The Copycat Aussies

To be honest, I don't think I've ever met anyone from Australia, and I really know very little about the country: the Olympic Games were held there once, and there are cute, cuddly animals and aborigines (probably NOT cute and cuddly) who reside there...oh yes, and they won the America's Cup race a few years ago. That fact I know because of Jimmy Buffett's song "Take It Back" in which he adopts a piratical attitude toward getting the Cup back from "Down Under." Which, of course, reminds me of the band Men At Work who were Australian and eating vegemite sandwiches, whatever they are...and I think Rick Springfield might be Australian. But that's about the sum total of my acquaintance with things from that continent. Until today, that is, when I discover they stole my idea and are suddenly a big deal while I toil in relative obscurity (seriously, most of my relatives don't even know where I am).
It seems that Auistralians are decrying traditional hymns and "normal" funeral songs for rock anthems such as "Stairway to Heaven," "Highway to Hell," "Ding Dong the With Is Dead" (really!)and a host of others in order to reflect the unique qualities of the deceased. Religious songs like "Amazing Grace" (with or without bagpipes) and "Abide With Me" are still popular, but only among the more traditional folks. The number one favorite at Centennial Park in Adelaide is the Frank Sinatra classic "My Way" with Louis Armstrong's "Wonderful World" right up there along with "Another One Bites the Dust" and the Monty Python standard "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life."
The thing is, I had that idea 'WAY before they did though you didn't hear me blowing my own horn about it. My idea is at least ten years old, and I have the CD to prove it. My oldest son is in charge of the music, and he is instructed that he can play from the CD anything he finds appropo, but there is one that absolutely must be played. I know his mother might object to the idea, that's why I put him in charge...under oath. To find out which one it is, you'll just have to show up at the funeral, but I will give out a few of the tracks on my last CD:
Jackson Browne's "All Good Things" Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky" (honestly, a fuzz bass would MAKE that celebration!) "Born to Run" by Emmylou Harris (I do like the Boss's song by the same name, but it doesn't fit me since my wife sold my motorcycle years back) and "On the Road To Find Out" by the pre-Muslim Cat Stevens. The Beatles get a nod, of course, with "In My Life" as does Buddy Holly with "Rave On." I also bend a bit to the spiritual side with "I'll Fly Away" and "Swing Down Chariot."
There are other possibilities, but that's up to Ryun to decide.
I do have to give the Aussies props for selecting a tune that I did not include because it hadn't been recorded yet when I made my list: "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" by Warren Zevon (who is, of course, now sleeping). I'd love to add that to my playlist, but then I'd be copycatting the Aussies.
But no matter what happens, you WILL NOT hear "Amazing Grace," even with bagpipes.