"The Funeral" is a song by the American rock band Band of Horses, taken from their debut studio album, Everything All the Time (2006). The alternative rock song was written by the band members. The song was released as the debut single from the band and lead single from the album. A live version of the song appeared earlier on the band's self-titled EP, under the original name "Billion Day Funeral".
In August 2009, Pitchfork Media named "The Funeral" the 67th-greatest song of the 2000s.[2]
Background
Singer Ben Bridwell said, "The basis of The Funeral was just really the start of me whining about my aversion to social occasions and holidays. The pressure of say New Year’s being the best party night of your life, or Christmas being this forced togetherness. I was quite the pessimist in those days when I wrote the song."[3] Bridwell compared this dread to the feeling one gets before attending a funeral.[4]
Music video
The video for "The Funeral" was directed by Matt Lenski with additional footage by Willy Lenski.[5] The video tells the story of a man whose dog has died. Saddened by his loss, the man drowns his sorrows in alcohol. He then drives under the influence and the end of the video suggests he crashes head-on into a delivery truck. The video shows a sign for the Galway Bay Bar in Chicago and the cars in the video are all 1970s models.