Music can be powerful and emotive, and it can also be really helpful when you’re grieving. For you, music might allow you to express your emotions, or it might act as a way to escape and think about other things entirely.

Why create a playlist?

Whether you want to get up and dance, sing along, play the music loudly in your car, or just sit quietly with your headphones on and stare out of the window, there may be certain songs that mean something special to you and perhaps remind you of your person. Creating a playlist of those songs could be a lovely thing to do, and it gives you something other than photos or belongings to turn to and think of them for a while.

How to create the playlist

You might have a music app that you regularly use where you could create the playlist and listen to it… or if you’d prefer, you could make a note of the songs and write about why they’re on your playlist. You could add songs that you used to listen to together, songs you know they used to love, or even new songs that you think they’d like. Having a mix of genres could make your playlist really interesting to listen to – you don’t necessarily need them to go together.

We asked some of our Youth Team to share songs that reminded them of their person and why.

Cerys: Vienna by Billy Joel
This song has been important to me the last few months. Childhood grief can really impact your social development into adulthood + I have always felt different to peers because I lost my dad as a toddler. I sometimes struggle with feeling left behind + this song is a powerful reminder that life is not a race - we are doing the best we can, our goals and dreams are achievable, it may take us a little longer to get there, but Vienna really does wait for you!

Millie: Stay by Kid Laroi
This song is particularly important to me as it was not only played at my sister's funeral, but her son also loves this song. Him and his mummy would play this together in the car and in the house, and they both loved it. I always play it to remind my nephew of those special memories he had with his mummy.

Rebecca: Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol
This song is special because I remember my mum and dad singing it together all the time when my dad was on his way to his cancer treatments to help calm him down a bit.

Name your playlist whatever you like. You can keep it discrete if you don’t want others to know why you’ve selected those songs, or you could share it with family or friends who might also appreciate a place to remember their person through music. You could use this playlist to find that one song you’ve been thinking of all day, or to sit and play the whole playlist through and think of your person for a while.