A memorial song for a late wife is really a song about habits — the second coffee cup, her radio station, the half of the bed that stays hers. At Songbond, a custom song about your wife costs $39.90 and arrives in 24–48 hours, built from the small daily rituals that carried the marriage. We wrote "Still Setting Two Plates" for widowers whose hands haven't unlearned thirty years; it's below, with nine more songs that tell the truth.
Hear it: "Still Setting Two Plates"
Listen to "Still Setting Two Plates" in the Song Library — the story behind it, the full lyrics, and more songs like it.
9 memorial songs widowers choose
- Remember When — Alan Jackson. A long marriage told start to finish; many men say it's the only eulogy they need.
- If You Get There Before I Do — Collin Raye. Love speaking across the gap, gently.
- Go Rest High on That Mountain — Vince Gill. Completed after Gill lost his brother; sung at more country funerals than perhaps any modern song.
- To Where You Are — Josh Groban. For the nights the kitchen is too quiet.
- Unchained Melody — The Righteous Brothers. If it was the wedding song, it can be the farewell song.
- My Heart Will Go On — Celine Dion. A familiar shape for the room's grief.
- Dancing in the Sky — Dani and Lizzy. Speaks directly to her; widowers tell us it feels like a phone call.
- When I Get Where I'm Going — Brad Paisley & Dolly Parton. Hope that doesn't rush the hurt.
- What a Wonderful World — Louis Armstrong. For the slideshow of a life built together.
The lyrics
Coffee maker's set for two
Thirty years
Hands don't unlearn
I poured your cup before mine again this morning
Stood there while it went cold by the window where you'd sit
The radio's still on your station — I can't bring myself to turn it
Some woman sang your favorite, and I had to leave the room
They say it's just a habit
Darlin', it was never just a habit
I'm still setting two plates at the table we picked out
Still reaching for your hand at the scary parts of movies
Thirty years of loving you don't stop on a Tuesday
So I set two plates, darlin'
And I tell you how my day went
Your garden's coming up again — it didn't ask permission
Tomatoes you put in last fall, stubborn just like you
Your perfume's nearly gone now from the scarf on the bedpost
I sleep on my half. Your half's still spoken for.
At first the second plate was only muscle memory
Now I lay it down on purpose
Every fork is me saying: you were here. You're still here.
The day I set one plate —
That's the day I quit telling you the truth
Goodnight, darlin'
Same time tomorrow
Both plates
What widowers ask us
What song do you play at a wife's memorial?
The strongest services pair one song the room knows with one song only the family could know. The second kind can't come from a playlist — it has to be written.
Can her garden, her sayings, her routines go in a custom song?
They're the whole point. Five concrete details — the preset radio station, the tomatoes, the scarf — become the verses. $39.90 at Songbond, delivered in 24–48 hours, revised until it's her.
Is it strange to have a song made months or years later?
Not at all. Many are commissioned for the first anniversary, her birthday, or the day the garden comes up again.
Both plates, one song
Have a memorial song written about your wife — $39.90, in 24–48 hours, with unlimited revisions.
Companion piece: memorial songs for a late husband; also songs for a best friend who passed away.
