Every family has the story their grandfather told a hundred times — and the porch, garage, or kitchen table where he told it. A memorial song for a grandpa's funeral works best when it sounds like that man, which is why a custom song from Songbond starts with your family's stories: $39.90, written and delivered in 24–48 hours. Here's one we wrote for grandfathers whose tales became family mythology, plus eight songs that hold up at a service.
"Grandpa's Porch" — listen
Listen to "Grandpa's Porch" in the Song Library — the story behind it, the full lyrics, and more songs like it.
8 songs for the service
- Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Old Days) — The Judds. The definitive grandfather song; ask the grandchildren to share a memory after it plays.
- Go Rest High on That Mountain — Vince Gill. Gill finished writing it after his brother's death; it has become one of country music's most-sung funeral songs.
- He Walked on Water — Randy Travis. Hero-worship of an older man, told through starched white shirts and a straight razor.
- In Color — Jamey Johnson. A grandfather walking his grandson through old photographs — ideal before a slideshow.
- When I Get Where I'm Going — Brad Paisley & Dolly Parton. Looks past the loss without pretending it doesn't hurt.
- Love Without End, Amen — George Strait. Fathers, sons, and grandsons in three verses.
- Will the Circle Be Unbroken. The standard generations of families sing together — fitting for a man who held the circle.
- What a Wonderful World — Louis Armstrong. For the exit music: warm, familiar, unhurried.
The lyrics: "Grandpa's Porch"
The third step still creaks, Grandpa
I let the screen door slap behind me
Just so the house sounds right
You'd knock your pipe twice on the rail — that's how a story started
The storm kept getting bigger every summer that you told it
The fish gained twenty pounds a year, the snow rose past the windows
And we let it grow, 'cause the telling was the gift
Now the chair rocks empty
But this porch still knows your voice
So I came to tell one back to you, Grandpa, in the dark
About a man who built a family out of stories and a porch
I'll get some details wrong — you'd want it that way
A legend's not supposed to stay the size of facts
This one's yours
Pipe smoke and cut grass — that's still how June smells to me
Lightning bugs on the railing where your coffee used to sit
You waved at every truck that passed, whether you knew them or not
Half this town can tell me stories I was raised on
Last night the youngest asked me how the big storm story goes
I knocked twice on the railing before I started in
And somewhere in the dark I heard you laughing
The story's still growing, Grandpa
You're in it now
The third step creaks
The chair's not empty if I close my eyes
Tell me the one about — ah. You know the one.
Questions about grandfather memorial songs
What song do you play at a grandfather's funeral?
One familiar standard for the room, one personal song for the family. If he was a storyteller, a custom song that retells one of his stories lands harder than anything on a playlist.
Can the song include his sayings and tall tales?
Yes — those are exactly what make a custom song work. Send the phrases he repeated and the stories that grew with each telling; Songbond turns them into a produced song in 24–48 hours for $39.90.
Should grandchildren be involved?
If they're willing. The simplest version: the song plays, then each grandchild adds one line he always said. No performance required.
Tell one back to him
Have a memorial song written about your grandpa — $39.90, ready in 24–48 hours, revised until the family nods.
Related: memorial songs for grandma and memorial songs for dad.
