I will never forget me and my daughters chosing one for my mums funeral.
It was back in the days when you had to have hymns at the church and i cant remember what they were - abide with me i think but her friend was a church organist so we left the others too him - she was in the local amatuer singers and one of them did a solo (which was in all honesty a bit erm warbly and out of tune i am blessed or often cursed with perfect pitch ) Overall with the exception of Auntie Jessie who started the familly tradition of always wearing bright pink knickers at funerals that demanded black outer wear he friends were very conventional.
My mum was into classical music so for the crem we went through a best of the classics CD we had got her while she was in hospital - a lot of the tunes on it you hear on adverts etc which we didnt want to be reminded by some commercial advert for sofas - so we picked something that sounded a bit Jolly as she was always a cheerful person.
It just had a track number next too it and a title in another language and was vaguely familier and she liked a bit of Handel so we gave the cd to the funeral director with a note with the number.
In between then and the funeral some-one must have very kindly translated the title. Towards the end of the service the vicar anounced we would now listen too "the Arrival of the queen of sheba"
I,m ashamed to say - and thank goodness we were on the front row so no-one could see our faces we started laughing - and in my case that then released a stream of tears as well - which the girls said was fine because my shoulders were shaking but when i finally looked up i was obviousely crying.
The thing was though it was something she used to say about other people - "she turned up and like it was the arrival of the queen of sheba" - "she flounced in like the arrival of the queen of sheba" - she even called one of her boss,es the queen of sheba - but we didnt know where it came from it was just one of the things she used to say.Just writing this and remebering i have that mixed laugh or cry feeling going on.
In the end it didnt matter that we got some very disaproving looks afterwards (except Auntie Jessie who thought it was hilarious) - it didnt matter that we laughed - and the change from that to tears were genuine because it felt almost like she had a hand in us chosing it - to make us laugh - thats what she was like - there were little jokey notes all over the house in tea cups and glasses and under ornaments when we went to sort through her stuff and in a drawer a load of unused presents with a note saying give away but be careful you dont give back to the person who gve me it - and a list - the awful teapot - such a such a person, the stinky talc such and such etc.
I was very careful with the choice at Keiths funeral but by then the hymn rule had been relaxed so chosing was much easier but we narrowly avoided a line in fix you by cold play -His daughter recorded herself singing a christina agualara song she we-wrote the lyrics of. Can you feel my love (Adelle) Everybody hurts REM - but the fix you replacement - some- where only we know by Keane came back to bit me big style when Lilly Allen did the vesion for the John lewis advert.
And now i made the mistake of you tubing it and am sitting in work crying - for goodness sake.I love music but this is why i dont often listen too it.