships.
by Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder's joyful celebration of finally finding true love, with exuberant vocals and brass.
Why it's meaningful: Celebrates the joy someone brought into our lives, honoring relationships that finally felt right.
Best moment: Uplifting choice for celebrating love that completed someone's life.
by Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye's spiritual R&B meditation on divine love from his album "What's Going On," blending soul with sacred themes.
Why it's meaningful: Gaye's smooth vocals and spiritual message offer comfort in believing that divine love transcends death.
Best moment: For families of faith who appreciate soul music's spiritual roots.
by Lenny Welch
Soulful blues ballad about love and loss, with orchestral arrangement and emotionally raw vocals.
Why it's meaningful: The vulnerability in expressing how much someone meant creates a powerful tribute to deep romantic love.
Best moment: Beautiful for honoring spouses or profound romantic relationships.
by Gladys Knight & the Pips
Gladys Knight's emotional ballad about not wanting to say goodbye even when it's time, with aching vocals.
Why it's meaningful: Captures the specific pain of not being ready to let go, honoring the difficulty of accepting inevitable loss.
Best moment: For sudden losses or relationships where there wasn't enough time to prepare.
by Luther Vandross
Luther Vandross' cover of the Carpenters classic, with soulful vocals expressing longing and loneliness.
Why it's meaningful: The yearning to be reunited with someone far away captures the ache of separation by death.
Best moment: Beautiful for honoring those who felt larger than life or expressing deep longing.
by Bill Withers
Bill Withers' funky soul about accepting a complicated, imperfect relationship with blues-tinged honesty.
Why it's meaningful: Honors complex relationships where love persisted despite complications, acknowledging imperfect but real connection.
Best moment: For honoring complicated but genuine relationships.
by Minnie Riperton
Minnie Riperton's gentle soul ballad about walking down memory lane and cherishing beautiful moments from the past.
Why it's meaningful: Riperton's five-octave voice and tender delivery make this a perfect tribute to cherished memories and beautiful souls.
Best moment: Reflection moments or photo tribute slideshows.
by Smokey Robinson
Smokey Robinson's smooth soul ballad expressing the deep ache of missing someone, with his signature silky vocals.
Why it's meaningful: Robinson's tender delivery captures the specific pain of absence - the daily moments when you reach for someone who's gone.
Best moment: For honoring close relationships and the ongoing grief of missing someone.
by Billy Paul
Billy Paul's smooth soul ballad about forbidden love and secret meetings, with orchestral Philadelphia soul arrangement.
Why it's meaningful: While about an affair, it honors complicated love stories and relationships that existed outside conventional boundaries.
Best moment: For honoring complex, unconventional, or private relationships.