Memorial Booklet

Hymn words for a funeral, ready to print

Every hymn here is out of copyright in both the US and the UK, so the words can be printed in full. In the booklet you tick which verses to include, and the page is set around them.

Hymns and songs

Hymns and poems not included, and why

These are often asked for but their words are not printed here. Most are still in copyright in the US or the UK; the reason for each is below. You can still list any of them in the running order, and your church or funeral director can tell you whether their license covers printing the words.

  • Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep: No printing before 1931 is known, so it fails the US test; its best-known claimant, Mary Elizabeth Frye, died in 2004, so in the UK it would be in copyright until the end of 2074 (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_Not_Stand_at_My_Grave_and_Weep)
  • How Great Thou Art: The English words are Stuart K. Hine's translation, finalised in 1949 (Hine died 1989): fails both tests (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Great_Thou_Art)
  • Great Is Thy Faithfulness: Thomas O. Chisholm died in 1960, so UK copyright runs to the end of 2030; published 1923, so it is US public domain, but it fails the UK test (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Is_Thy_Faithfulness)
  • The Old Rugged Cross: George Bennard died in 1958, so UK copyright runs to the end of 2028; written 1912 and published by 1915, so it is US public domain, but it fails the UK test (sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Old_Rugged_Cross, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Bennard)
  • Morning Has Broken: Eleanor Farjeon died in 1965, so UK copyright runs to the end of 2035; first published 1931 (Songs of Praise, second edition), so US public domain from 1 January 2027 (sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morning_Has_Broken, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_Farjeon)
  • Lord of All Hopefulness: US public domain from 1 January 2027: first published 1931 (Songs of Praise, enlarged edition). Jan Struther died in 1953, so it is already out of UK copyright; add it once 2027 arrives, from a scan of the 1931 printing (sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_All_Hopefulness, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Struther)
  • High Flight: John Gillespie Magee Jr. died in 1941, so it is out of UK copyright, but it was written and first published in 1941, so it fails the US test (sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Flight, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gillespie_Magee_Jr.)
  • Funeral Blues (Stop All the Clocks): W. H. Auden died in 1973; first published 1936 (The Ascent of F6) and rewritten 1937-38: fails both tests (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funeral_Blues)
  • Miss Me, But Let Me Go: Anonymous, and no printing before 1931 could be found, so neither the US publication date nor the UK 70-years-from-publication term can be established
  • She Is Gone (He Is Gone): David Harkins wrote the prose piece it is based on in 1981: in copyright in both countries (sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_can_shed_tears_that_she_is_gone, https://www.davidharkins.com/she-is-gone-poem-other-david-harkins/)
  • Thine Be the Glory: Not included for lack of a checkable text, not for copyright: Richard Birch Hoyle's translation (made 1923) was first printed in the World Student Christian Federation hymnal Cantate Domino in 1924 or 1925, so it is US public domain, and Hoyle died in 1939, so it is out of UK copyright. No scan of a pre-1931 printing could be fetched to confirm his exact words (the texts online come from later hymnals and may be altered). Add it once the 1924 Cantate Domino text is checked (sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thine_Be_the_Glory, https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-easter-celebration-hymn-transcends-time-cultures-1)
  • Going Home (Goin' Home): Not included for lack of a checkable text, not for copyright: William Arms Fisher's words were published in 1922 (US public domain) and he died in 1948 (out of UK copyright since 2019), but no pre-1931 printing of the words could be fetched (the IMSLP score is behind a bot check and archive.org holds only recordings). Add it once a 1922 printing of the score is checked