Appropriate acoustic song for celebration of life

[sstaylor58]

So I am supposed to play a song (or two)at my mother-in-laws celebration of life. She passed away a few weeks ago at age 80. I am having a hard time coming up with one or two appropriate songs (not too maudlin). Any thoughts would be appreciated. My skills are mid range...thanks in advance for the help.

[brad2001]

I can't do it but if I could "What a Wonderful World" ..

[lt20dbl]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IjRFhQmfWo8

[dgt178]

......."Three Wooden Crosses"......Randy Travis.......

[lt20dbl]

That was Iris Dement's version but I originally learned 50 miles of elbow room off of a recording of Norman and Nancy Blake. I find it very inspiring.

[Brucebubs]

'In My Life' - The Beatles

[Nyghthawk]

Let it Be would be my first thought.

[AZLiberty]

So... I don't know you, and I didn't know your MIL. Thus what would be appropriate lacks any context.

For my father, who loved to fish, I might chose Safe in the Harbour by Stan Rogers. For my Aunt I might pick Edelweiss.

Apparently in the UK these days the #1 song for such things is Monty Python's Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, which IMHO is just ODD.

Amazing Grace?

Somewhere Over the Rainbow?

[Basalt Beach]

There are quite a few John Denver songs which may be appropriate as well as Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah - perhaps look through her music collection, you might find one of her favorites.

[Crackedtop]

Originally Posted by Nyghthawk

Let it Be would be my first thought.

I'm close!
My first thought, was " Here Comes The Sun"
* Fun to play and sing, my duo's ' all-purpose happy song!'

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by sstaylor58

So I am supposed to play a song (or two) at my mother-in-law's celebration of life...My skills are mid range...

"Who Will Sing for Me" - typical three-chord bluegrass-gospel tune that I've heard on a couple of similar occasions...

[JayBee1404]

Originally Posted by AZLiberty

For my father, who loved to fish, I might chose Safe in the Harbour by Stan Rogers.

For the sake of accuracy, 'Safe In The Harbour' was written and performed by Eric Bogle as a tribute to Stan Rogers after Stan's untimely death.

You may be confusing it with Stan's own song, 'Free In The Harbour', about the problems of the fishing community in Newfoundland.

[Acousticado]

All I can suggest is that imo, any songs should be from her era. Hopefully you can determine what songs may have been special to her. Good luck...good on ya for doing it!

[The Bard Rocks]

I would first think of songs she especially liked, ones that meant a lot to her.

There are plenty that are good for us, like "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?". At my mother's funeral, one that we did was "Just a Closer Walk with Thee". Explaining myself before I started, I did it New Orleans style, slow at first, like a dirge, like you'd hear in church. That represented the walk to the cemetery. Then, representing the party and the life afterward, I played the last verses "hot" -and how the audience's faces broke into smiles and enthusiasm.