Songs to say goodbye

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What are the best lyrics and songs ever written about death? You can interpretate this the way you want.


IMO no song comes even close to "Wings for Marie/10000 Days" by Tool. The song was written about singer Maynard James Keenan's mother Judith Marie who died after spending 27 years (approx 10000 days) paralysed after a stroke. She, despite that, never lost her faith in god and Maynard wrote the lyrics from her religious perspective. Very emotional song, the way he portraits her is incredibly intense. I never heard another "farewell" song that even comes close.


You...
You believed ...
You believed in movements none could see.
You believed in me

A passionate spirit
Uncompromised
Boundless and open
A light in your eyes
Then immobilized.

Broken
Fell at the hands of those movements that I wouldn't see
Yet it was you who prayed for me.
So what have I done
To be a son to an angel?
What have I done
To be worthy?

Daylight dims leaving cold fluorescents
Difficult to see you in this light
Please forgive this selfish question, but
What am I to say to all these ghouls tonight?
"She never told a lie,
... well might have told a lie,
But never lived one.
Didn't have a life,
Didn't have a life,
But surely saved one."
See? I'm alright
Now it's time for us to let you go.

Listen to the tales and romanticize,
How we'd follow the path of the hero.
Boast about the day when the rivers overrun.
How we rise to the height of our halo.

Listen to the tales as we all rationalize
Our way into the arms of the savior,
Feigning all the trials and the tribulations;
None of us have actually been there.
Not like you.

Ignorant siblings in the congregation
Gather around spewing sympathy,
Spare me.
None of them can even hold a candle up to you.
Blinded by choice, these hypocrites won't see.

But, enough about the collective Judas.
Who could deny you were the one who
Illuminated your little piece of the divine?

And this little light of mine, a gift you passed on to me;
I'm gonna let it shine to guide you safely on your way,
Your way home ...

Oh, what are they going to do when the lights go down
Without you to guide them all to Zion?
What are they going to do when the rivers overrun
Other than tremble incessantly?

High is the way, but all eyes are upon the ground.
You were the light and the way they'll only read about.
I only pray, Heaven knows when to lift you out.
Ten thousand days in the fire is long enough;
You're going home.

You're the only one who can hold your head up high,
Shake your fists at the gates saying:
"I've come home now!
Fetch me the spirit, the son, and the father.
Tell them their pillar of faith has ascended.
It's time now!
My time now!
Give me my, give me my wings!"

You are the light and way that they will only read about.

Set as I am in my ways and my arrogance,
(With the) burden of proof tossed upon the believers.
You were my witness, my eyes, my evidence,
Judith Marie, unconditional one.

Daylight dims leaving cold fluorescents.
Difficult to see you in this light.
Please forgive this bold suggestion, but
Should you see your Maker's face tonight,
Look Him in the eye, look Him in the eye, and tell Him:
"I never lived a lie, never took a life, but surely saved one.
Hallelujah, it's time for you to bring me home."



The entire song takes 18 minutes but it is intense enough to keep the listener concentrated throughout the whole song.

The first half of Bohemian Rhapsody appears to be about a guy about to be executed.

Tim

This is not lyrics that a band has written about saying goodbye.
Its a video that two parents made about there son's death.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th6Njr-qkq0[/youtube]

"Angel" - Sarah McLaughlin. A lot of people don't seem to realize it, but the song is about suicide.

"Hello" - Evanescence. It's about the death of Amy Lee's younger sister.

Hurt - Johnny Cash

One - Metallica

Today - Smashing Pumpkins

Megadeth- A Tout Le Monde

Green Day - Good Riddance

I actually don't know what the lyrics to this song mean. I assume they mean something to do with saying goodbye to someone.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLHq7rgHOLk[/youtube]

You beat me to it; Hurt.

Stare at the Sun- Blaze (Blaze Bayley)

I chose Sorgens Kammer (Chambers of Sorrow) by Dimmu Borgir.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JOPI8eQ6VM[/youtube]

The song is in Norwegian, so the lyrics don't sound as good when you translate them, but basically what it says is:

The echoes of silence set the hour.
Gagged with the chains of depression, I fall away.
No longer I want to be bolted to the anchor of sadness.
But finally get my longing fulfilled - for leaving.

Did I drink too much from the goblet of life?
Did I take the joy of vanity for granted?
For my battle against the pain of emptiness - this intoxication of the angst of death,
Is the only thing left - that is mine.

In my loneliness I always know,
That I have no other to thank but myself.
This is why I remain calm,
As the rope is tightening around my neck.

Silent witnesses can not give comfort.
The common man in the assembly of the funeral choir will never see
The land of perdition
I created with my own hands.

This intense pull toward the portals of death
A wandering study in a tearful mass.
Controlled since the dawn of time,
But something I could never let go - was the sorrow

I think the music definitely fits the lyrics, it gives off a dark vibe. Maybe this isn't the best song for when somebody else dies, but it is definitely the bet song to hang yourself by if you speak Norwegian.

"Good riddance" by Green Day was a goodbye anthem to someone Billy Joe knew and who was leaving the US to move to Ecuador. He was sad of seeing her move that far away but still wished her well. It was a sort of "bon voyage" song.

Of course you can interpretate it with death if you wish so and interpretate the lyrics differently.

Another good track about death is "A place nearby" by Lene Marlin.

Could "My immortal" by Evanescence be about death?

Ooops, sorry. Didn't read the first post.

I think so. "Hello" is about her epileptic sister dying, anyway. ("Like You" is a sequel of sorts to "Hello.")

Unto Ashes have a really great cover of Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear The Reaper." They turn it into a really sad song, works as a goodbye song. They have it on their myspace: http://www.myspace.com/untoashes