“If” (Bread)

If a picture paints a thousand words
Then why can’t I paint you?
The words will never show
The you I’ve come to know

If a face could launch a thousand ships
Then where am I to go?
There’s no one home but you
You’re all that’s left me too
And when my love for life is running dry
You come and pour yourself on me

If a man could be two places at one time
I’d be with you
Tomorrow and today
Beside you all the way

If the world should stop revolving
Spinning slowly down to die
I’d spend the end with you
And when the world was through
Then one by one the stars would all go out
Then you and I would simply fly away

 

 

“If” became a hit song (number four in Billboard Hot 100) when it was released in 1971 probably because it perfectly describes the undying love of a man to a woman. Because of its wonderful lyrics and its beautiful melody, this song became a favorite at weddings. But why sing it in a funeral service? If you are not still aware of it, weddings and funerals share a lot of things in common. It is precisely because of the word “undying love” that this song can be appropriate for funerals. The song even says at the end that even if the “stars would all go out,” then he and his beloved “would simply fly away” to eternity.

 

There are places in this song that really makes it very fitting for a funeral service. For instance, “when my love for life is running dry” is self-explanatory. So are the words “If the world should stop revolving, spinning slowly down to die, I’d spend the end with you.” How can these words be better explained except in the face of the grim reaper? So, it is really not surprising to put this song in the context of a funeral service. Perhaps people will get it if they really listen to the words of this song. If you are looking for more songs like these, just visit www.songmeanings.net.