Swansongs: What are the most popular end-of-life songs?

Anyone who has ever been around a terminally ill loved one knows that feeling of powerlessness as they witness someone grapple with the fear of death.

Music therapy is a helpful recourse, as music can not only instill a sense of normalcy, provoke a positive emotional reaction, but also help alleviate physical or psychological pain - even if for a fleeting moment.

It’s with this in mind that Marie Curie, whose nurses often support their patients in creating playlists of songs that meant the most to them over their life, has released the first ever playlist designed to support people at the end of their lives.

Titled “Music for the End,” it has been compiled from 1,000 UK adults whose loved ones had experienced end-of-life care, and the results are a lot more upbeat than you’d imagine.

Here are the top 10 songs dying people play during final moments:

'My Way' – Frank Sinatra
'I Will Always Love You' – Whitney Houston
'(Simply) The Best' – Tina Turner
'Over The Rainbow' – Judy Garland
'Girls Just Want to Have Fun' – Cyndi Lauper
'Angels' – Robbie Williams
'What A Wonderful World' – Louis Armstrong
'Beautiful' – Christina Aguilera
'Hey Jude' – The Beatles
'These Are The Days Of Our Lives' – Queen

Quite how Livin’ Joy’s ‘Don’t Stop Movin’, Queen’s ‘Another One Bites The Dust’, or Adele’s ‘Rolling In The Deep’ didn’t make the Top 10 is a mystery.

Don’t get us started on the absence of Carly Simon’s ‘Nobody Does It Better’.

On a more serious note, the Marie Curie polling and research revealed that most people listened to music during their end of life care (82%), with 84% of those polled agreeing that music relaxed their loved ones.

About 61% said music helped ease anxiety and emotional distress for them as well, and almost one in two people (48%) felt that music played a vital role in helping to convey emotions that are hard to put into words.

The release of the playlist coincides with a new report published by the Marie Curie Research Centre at Cardiff University, titled “Public Attitudes to Death, Dying and Bereavement in the UK Revisited” (PADDUK). The report reveals that the vast majority (83%) of those polled felt that quality of life was more important than length of life, and that priorities for dying people include being free of avoidable pain, dignity, and being surrounded by loved ones.

The charity highlights that these hopes clash with reality, as their research found that one in four people are not getting the care they need at the end of life, and that one-third of dying people in England and Wales were overwhelmingly affected by pain in the final week of life.