Townes Van Zandt & Gillian Welch

June 20, 2024 1:02 PM

Fans of Townes Van Zandt or of Gillian Welch: please recommend songs by these artists for a funeral.

My daughter who recently killed herself left a note requesting songs by TVZ and GW be played at her funeral (which is in about a month). I am completely unfamiliar with these artists. Please request songs that would be appropriate (and any that would be inappropriate).

posted by neuron to Media & Arts (20 answers total)

Emmylou Harris’s cover of Welch’s *Orphan Girl* would be great IF the intended audience is ok with traditional notions of seeing one’s friends and family in the afterlife.
posted by carterk at 1:05 PM on June 20 [2 favorites]

I'm so so sorry.

Hard Times by Gillian Welch should fit the bill, I think.

https://youtu.be/0Lwr1aW6jr8?si=H9lfVX1HRCrrk1z9

There are others. Let me think about it.
posted by kbanas at 1:06 PM on June 20 [3 favorites]

Didn’t read your whole message before posting- I’m so sorry you’re going through this
posted by carterk at 1:07 PM on June 20

Also, I Had a Real Good Mother and Father by Gillian Welch.
posted by kbanas at 1:09 PM on June 20 [5 favorites]

Also, I'm Not Afraid to Die by Gillian Welch

Ok. That's enough from me. Again, I'm very sorry for your loss.
posted by kbanas at 1:14 PM on June 20

Gillian Welch’s songs are mostly iconically tragic and sad, but only you can say what’s going to be appropriate. Time (the Revelator) might be a less triggering choice.
posted by rikschell at 1:47 PM on June 20 [11 favorites]

I'm so very sorry for your loss. This one has a bit of a religious message, which may or may not be appropriate, but it's a great song -- I'll Fly Away by Gillian Welch & Alison Kraus
posted by bobafet at 1:47 PM on June 20 [12 favorites]

I am deeply sorry for your loss. As rikschell says, Gillian Welch's songs can be hard. Dear Someone and One Little Song might strike the right tone.
posted by TrarNoir at 2:00 PM on June 20

Welch's cover of Radiohead's Black Star maybe? Very sorry for your loss.
posted by crocomancer at 2:27 PM on June 20 [1 favorite]

Some Townes options:

To Live Is To Fly
I'll Be Here In the Morning
No Lonesome Tune

Don't You take It Too Bad This last one could go either way possibly, the last verse isn't maybe quite right.
posted by dpx.mfx at 2:40 PM on June 20 [2 favorites]

I am so, so sorry.

"I Dream a Highway" is a long song, close to 15 minutes, but I would recommend it. "Revelator" and "Dear Someone" from the same album may also work.
posted by kensington314 at 3:50 PM on June 20 [3 favorites]

"At My Window" by Townes Van Zandt is a song I'd like played at my funeral.
posted by maupuia at 4:07 PM on June 20 [2 favorites]

I was going to suggest I Dream A Highway if you have a section of the ceremony where people are doing a thing that doesn't involve words as it is a long and beautiful song.
posted by kokaku at 4:45 PM on June 20 [1 favorite]

It’s difficult with Townes because so many of his songs are so sad, and I’m not sure what’s appropriate for your situation. But I love the song No Place To Fall.
posted by Ted Maul at 2:01 AM on June 21

I second "To Live is to Fly" by Townes Van Zandt but would add that the version from his live album Rear View Mirror is especially beautiful. Just Townes, a guitar and a fiddle. I listened to that album on repeat in the weeks after my brother died by suicide. I am so sorry for your loss, and hope this music brings you some comfort.
posted by maddieD at 7:12 AM on June 21 [4 favorites]

If you would like a small glimpse into what those artists may have meant to your daughter you can have a watch of the posthumous Induction of Townes Van Zandt into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame by Gillian Welch.
posted by artlung at 11:22 AM on June 21 [3 favorites]

Gillian's version (with Alison Krause) of "I'll Fly Away" from the o brother where art thou soundtrack is a beautiful and uplifting song for the circumstances, in my opinion. I'm so incredibly sorry for your loss.
posted by pazazygeek at 1:10 PM on June 21 [1 favorite]

I'd like "You are Not Needed Now" to be played at my funeral.

Honestly, it was difficult to pick a Townes song for this...I started listening to his self-titled album and burst into tears. I love listening to TVZ but it's intensely sad. Sorry for your loss...
posted by schyler523 at 1:45 PM on June 21 [2 favorites]

I wonder if leaning into the sadness was maybe the idea of playing these two artists? If so, maybe something along the lines of Rex's Blues which is not an easy listen but is very poignant . The song Fort Worth Blues is a song, much in Townes' style, that Steve Earle wrote for Townes upon his death and would be on the list if I was to have a funeral because it offers grief without judgement.

All of my condolences neuron, I can't begin to imagine
posted by nenequesadilla at 7:30 PM on June 25

Perhaps Townes' version of the Rolling Stones' Dead Flowers?
posted by fridgebuzz at 2:09 AM on June 27