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'My Way,' OK; But Singing 'Someone Like You' At A Funeral? Isn't That Wrong?

Adele singing <em>Someone Like You</em> at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles. That's one way to say goodbye.
Mario Anzuoni
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Reuters /Landov
Adele singing Someone Like You at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles. That's one way to say goodbye.

Of course My Way — the Frank Sinatra version — is the most requested contemporary song at funerals in the U.K., according to Co-operative Funeralcare.

That makes sense.

But check out the song that the funeral home firm says soared to No. 22 in the past year on its list of pop songs that folks want to hear at services for the dearly(?) departed:

Adele's Someone Like You.

The song's basically about a spurned lover telling an old flame, "nevermind, I'll find someone like you."

As Gawker says, playing Someone Like You at a funeral is "about as appropriate as playing My Sharona at a tween's birthday party." (Those too young to remember The Knack can check out My Sharona's lyrics here.)

Related note: This may say something about the British sense of humor: Monty Python's Always Look on the Bright Side of Life is No. 13 on the funeral firm's pop chart.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.
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