Memorial guide
Having an original song written for a memorial
The short answer
Yes. Instead of choosing a well-known track, you can have a song written about the person — their name, their habits, the things only your family would know. You provide a few memories, the song is written and recorded from them, and you hear it before deciding whether to use it.
Most memorial music is chosen rather than written. A hymn, a song they played on repeat, something the room will recognise the moment it starts. That is often exactly right, and this guide says so plainly before it says anything else.
But some families want the music itself to be about the person — to hear their name in it, and the phrase they always said. That is what an original song does. Here is how one gets made, what makes it land, and when you should skip it.
Or let us make it for you
Send the photos and we do the rest — an original song written from your memories, cut to the pictures, usually back within the hour.
How an original memorial song gets made
No studio, no musicians to book, and nothing to write yourself — the details you already carry are the raw material.
- 1
Write down what only you would know
Their name and what people actually called them, one habit, one thing they always said, and where you picture them. Specifics are what make a song sound like a person instead of a card.
- 2
Choose the feeling
Gentle and reflective, or warm and grateful. A celebration of life usually wants the second; a funeral service more often wants the first.
- 3
The song is written and recorded
The words are built from your memories and set to music — sung, not spoken, and made for this one person rather than adapted from a template.
- 4
Hear it before you decide
You listen to the finished song first. If it is not right for the service, you have lost nothing but the few minutes it took to describe them.
What makes a memorial song land
Detail beats sentiment. "She kept peppermints in her coat pocket" will do more in a room than any number of lines about love and loss, because everyone there remembers the coat.
One clear image is enough. A song does not need to summarise a life — it needs to make people see one moment properly, and let them fill in the rest themselves.
Say the name. Hearing the person named in the music is the difference most families notice first, and it is the one thing a chosen track can never do.
What to have ready
Five minutes of remembering is genuinely enough. You do not need to write anything polished.
Their name
The one people actually used — "Nana," "Pop," a middle name the family used instead of the first.
A habit
The thing they always did. The chair they sat in, the radio station, the way they answered the phone.
A phrase
Something they said often enough that the family quotes it now.
A place
Where you picture them when you think of them — a kitchen, a workshop, a stretch of coast.
The feeling you want
Whether the room should be quiet and held, or warm and smiling.
When a song they already loved is the better choice
If there is a song the family already associates with them, use it. An original song cannot compete with a track that already carries twenty years of memory, and trying to replace it is usually a mistake.
A written song fits best where there is no obvious existing one — or alongside it. Many families use both: the song they loved for the service itself, and an original song over the photo slideshow or on the memorial page, where the words can do the remembering.
A song with their name in it
If you would like the music to be about them rather than chosen for them, My Video Gift writes an original song from your memories and can set your photos to it. You hear the song first, and decide afterwards.
Common questions
- Can you have a song written for a funeral?
- Yes. An original song is written from details you provide about the person — their name, a habit, a phrase they used — rather than chosen from existing music. It can be played during a photo slideshow, at a reception, or shared on a memorial page.
- What do you need to provide?
- Their name, roughly your relationship, and a few specific memories. You do not need to write lyrics or describe them well — plain details work better than polished ones.
- Is an original song appropriate for a memorial service?
- It can be, though many families place it outside the formal service — over a photo slideshow, during a reception, or on a memorial page — and keep a hymn or a song the person loved for the service itself. If in doubt, ask the funeral director; they will know what the venue and the family expect.
- Can you hear it before committing?
- With My Video Gift, yes — the song is written and played back to you first, so you can decide whether it belongs at the service before spending anything.
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Last updated August 8, 2026 · Written by Adam Kling, founder of My Video Gift. Song and idea suggestions verified July 7, 2026.