Funeral thoughts...

Yesterday was Zak's funeral at St. Mary's Church Attleborough. I arrived 15 minutes early and the place was already full. I stood at the back. The service was simple. His sister read beautifully some readings, the priest did the eulogy and we dutifully sang "All Things Bright and Beautiful" and "Lord of the Dance". The thing that interests me is the choice of pop songs as ways of remembering the deceased. Bev had chosen "Let me Entertain You" to begin with (which failed to play) and "Bicycle Race" by Queen as they exited. I thought both were a fitting choice and gave me a bit of a smile. In Bicycle Race there are a couple of lines that go like this:

You say Rolls I say Royce
You say God give me a choice
You say Lord I say Christ
I don't believe in Peter Pan
Frankenstein or Superman
All I wanna do is

and later...

Cartier I say please
Income tax I say Jesus
I don't want to be a candidate for
Vietnam or Watergate
'Cos all I wanna do is

I love the song and the group but I was wondering as it was playing, is it actually suitable to be played at a funeral with two instances of blasphemy and a drugs reference? I'm guessing the answer was yes but all the same it felt odd to be in God's house with His name being taken in vain. And what if it had been a rap or RnB song with swearing? I guess it's going to be an increasing problem and I'm glad I don't have to make those calls. What I shall take away with me is the memory of all the people from cycling clubs who came in their lycra cycling outfits. It was a fitting tribute...