At Most Brit Funerals, Pop Music Plays You Out

By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 16, 2009 2:07 PM CDT

Frank Sinatra in performance singing "My Way.
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Pop songs are handily beating out traditional hymns in England as the preferred soundtrack for the final goodbye, the Telegraph reports. A survey by a funeral-services company shows that 58% of funerals feature popular music as the top request, versus 35% for hymns; classical grabs just 7%. The top request? Frank Sinatra’s My Way, of course.

Not everything is fair game: The survey also notes that one of 10 requests is rejected by clergy as inappropriate. Still, the trend is unavoidable. A chart-topping cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah recorded just months ago already makes the list. The more adventurous recently deceased have requested Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell and AC/DC’s Highway to Hell for their last hurrah, the AFP adds. (More funeral stories.)

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