Losing someone

Whenever we lose someone important to us, we look to music, to soothe our pain. There something magical about music, that meets our sadness with even more sadness to make us feel better.

Also no mourning ceremony would be complete without the fitting music. Because everyone knows what it’s like to lose somebody, pop music is a magnificent resource for songs about loss. Not even Rock Stars of world fame are excluded from this form of suffering.

Coming up is a list of our favourite songs about loss, grief and suffering. The list is compiled by a survey, commissioned by a German funeral service.

Maroon 5 – Memories

The song by Maroon 5 stormed the charts in various countries in an instant. It’s message is quite vague and everybody can feel addressed who suffered any kind of loss. The singer describes the situation, when a person who misses someone brings out a toast in memory of the person missing.

Maybe the song works so well with a huge audience, because it uses the timeless musical concepts of Johan Pachebels Canon in D:

Playing to Rock Song Memories luckily is a lot simpler than playing Pachebel, since Maronn 5’s Memories chords are not that complicated.

Helene Fischer – Die Rose

Reinterpreting Bettie Midlers epic song „the rose” Helene Fischer gives this long time classic a new twist and puts all her emotions into it. Her Song is a song to lost love and appeals by its emotional lyrics to its audience.

Elton John – Candle in the wind – England’s Rose

Elton Johns Song “Candle in the Wind”, that he wrote in 1973, was already a classic. But it became an unforgettable song, when Elton John performed a slightly altered version for the funeral of Lady Diana Spencer – Lady Di in 1997.

After this performance his “England’s Rose” Version quickly rose to the international charts and is now one of the most sold singles world wide.

Enya – Only time

The song released Irish Singer, Songwriter and musician Enya in November 2000 – not knowing how quickly it would become associated with the attacks of September 11th, 2001. The song from the album “A day without rain” was widely used for the media coverage on the attacks. Enya donated her earnings from the sales of the single to the Uniform Firefighters Association's Widows' and Children's Fund to support the families of firefighters after 9/11.

Frank Sinatra – My Way

No remake, no “cover” – this version is still so good it moves everyone who hears the song even after 50 years. Unlike popular reception, Frank Sinatra is not the original interpret of My Way – it is a cover of the French chanson “Comme d’habitude.”

Sinatras colleague, Canadian singer and musician Paul Anka heard the French chanson and wrote the English version for his friend Sinatra in an effort to make him continue his career as a singer, when he planned to retire due to continued accuses of ties to the American mafia.

Although the Song is hugely popular with audiences up to today, Sinatra didn’t actually like it and tried to avoid performing it – in his eyes the song doesn’t live up to his high standards.

Sarah Brightman – Time to say goodbye

Together with her duet partner Andrea Bocelli Sarah Brightman was awarded 15 platin-LP for her work of the classic “Time to say goodbye” song, that is used in a variety of events, from funerals to sporting events.

The original song was called “Con te partirò” and was composed in 1996 by Italian songwriter Lucio Quarantotto, but was rather unsuccessful, until Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli were asked to perform the slightly altered song – for a boxing bout between Henry Maske and Virgil Hill.

After the prize match between the heavy weights, the sales of the single shot through the roof and reached between 40.000 and 60.000 sales each day in Germany until the end of 1996.