Funeral hymns, songs and music in New Zealand

Written by Henry Smith · Reviewed by Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931) · Updated 2026-10-20 · Reviewed annually, or sooner if the rules it describes change.

New Zealand funerals use a mix of hymns, waiata and songs the person loved, chosen for the moment in the service they will play. No official ranking exists. Well-known starting points include "Amazing Grace", "Abide with Me" and the Māori hymn "Whakaaria Mai". The funeral director or celebrant can tell you how many pieces fit and who holds the music licence.

Funeral music is a family choice, and FDANZ lists it among the elements of a service: "Music – what music you would like? There are boundless options, and it is a good idea to listen to it carefully first to make sure the words are appropriate" (FDANZ: Funeral and farewell choices). We found no NZ source that ranks the most-played funeral songs, so this page does not pretend to. It gives the history of well-known hymns and waiata, a way to match music to each part of the service, and the music-licensing facts. If you want ideas organised around a mum or a dad, see our guide to funeral songs for a mum or dad.

How should you match music to each part of a service?

Dils says its team helps families shape music from "soft arrival tracks" through to "a favourite song that lifts the mood at the end" (Dils: Celebration of life, 31 August 2026). That arc is a useful frame. Use it as a prompt, not a rule.

Moment	What it needs	Options
Arrival, as people gather	Calm, unobtrusive, easy to talk over	Instrumental or quiet recorded music, or live music: Davis Funerals says it can arrange organists or pipers
A congregational piece	Words and a tune most people know	A hymn from the person's church, or a waiata the whānau will sing
Reflection, over a photo tribute	Meaning in the words, length to suit the slideshow	A song with personal significance
Close, as the family leaves	Something that lifts the mood, or a quiet farewell	The person's favourite, or a farewell song

Davis's personalising page lists music as an option and offers live organists or pipers. Ask your funeral director how many pieces the service has room for.

What are the well-known hymns, and where do they come from?

These are well-known hymns with documented histories. We cannot tell you how often each is chosen in New Zealand, and we have not included "The Lord's My Shepherd" because we have no source to cite for its tune and wording history; Psalm 23, which it follows, is in our readings guide.

Hymn	Written by	Notes
"Amazing Grace"	John Newton, an English clergyman	Published 1779 (Wikipedia)
"Abide with Me"	Henry Francis Lyte, an Anglican cleric	Written 1847 as Lyte was dying of tuberculosis; most often sung to the tune "Eventide" by William Henry Monk (Wikipedia; NZ Folk Song)
"How Great Thou Art"	Based on the Swedish "O Store Gud" by Carl Boberg (1885); English version by Stuart K. Hine (1949)	See the next section for its New Zealand link (Wikipedia)

Which waiata and New Zealand songs are widely known?

"Whakaaria Mai". The NZ Folk Song site says its Māori words are "a loose translation of the 5th verse of 'Abide With Me'", sung to the tune of "How Great Thou Art", and that Howard Morrison made it very popular after singing it at a Royal Command Performance for the Queen's visit to New Zealand (NZ Folk Song: Whakaaria Mai). The page's English gloss runs "Show your cross to me. Let it shine there in the darkness... In life, in death, let me rest in thee."
"Pō Atarau" or "Haere Rā" (known in English as "Now Is the Hour"). NZHistory records that "Pō atarau" was used to farewell Māori soldiers leaving for the First World War, that Maewa Kaihau modified it in 1920, and that by 1935 it was a favourite last waltz "at dances and farewells" (NZHistory: Now is the hour, archived copy). It is a farewell song by long tradition. NZHistory does not say how often it is sung at funerals.
"Pōkarekare Ana". The NZ Folk Song site describes a love song from the start of the First World War, taken to the East Cape and shaped into an action song (NZ Folk Song: Pōkarekare Ana). Read the words before choosing it for a service, as it is a song of longing between two people.

For a tangihanga, the music and waiata are decided by whānau, iwi and the marae, not by a list. Te Ara says "traditional speeches, songs and chants are exchanged" over the course of a tangihanga (Te Ara: Understanding tangihanga, archived copy). Our tangihanga guide covers what happens. We have not listed waiata by name beyond the three above, because we could not source others for funeral use.

What about contemporary songs and ballads?

Any song can work if the words fit. FDANZ's advice to listen first matters most here, because the lyrics of a well-loved pop song can be about romance, a break-up or an event that does not match the person. Play the whole song, then play the verse that will be heard in the room. Recorded or streamed services raise licensing questions, covered below. Our mum or dad guide names specific modern songs as starting points.

Who needs a licence to play recorded music at a funeral?

OneMusic, the licensing body run by APRA AMCOS and Recorded Music NZ, lists "Funerals", "Places of worship" and "Community halls" among the places it licenses (APRA AMCOS: Select a licence, archived copy of 9 September 2026). It has a dedicated Funeral Services licence for funeral homes and independent funeral directors, which "travels with you regardless of where the service is held, e.g. funeral home, church, school hall". OneMusic says it does not charge a licence fee for the public performance of music during a funeral service, and that the licence covers copying music into slideshows and audio or video programmes (OneMusic: Funeral Services, archived copy of 22 September 2024, because the live site refused automated access).

In plain terms, when the director plays the music, the director's Funeral Services licence is the one OneMusic describes. If you bring your own speaker to a hall, ask the venue whether it holds a licence. Streaming has additional rules, covered in our funeral live streaming guide.

How do you choose the right balance?

Start with three moments: arrival, reflection, close.
Ask the family for songs the person actually played, not songs that "sound like funerals".
Mix one shared piece (a hymn or waiata) with one personal piece.
Check each song's words and length against the slideshow or ceremony it supports.
Give the director the final list early, as Dils notes extra lead time helps services with "photo tributes and service sheets".

For timing, see how soon after death a funeral is held.

Paying for the service

Music itself costs little, but the service around it does: FDANZ's survey puts a full cremation funeral for 50 people at an average of $11,700 (FDANZ 2026 report). Funeral insurance pays a fixed benefit towards that cost; total premiums can end up larger than the benefit, and with Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance only an accidental death is covered in the first 24 months. Saving is the other option. See the funeral costs hub and funeral insurance hub. The buttons below open Momentum Life's online application; QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner and may earn a commission. Momentum Life Limited holds an A.M. Best financial strength rating of B (Fair), affirmed on 11 February 2026, which sits in A.M. Best's "Vulnerable" range (Momentum financial strength).

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Adviser's view

There is no official list of funeral songs in New Zealand, so choose by moment in the service and by how the words sound at that moment. Hymns and waiata with a known history are a reasonable place to start, and the funeral director can tell you who holds the licence for music played in the service.

Henry Smith, Financial Adviser (FSP1010699). General information, not personalised financial advice.

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Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Funeral Songs and Hymns NZ: Music Guide. www.quotehub.co.nz/guides/when-someone-dies/funeral-songs-and-hymns-nz. Updated 2026-10-20.