19 Funeral Songs For Women

“All of the Stars” by Ed Sheeran

Song Year: 2014

“All of the Stars” is the second Ed Sheeran song on our list. It debuted on the soundtrack for the movie The Fault In Our Stars and still carries that emotional weight of grief and love. While made with romantic love in mind, it can be a song for a friend, a sister, or a mother.

It’s a song about distance, and while our loved one is gone, they aren’t far. They’re in our hearts and our minds, and while they aren’t physically beside us, everything they ever did and taught us lingers.

“Marjorie” by Taylor Swift

Song Year: 2020

Taylor Swift wrote this song about her grandmother, who she lost when she was thirteen. “Marjorie” is a song about the lessons the women in our lives teach us, the way their presence lingers and never truly leaves us, and the memories of them that we hold close to our hearts.

It’s especially heart-breaking in the regard of losing a mother or grandmother at a young age, an age when we didn’t think to ask questions and learn lessons. Yet, we feel their presence and know they are still watching over us. 

“You Raise Me Up” by Josh Groban

Song Year: 2009

Josh Groban has a powerful, stunning voice. It’s part of the reason why his song “You Raise Me Up” is popularly used at funerals. Alongside a beautiful piano in the background, the lyrics are about someone who gives strength and power to the singer.

The use of impossible imagery, like standing on mountains and walking on the ocean, gives this song an otherworldly feel. It’s as though our mother, lover, or daughter, even when they're gone, she’s reaching down to us and offering her love and strength even in death.

“Halo” by Beyonce

Song Year: 2009

“Halo” is an uplifting ballad about romantic love and strength, and while it may not be a fitting funeral song for some, if you’re hoping to highlight that love you and your wife, friend, or lover gave you, this is the one.

The imagery of a Halo is stunning, but it’s also the part of them that stays with you wherever you go. You can feel their love even in death, and although it’s painful, having loved so strongly makes us lucky in the end.  

“Ghost of You” by 5 Seconds of Summer

Song Year: 2018

On the opposite end, “Ghost of You” is a heart-wrenching song about losing the woman we loved, seeing their possessions and memories everywhere we go, but not feeling them anymore.

It’s an unimaginable feeling, losing someone we spend every day with, someone we spend every day loving until it happens. Even then, it’s an emotion so challenging to process and endure, and 5 Seconds of Summers captures it in this song.

“In My Daughter’s Eyes” by Martina McBride

Song Year: 2003

Losing a daughter is a pain like no other. “In My Daughter’s Eyes” is a heart-breaking funeral song for a passed-on daughter because it’s centered around a parent’s love and how they see the answer in her eyes every time.

Parents fight through hard times because they have children to keep them strong. Losing that reason and that love is losing a piece of you. Without their presence, it can be difficult to remember a reason to push forward, but they never truly leave. 

“Rivers and Roads” by The Head and The Heart

Song Year: 2010

“Rivers and Roads” is a song about change, but the inevitable moment we see our loved ones again. Whether you’ve lost a beautiful friend or sister, this song is one of acceptance but also a promise. It may take some time, but one day we’ll see them again, even if it’s when we meet our end.

With this song, The Head and The Heart created a beautiful sound that evokes happy tears and uplifts us with the promise of one day being reunited with a person we deeply care for.

“Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac

Song Year: 1975

“Landslide” is a song about the fear of change despite its inevitability. Fleetwood Mac has such a gentle sound that makes for a lovely funeral song, but the lyrics of having the one person who you’ve built a life around and how that’s changed is what makes it about grief.

We not only miss our loved ones, but we’ll miss the life we shared, and we fear the change that is to come. It’s a beautiful yet sorrowful song for a funeral.

“Look After You” by The Fray

Song Year: 2014

“Look After You” is a song that promises to take care of the one they love. The Fray has a voice that evokes such raw emotion, but the main reason this is a funeral song for the woman in our life is that they’re the ones looking after us now.

We would do anything to protect them. Our hearts rot without them because they’re our home, and they’re our reason, but that remains in death. They look after us now because we need a reason to carry on without them. The reason was them and still is.

Best Funeral Songs For Women, Final Thoughts

Losing a wife, a lover, a mother, a daughter, or any woman who held a special place in our hearts is excruciating. The idea of a life without them seems like a life not even worth living. Yet, it’s their strength in life that they passed onto us through death that keeps us moving.

Whether you choose a song that hurts, a song that uplifts, or something else entirely, their funeral will be beautiful.