I had lunch recently with a couple of friends in the industry. The conversation focused around our own feelings and emotions, dealing with death on a daily basis. How we interact with those about to die and those left behind. It’s something I really never thought about when I jumped into this.
We talked about how music is such a trigger – no matter how detached you might be – to turn on the waterworks. Don’t get me wrong, detached in a professional way. Keeping composure.
The following day my daughter – playing her usual game of if you had to choose – asked me, if I had to listen to one song for the rest of my life, what would it be? 
I didn’t hesitate. Spiegel im Spiegel by Estonian composer, Arvo Pärt.
She obviously asked why it wasn’t Levitating by Dua Lipa or Camila Cabello’s latest track or Bruises by Lewis Capaldi… 
We were driving, so I asked Siri to play it and said, “Sweetheart, when I hear this song, I see your mother, your brother and you. I can take myself back a decade and hold your brother’s hand while he falls asleep in his cot. I hear you giggle as you discover yourself in the mirror for the first time. I see your mum assembling kitchen cabinets at 8 months pregnant.” She held my hand and watched the tear roll down my cheek.
Getting back to the conversation, and I have embraced this work and deal pretty well. Music for a funeral… if I’m at a funeral and someone plays Spiegel im Spiegel, I might need a minute to recalibrate.
What is your forever song? What song brings back memories? What song would you have a a funeral?