10 Songs About Death That Help When Words Fail

There's a reason people play songs at funerals: Music is a helpful way — sometimes the only way — to deal with overwhelming grief. When the pain is too much and there are no words to explain it, there will be a song that already did that for you.

Some of the greatest musicians and lyricists of all time have tackled the heavy subjects of dying, death, and grief. In some cases, they were inspired by actual tragedy and loss in their own lives, while in others, they seem to have come to lyrical realizations about the nature of loss completely by accident.

Not all of them might be appropriate to play at a loved one's funeral, but they can definitely help get you through quiet moments when the grief and sadness are too much. From painful to poignant to hopeful, here are 10 songs about death that help when words fail.

If the meaning of My Chemical Romance's "Welcome to the Black Parade" needed to be any clearer, it was originally titled "The Five of Us Are Dying." The lyrics show the character of the Patient from their concept album "The Black Parade" reflecting on a childhood memory as he dies. And if anyone missed that point, the video puts it into tragic visuals. 

The title song of an album full of sad songs and dark thoughts, it managed to find a glint of hope in the darkness, insisting repeatedly and with increasing intensity that "we'll carry on."

While this song was originally used as a B-side for the much more famous "Wonderwall," Noel Gallagher says "The Masterplan" is the best one he has ever written. 

Not known for writing tunes with much meaning, Gallagher admits this one's lyrics do have something deeper, telling Melody Maker, "I suppose it's about people's fear of growing old ... Well you know, all we know is that we don't know. You know if you wanna dance, dance. If you don't, don't. I suppose it's saying that there is no master plan" (via Oasis Recording Information). 

That's a sentiment anyone thinking about death, whether imminent or decades away, can relate to.

Originally from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "Carousel," this song is now best known as the anthem of the English soccer team Liverpool FC. The lyrics encourage someone left behind after a loved one dies to keep going and not give up, suggesting that the person who died will be right there beside them in spirit.

"You'll Never Walk Alone" has proven it can touch people who are hurting, as it is often sung by mourners after terrible tragedies, such as the Bradford City stadium fire and the Hillsborough disaster, as well as a new version topping the U.K. charts during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.

What starts out as a seemingly joyful, almost pop-sounding song quickly turns more serious, asking listeners to contemplate the fact that we are all going to die. But the Flaming Lips' "Do You Realize??" refuses to wallow in the sadness that realization could bring, instead encouraging people to appreciate their loved ones now, while there is still time.

Lead vocalist Wayne Coyne told The Guardian, "We would meet people who told us about playing 'Do You Realize??' when their mother was dying in the hospital or their brother had been in a car accident ... We're so grateful, lucky, and blown away to have one of those songs that people play at heavy, heavy times, the heaviest you can endure."

This hit song by Eric Clapton was inspired by a sad true story, which makes the lyrics and emotion of "Tears in Heaven" that much more affecting. In 1991, Clapton's 4-year-old son died when he accidentally fell out of a 53rd-story window.

Clapton began writing the song when the pain was still raw. "I almost subconsciously used music for myself as a healing agent, and lo and behold, it worked," Clapton told ABC News.

Anyone who has lost a child or loved one too soon can understand the song on a deeper level, but everyone can relate to the poignant sentiment that comes through in every note.

Mourning is complicated, and it's said that one of the stages of grief is anger. For anyone feeling rage at the unfairness of the universe after losing a loved one, the Rolling Stones wrote the perfect song. The lyrics of "Paint It, Black" seem to be written from the perspective of a man who has lost his lover and wants everyone and everything in the world to be in as dark a place as he is, both literally and figuratively.

It wasn't written to be that way on purpose, though: The Stones wrote the song as a joke. Regardless of their intent, many people drew solace from the inadvertent meaning.

Not only do the lyrics of Queen's "The Show Must Go On" emphasize trying to carry on in the face of imminent death, but the song was written and recorded while Freddie Mercury was in that exact situation. 

Queen guitarist Brian May told The Express, "We didn't discuss what the meaning of the song was, but ... it was an attempt to give a voice to the feelings that Freddie's valiant fight against AIDS created in all of us, and even in Freddie."

May was worried Mercury was too unwell to belt out the vocals like he used to, but the dying man gave it everything and nailed the recording.

While the lyrics of "Candle in the Wind" are full of specifics about Marilyn Monroe's life and death, the song's meaning goes beyond that. Lyricist Bernie Taupin wasn't even a huge fan of the actress. He explained, "It's not that I didn't have a respect for her; it's just that the song could just as easily have been about James Dean or Jim Morrison ... Kurt Cobain. It's a beauty frozen in time" (via the official Elton John website).

In 1997, the untimely death of Diana, Princess of Wales, shocked and grieved a new generation. Elton John sang an updated version of "Candle in the Wind" at Princess Diana's televised funeral, moving millions of mourners to tears.

The Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men envisioned the deceptively upbeat "Little Talks" as a ghost story. "We kind of had in mind the people that lived in my house, because I moved into a very, very old house," Nanna Hilmarsdóttir told USA Today. "They had lived their lives there, and the woman had just passed away. It's a conversation, and maybe one person isn't really hearing the other one."

The lyrical back-and-forth between the two singers describes an undying love as well as the complicated feelings involved in mourning, and that come with inhabiting a space full of memories of a deceased loved one.

Celine Dion has known plenty of tragedy in her life, and in 1997 she belted out one of the biggest tunes ever, one that helped others dealing with the loss of a loved one.

Written for the film "Titanic," the lyrics of "My Heart Will Go On" reflect the loss Rose feels for the rest of her life after Jack dies, even in her moments of happiness and adventure. It strikes the right tone between grief and undying love, with soaring vocals and swelling emotion, making it a popular song to play at funerals.