Toss up...I love "It is well with my soul" both from a lyrical and musical standpoint, extremely inspirational especially if you know the story of how it was authored. But one of my all time favorites is "Boots of Spanish leather" by Bob Dylan. It's a great one sided love ballad.

An excerpt: "oh if I had the stars from the darkest night, and the diamonds from the deepest ocean, I'd forsake them all for your sweet kiss, for that's all I wish to be owning"

Wooed my wife with that one once, she didnt know what hit her, lol! Advice to all the guys out there, look to Bob Dylan for wooing poetry, :)

My favorite rendition is by "The Seldom Scene"
https://youtu.be/R8f0VeoLCAM

From Industrial Disease by Dire Straights

I know the song. Good choice :)

I like to say it those who think only they are correct.

My favorite lyrics? Unfortunately they are from a Dutch song, and unfortunately the words have more meaning than ever.

Alleen de vogels (only the birds)
Vliegen van Oost naar West-Berlijn (fly from East to West Berlin)
Worden niet teruggeloten, ook niet neergeschoten (they aren't called back, nor shot down)
Over de muur, over het ijzeren gordijn (Over the wall, over the iron curtain)
Omdat ze soms in het Oosten en soms ook in het Westen willen zijn (Because they sometimes want to be in the East, and sometimes to be in the West too)

Omdat er brood ligt soms bij de Gedächtniskirchen (Because there's bread lying someting, at the Gedachtniskirchen)
Soms op het Alexanderplein (Sometimes on the Alexander square).

The song was written, and performed by the Dutch band "Klein Orkest" (name means: Little Orchestra), and compares the East and West Berlin during the Cold War, and criticizes both sides, with the wall mentioned in the chorus, in which the birds symbolize brilliantly how they just go on like nothing is happening, implying how nature doesn't are about human fights and goes its way anyway. And final two lines, even make clear how both sides of Berlin weren't so different as people wanted to believe,. and that they still have things (no matter how trivial) in common. Since Berlin was, thanks to the wall the symbol of how Europe was split in two, it was easy to make birds flying over it symbolize human stupidity.

And with the polarisation of the world today, I often tend to sing this song, as even though the Berlin wall has been brought down, the symbolism of the lyrics is more actual than ever.

While I don't speak a word of Dutch, I'll be sure to check it out. I quite like listening to music that isn't in English ;)

The song is called "De Muur" by "Klein Orkest" and; and I can give you a translation.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=De+muur+klein+orkest (This video also shows the original Dutch lyrics)

Verse #1:
East Berlin, unter den Linden
People are wandering past flags and banners
Where Lenin and Marx are still held in high regard
And everyone works, hammers and scythes
While in parade the guard's being changed
40 years of "socialism", much has been achieved in that time

But what is that hail state, when it's surrounded by walls
When you are afraid and careful, must mind your opinion
What is that hail state, what is it worth
When somebody who's different
Is declared mad

And only the birds, fly from East to West Berlin
Are not being called back, nor shot down
Over the wall over the iron curtain
Because they they want to be in the East sometimes and sometimes in the West as well...

(I'll put verse #2 in a new post, due to the character limit of imgflip)

Verse #2:
West Berlin, Kurtsfürtsendamm
People are wandering past porn and peepshow
Where Mercedes and Cola are still held in high regard
And the neon-commercials which are glittering and luring
Come dancing, come eating, come drinking, come gambling
Yes, that is 40 years of "freedom", much has been achieved in that time.

But what is that freedom, without a home, without a job
So many Turkish in Kreutzberg, who can barely make a living
Well, you are allowed to demonstrate, but with your back against the wall
And only when you've got the money, the freedom ain't expensive

And the birds fly from West to East Beriln
Are not being called back, nor shot down
Over the wall, over the iron curtain
Because they sometimes want to be in the West, and sometimes in the East as well

Because there's bread sometimes at the Gedächtniskirchen
Sometimes on the Alexander Square.

From the Ghost of Stephen Foster by the Squirrel Nut Zippers

Maybe you'll change
Abandon all your wicked ways
Make amends and start anew again
Maybe you'll see
All the wrongs you did to me
And start all over, start all over again
Who am I kidding
Now, let's not get overzealous here
You've always been a huge piece of shit
If I could kill you I would
But it's frowned upon in all fifty states
Having said that, burn in hell
-Wolf in Sheep's Clothing by Set It Off

#I'm talking loud. Not saying much#
Ya can't forget that bit of the song, Titanium.

Okay here we go

“The towns, destroyed! The cities, destroyed! The farms, destroyed! The villages, destroyed! The government, destroyed! Communications, destroyed! Society, destroyed..you have been destroyed..”

The lyrics of "Fields of Gold", written by Gordon Sumner and Dusan Bogdanovic. Sting covered it and made it popular, though Eva Cassidy's rendition is my favorite. The song is about a woman's lasting love for her lover and their children.
It is the one I want played at my wake.

"Fields of gold" is such a beautiful song. I could see why you would want it to be played at your wake.

:)

Eleanor Rigby song entire lyrics. Quite a depressing song.

great song

I have two.

A petty line of white noise,
pack up your bags and throw out the toys.
Three strikes and honey, Im home!
Three voices come form the gramophone.
A vivisection of me,
Yielded the start of a mystery.
Say hello! Honey Im home!
Three voices come form the gramophone

...

So with advice of the dead,
And a halo over my head,
At last! Honey, Im home!
Three voices come on, all alone.
A vivisection of me,
Done by god for all to see,
Say hello! Honey Im home!
Three voices come on, all alone.

Song 2:
((Translated from Japanese))

"shinitai nante iu na yo.
akiramenai de ikiro yo."
sonna uta ga tadashii
nante bakageteru yo na.
jissai jibun wa shinde mo yokute
mawari ga shindara kanashikute
"sore ga iya dakara"
tte iu ego nan desu.

tanin ga ikite mo dou demo yokute
dareka o kirau koto mo fasshon de
soredemo "heiwa ni ikiyou"
nante suteki na koto deshou.

((Dont say you want to die!
Live on without giving up!”
To say songs with lyrics like that are correct…
How foolish it is.
In truth, I wouldnt care a bit if I died,
But I would be pretty sad if the people around me did.
I guess it’s some ego that lives on because
‘I just wouldn’t like it.’))

bokura wa inochi ni kirawarete iru.
karugarushiku shinitai datoka
karugarushiku inochi o miteru
bokura wa inochi ni kirawarete iru.

((We are hated by life itself,
We who thoughtlessly say we want to die,
And look at life so carelessly,
Are hated by it.))

jibun ga shinde mo dou demo yokute
soredemo mawari ni ikite hoshikute
mujun o kakaete ikiteku
nante okorarete shimau.
"tadashii mono wa tadashiku inasai."
"shinitakunai nara ikite inasai."
kanashiku naru nara soredemo ii nara
zutto hitori de warae yo.
bokura wa inochi ni kirawarete iru.
koufuku no imi sura wakarazu,
umareta kankyou bakari nikunde
kantan ni kako bakari norou.
bokura wa inochi ni kirawarete iru.
sayonara bakari ga sukisugite
hontou no wakare nado shiranai
bokura wa inochi ni kirawarete iru.

((I couldn’t care a bit if I died,
But Im wanted alive by the people around me.
Living on, carrying such contradictions,
I think I’ll get yelled at…
“Things that are ‘correct’ should stay ‘correct’”
“If you dont want to die, the live!”
If youre going to end up alone, and if thats fine,
then you gotta learn how to laugh alone forever.
We are hated by life itself,
Without even grasping the meaning of joy,
We just hate the hand life has dealt us,
And merely curse our pasts.

((Continued, because I met the character limit.))

((We are hated by life itself,
We who simply like the idea of the word “goodbye”
A little too much, a little too much…
With no knowledge of a true farewell,
Are hated by life itself.))

ashita shinde shimau kamo shirenai.
subete muda ni naru kamo shirenai.
asa mo yoru mo haru mo aki mo
kawarazu dareka ga doko ka de shinu.
yume mo asu mo nani mo iranai.
kimi ga ikite ita nara sore de ii.
sou da. hontou wa sou
iu koto ga utaitai.
inochi ni kirawarete iru.
kekkyoku itsuka wa shinde iku.
kimi datte boku datte itsuka
wa kareha no you ni kuchiteku.
soredemo bokura wa hisshi ni ikite
inochi o hisshi ni kakaete ikite
koroshite agaite waratte kakaete
ikite, ikite, ikite, ikite, ikiro.

((“I might just die tomorrow, you know”
“Everything might end up being for nothing…”
Mornings and nights, spring and autumn,
Unchanging, someone dies somewhere.
I dont need dreams or even a tomorrow,
If you would have lived on then thats all I need…

Actually…

Yeah…

Thats what I want to sing about.
Hated by life itself,
In the end we’ll all die anyway.

You will,

I will,

We will all rot away like fallen leaves.
Regardless, we live on frantically,
Shouldering our lives, franticly we live,

Killing,

Struggling,

Laughing,

Shouldering it all….

Living, living, living, living-

just…live.))

Romeo n Juliet by dire straights
Moonlight drive - the doors
tangled up in blue- Bob Dylan
all along the watchtower-Dylan
Whats so funny about peace love and understanding-Elvis Costello
Sympathy for the Devil-stones
If you could read my mind -Gordon Lightfoot
Commin home-Skynyrd

While my Guitar gently weeps-Beatles (George)
Rainbow in the Dark -Dio
Sister Morphine-Stones
The end-the doors
Into the Mystic- Van Morrison
Life by the drop- Stevie ray Vaughan
All of my love-Led Zeppelin (I always thought Plants lyrics were cheesy but this song he wrote for his dead son and were great)
Heroes -David Bowie
Little Wing-Jimi Hendrix
whippin post-Allman bros
Southern Cross -Crosby stills and nash
Who are you-the who

It all depends on my mood