Funeral songs for the older generation: hymns, wartime and post-war favourites
Someone born between the 1920s and the 1940s learnt their hymns at school assembly, grew up with the wireless in wartime, and danced to the bands of the 1950s. Many of the mourners are the same age and still know those tunes by heart. This guide covers that music, and how a choir helps older voices sing it.
What are good funeral songs for the older generation? Start with the hymns they learnt at school: The Lord’s My Shepherd to Crimond, Abide with Me, and The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, Is Ended. Add a song from their youth, such as We’ll Meet Again, Moon River, or Danny Boy, and Elgar’s Nimrod for someone who served in the forces.
Abide With Me, sung by our full choir. Hear more recordings.
For songs chosen across all ages, see the most popular funeral songs; for where hymns sit in a service, the most popular funeral hymns.
Hymns learnt at school and church
Most children at school before the 1960s started the day with a hymn at assembly, so an older congregation can sing these without reading each line.
The Lord’s My Shepherd. Psalm 23 from the Scottish Psalter of 1650, sung to Crimond, and sung at Princess Elizabeth’s wedding in 1947. Four singers give the room the harmony it remembers. Our guide to The Lord’s My Shepherd covers its words and tunes.
Abide with Me. Henry Francis Lyte’s hymn of 1847, sung to William Henry Monk’s Eventide. Crowds have sung it before the FA Cup Final since 1927, so a football fan knows it from Wembley too. See our guide to Abide with Me.
The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, Is Ended. John Ellerton’s evening hymn of 1870, sung to St Clement. A gentle last hymn about evening and rest.
O God, Our Help in Ages Past. Isaac Watts’s version of Psalm 90, published in 1719 and sung to William Croft’s St Anne. It is sung at the National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph, which makes it a natural choice for someone who served.
Dear Lord and Father of Mankind. John Greenleaf Whittier’s words to Hubert Parry’s Repton, for a reflective point mid-service. Repton repeats and lifts the last line of each verse, and a choir carries that climb for voices that no longer reach it.
All Things Bright and Beautiful. Cecil Frances Alexander wrote it for children in 1848, and for many of this age it was the first hymn they learnt. It suits a gardener, and great-grandchildren can join in.
Eternal Father, Strong to Save. William Whiting’s words of 1860 to John Bacchus Dykes’s Melita. The Royal Navy has sung it since the nineteenth century, and it was sung at Prince Philip’s funeral in 2021. Choose it for someone who served at sea.
I Vow to Thee, My Country. Cecil Spring Rice’s words to Thaxted, Holst’s tune from “Jupiter” in The Planets, for someone who served in the forces or in public life. The tune climbs high in its second half, where a choir takes the lead.
Wartime songs
For someone born in the 1920s or 1930s, these were the songs of their youth. Most families play the original recording; a choir of four can sing one in close harmony.
We’ll Meet Again. Ross Parker and Hughie Charles wrote it in 1939, and Vera Lynn, the “Forces’ Sweetheart”, recorded it that September. It makes a gentle last song, and an older congregation will sing the chorus from memory.
The White Cliffs of Dover. Walter Kent wrote the music and Nat Burton the words in 1941; Vera Lynn’s recording of 1942 made it famous in Britain. It looks forward to peace and home.
A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square. Manning Sherwin’s music and Eric Maschwitz’s words, sung by Judy Campbell in the London revue New Faces in 1940. A wartime love song for a couple who met during or just after the war.
Lili Marlene. Hans Leip wrote the poem in 1915 and Norbert Schultze set it in 1938. Lale Andersen’s recording reached troops on both sides of the war.
Keep the Home Fires Burning. Ivor Novello’s tune of 1914, to words by Lena Guilbert Ford. A First World War song this generation learnt from their parents.
Dance-band, music-hall, and post-war favourites
After the war came the dance halls, the film musicals, and the Light Programme. These are pieces to listen to, played as a recording or sung live.
Moonlight Serenade. Glenn Miller’s tune, recorded with his orchestra in 1939. Most people know it as an instrumental, so an organist or pianist can play it as people leave.
Unforgettable. Irving Gordon wrote it in 1951 and Nat King Cole recorded it that year. It suits a long marriage.
Que Sera, Sera. Jay Livingston and Ray Evans wrote it for Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much; Doris Day’s 1956 recording reached number one in Britain. It can bring a smile.
Moon River. Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer wrote it for Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), and Andy Williams made it his own in 1962. The slow waltz suits a choir.
Edelweiss. Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II wrote it for The Sound of Music (1959).
What a Wonderful World. Bob Thiele and George David Weiss wrote it for Louis Armstrong, whose recording topped the UK chart in 1968.
Danny Boy. Frederic Weatherly’s words, published in 1913 to the Irish tune the Londonderry Air. A choir can sing it in harmony, or a tenor with organ. At a Catholic Mass, ask the priest where it can go.
Keep Right On to the End of the Road. The music-hall star Harry Lauder wrote it with William Dillon after his son John was killed in 1916, and published it in 1924. Birmingham City have used it as their anthem since 1956.
Nimrod and Remembrance
Nimrod, the ninth of Elgar’s Enigma Variations (1899), is played at the Cenotaph at the National Service of Remembrance each November. Our organist can play it as the coffin leaves. For a Remembrance thread through the service, pair it with O God, Our Help in Ages Past, and ask the local Royal British Legion branch whether a standard bearer can attend.
Helping a congregation of older voices sing
Many people in their eighties have sung in church all their lives. In a cold chapel, grieving people find the first line hard to start.
Lower keys. Some hymn books print tunes in keys that sit high for an older congregation. We can take a hymn down a tone so the top notes come within reach; tell us when you send the hymn list.
Steady tempos and fewer verses. A steady pace gives people time to breathe and read. Leave out a verse or two of a long hymn, and mark the verses you want in the order of service so the organist, choir, and congregation follow one plan.
Large-print words. Print the words large, in a plain typeface, with each verse set apart. People then need not juggle a hymn book and glasses in poor light.
A choir that leads. A small choir sings out the tune from the first note. People who can no longer sing out still hear the melody and can join in under their breath.
Small chapels and care homes
Some funerals are small: a crematorium chapel with thirty people, or a short service in the care home where the person lived. Four singers suit both. In a crematorium slot, two hymns and a recording on the way out fit the time. In a care home, the choir can lead two familiar hymns with the home’s piano, or unaccompanied if there is none.
Mixing a recording with live hymns
Some songs belong to one voice: Vera Lynn’s We’ll Meet Again, or Sinatra’s My Way. Play those as recordings and have the choir lead the hymns live. Vera Lynn suits the moment people leave. Give the track to the crematorium or funeral director a few days ahead, and tell us where it falls.
While people arrive and take their seats, the organist plays quiet music. The choir comes in with the first hymn.
What a choir costs
In Greater London, for up to two hours including a rehearsal, a Small Choir of four costs £1,150, or £1,400 with an organist. For a smaller service, a soloist with an organist costs £550. Outside Greater London we quote travel on top, and there is no VAT to add. See our pricing page and our funerals page. For a thanksgiving service weeks later, see memorial service songs and hymns.
Sources (Wikipedia): We’ll Meet Again; The White Cliffs of Dover; A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square; Lili Marleen; Ivor Novello; Moonlight Serenade; Unforgettable; Que Sera, Sera; Moon River; Edelweiss; What a Wonderful World; Danny Boy; Harry Lauder; Eternal Father, Strong to Save; O God, Our Help in Ages Past; Enigma Variations; Vera Lynn.
Frequently asked questions
What are good funeral songs for an elderly person?
Hymns they learnt at school, such as The Lord’s My Shepherd and Abide with Me, sit well beside a song from their youth: We’ll Meet Again, Moon River, or Danny Boy. For someone who served, add Elgar’s Nimrod on the organ.
What wartime songs are played at funerals?
We’ll Meet Again (Ross Parker and Hughie Charles, 1939) was in Co-op Funeralcare’s 2025 top ten of funeral music, most often in Vera Lynn’s recording. The White Cliffs of Dover, A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square, and Lili Marlene also suit someone who lived through the Second World War.
Which hymns will an older congregation know?
An older congregation is likely to know The Lord’s My Shepherd to Crimond, Abide with Me, O God, Our Help in Ages Past, and All Things Bright and Beautiful. Eternal Father, Strong to Save and I Vow to Thee, My Country suit someone who served.
How can we help an older congregation sing at a funeral?
Ask for the hymns in a lower key, keep a steady tempo, drop a verse from long hymns, and print the words large. A small choir sings out the tune from the first note, so people who can no longer sing out still hear the melody.
Can we play a Vera Lynn recording and have live hymns?
Yes. Play Vera Lynn’s We’ll Meet Again as people leave and have a choir lead the hymns live. Give the track to the crematorium or funeral director a few days ahead, and tell us where it falls in the service.
How much does a choir cost for a funeral?
In Greater London, a Small Choir of four costs £1,150, or £1,400 with an organist, for up to two hours including a rehearsal. There is no VAT to add, and we quote travel on top outside Greater London. See our pricing page.
Ask us about a choir for the service
Send us the hymns and songs you have in mind, with the venue and date. We’ll suggest keys and verses that suit the congregation, and give you a price.
Text us on WhatsApp for the fastest reply, or email office@londonchoralservice.com.