Country Music for Funerals

Country music has a sweet, nostalgic sound that works well at funerals – especially if the person who has died was a country and western fan.

Do you need some inspiration? Here are 16 country and western songs that are suitable for a funeral.

Popular country funeral songs

These songs were all big hits in the UK. They mix a modern sound with classic country lyrics about loss and longing.

Lady A – Need You Now

‘Need You Now’ was released in 2009 and reached number 15 on the UK charts. While the lyrics are about the breakup of a relationship, they also express the sorrow and yearning we feel after losing someone special.

Leann Rimes – How Do I Live

‘Without you, there’d be no sun in my sky’, sings Leann Rimes on her top-10 hit ‘How Do I Live’. This classic tale of love and devotion would also make a good country song for a funeral.

Faith Hill – There You’ll Be

In this soaring ballad, Faith Hill sings about losing someone but taking comfort in the thought that they’ll always be in her heart. ‘There You’ll Be’ reached number 3 on the charts in 2001.

The Bellamy Brothers – Let Your Love Flow

Are you looking for uplifting country music funeral songs? ‘Let Your Love Flow’, with its toe-tapping rhythm and positive message, is well worth considering. ‘Let your love fly like a bird on the wing’, they croon, ‘and let your love bind you to all living things’.

Country funeral songs for dad or grandpa

Are you saying goodbye to a close male relative? Here’s our pick of the best country and western funeral songs for dad or grandad.

Loretta Lynn – Coal Miner’s Daughter

Loretta Lynn wrote ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’ for her father. It tells the story of a poor man who worked long, hard nights to make life comfortable for his family.

John Denver – Take Me Home, Country Roads

‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’ has to be one of the most popular country songs to play at a funeral. It’s a singalong classic about going back home to the place you belong.

Gene Autry – That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine

This song is both a tribute to a father and an apology for putting him through hard times. ‘There’s a dear one who’s weathered life’s sorrows. It’s that silver-haired daddy of mine’, sings Autry.

Country funeral songs for mum or grandma

These tunes are all about motherly love or family bonds, so would make ideal country funeral songs for saying goodbye to your mum or grandmother.

The Carter Family – Can the Circle Be Unbroken

Based on an old Christian hymn, ‘Can the Circle Be Unbroken’ is a tragic song about losing a mother. However, it ends on a positive note: ‘There’s a better home awaiting in the sky, Lord, in the sky.’

The Judds – Love Can Build a Bridge

One of The Judds’ best-known tracks, ‘Love Can Build a Bridge’ is a celebration of family and togetherness. It would be particularly poignant as a funeral song because Naomi Judd wrote it to say goodbye when she believed she was dying.

Golden Smog – Please Tell My Brother

As you might have guessed from its title, this song isn’t just meant for mums. But the songwriter makes his feelings clear in the last few lines: ‘Listen, dear mother, I miss you the most’.

Alternative country music for funerals

These songs mix country music with modern styles like indie pop and alternative folk.

Charles Wesley Godwin – Sorry for the Wait

‘Sorry for the Wait’ is sung from the perspective of a man who died in an accident. He promises his partner they’ll be together again one day, but can’t say when. ‘Oh my darlin’, sorry for the wait.’

Zach Bryan – Letting Someone Go

‘Letting Someone Go’ is about the pain of a failed relationship. It would make a good country song for a funeral if you want to acknowledge the difficult times, as well as happy memories.

Tenille Arts – Run Out of You

When a person leaves us, it can be painful to let go of their belongings. Canadian songwriter Tenille Arts explores this subject in ‘Run Out of You’. ‘These feelings, they won’t burn out’, she sings, ‘so I run to what keeps you around’.

Old country funeral songs

Here are a few traditional classics. These sad country songs were all released in the 1940s or 1950s.

The Stanley Brothers – I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow

This powerful folk song was made popular by the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? There are several recordings of this song available - we’ve chosen this energetic 2020 version by Fortune/Walker/Rogers/Isaacs.

Bill Monroe – Blue Moon of Kentucky

Bill Monroe’s tribute to his home state is now the official bluegrass song of Kentucky. It’s a mournful, homesick waltz performed on banjo, fiddle and guitar.

Hank Williams – I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry

This Hank Williams classic has to be one of the saddest country songs ever written. ‘As I wonder where you are’, he sings, ‘I’m so lonesome I could cry’.