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The question

What song would you want played at your funeral?

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

A fixed Guardian Q&A prompt asked directly across respondents and years.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Ed O'Brien

Guitarist

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here
I sang in Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem in a choir as a kid. The final movement, In Paradisum, is one of the most beautiful, seemingly simple pieces of music. So I’ll have that, please.

The Guardian, Honest playlist, The Guardian, 31 May 2026 source ↗

Others on this question

View all 178 →
Harriet Walter English actress
I went to a funeral where they played Cheek To Cheek: Fred Astaire singing “Heaven. I’m in heaven… ” Everyone smiled. I’d like that.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 December 2017 source ↗
Emilia Fox English actress and presenter
I would like the poem Cherish by Raymond Carver. It was read by my dad at my wedding, and is my absolute favourite.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 October 2018 source ↗

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