7 Songs to Listen to While You Write Your Will

If you’ve carefully crafted a playlist for showering, studying, or working, then why not create a playlist for writing your Will? Here at Willed, you can get your legally valid Will in as little as 15 minutes flat. So, add these songs to your rotation, and you’ll be signing that dotted line faster than Dolly Parton completed her infamous 1972 writing session. (ICYMI - She wrote her two biggest hits I Will Always Love You and Jolene all on the same night. Talk about a productive evening).

The Show Must Go On – Queen 

4:23

Queen has this uncanny ability to really amp you up before a big moment. Also known as Freddy’s final serenade, The Show Must Go On is about the effort of the band’s frontman Freddie Mercury, who continued to perform despite being terminally ill with HIV/AIDS. When Queen recorded the song in 1990, Mercury's condition had deteriorated so badly that its main songwriter and Queen’s lead guitarist Brian May expressed concern about Mercury’s ability to physically sing it. May recalled, “I said, ‘Fred, I don't know if this is going to be possible to sing.’ And he went, ‘I'll f— do it, darling’— vodka down — and went in and killed it, completely lacerated that vocal”. Mercury’s vocals in this song are a total testament to his strength. Our only criticism – it might be a little distracting for everyone else because to be honest, it’s impossible not to sing along to it.

Feels like: You’re amping yourself up for a performance, a sports match, or to clean the house, really.

My Way – Frank Sinatra

4:36

You’re taking this Will-writing thing into your own hands and doing it your way. If he was still alive today, Sinatra would tip his hat to you. Many have read My Way as a kind of mantra for living, a sort of “do it your way and don't let anyone else tell you how to live,” and we’d have to say we agree with this sentiment. Although Sinatra was the song’s greatest critic – he actually grew to hate it – My Way is said to represent the American outlook at the time, that nothing in life matters more than living on your own terms. If you need a bit of thinking music and it’s time to slow it down, this is the perfect pensive soundtrack (plus, you’ll have that main character energy about you). Just add whiskey or your drink of choice.

Feels like: You’re sitting at home on a cold, rainy day, in your comfiest clothes, about to get started on that novel you always talk about but never develop.

Stairway To Heaven - Led Zeppelin

8:02

It’s difficult to explain the meaning behind Stairway To Heaven, because even songwriter Robert Plant has admitted: “Depending on what day it is, I still interpret the song a different way – and I wrote the lyrics.” But all this mystery aside – we can’t help but feel big things when we play this song. It kicks off with a one-minute interlude, followed by soft flowing lyrics that pull at the heartstrings. And speaking of strings, the guitar work is simply divine. We owe that to its composer – Zeppelin’s lead guitarist Jimmy Page. Everything about Stairway To Heaven seems to push the boundaries of a typical pop song, but that’s exactly why it’s loved by so many across the globe. Everyone loves a rebel. 

Feels like: You’re in a place far away from home, and you’re finally making your way back.

Landslide – Fleetwood Mac

3:19

Landslide was written by Stevie Nicks before she was even asked to join Fleetwood Mac. In fact, the song talks about her being ‘afraid of change.’ (We’ll drink to that). Ultimately, Nicks’ perseverance paid off, because shortly after penning Landslide in the Rocky Mountain region of Colorado, she was asked to join the band. It was from there that her name catapulted into a league of musical legends.

Feels like: You’re slowly but surely healing from a loss and you’re working up the courage to start something new.

Skyfall – Adele

4:49

Adele’s Skyfall is a dramatic ballad that’s worthy of an annual listen (at least). James Bond fans will agree that the singer did a stellar job of incorporating the film’s themes of death and rebirth. The song captures the end of a particular era in the series – to the modern version of Bond, and *spoiler alert* – an end to actress and icon Judi Dench portraying the polarising character of M. At times eerie, we’ve included this song because it offers a glimmer of hope for the future. The future of your estate, that is. Even if you don’t have a Skyfall mansion of your own.

Feels like: Vengeance has been delivered. Closure. Justice has been served with a vodka martini – shaken not stirred.

Tiny Dancer – Elton John

6:46

The cathartic anthem that we all need in our lives. The story behind the song isn’t quite as existentialist as the others in the mix, but we thought it only apt to welcome it into the playlist for its feel-good effect on the soul. Tiny Dancer was inspired by co-songwriter Bernie Taupin's first visit to the United States in 1970, where he realised that the women he met were pretty different to the dames he knew in England. Elton’s powerful vocals and the song’s catchy instrumentals speak for themselves. No further comment.

Feels like: You’re content and at total peace. Life is good.

Love More – Justin Vernon

5:49

Justin Vernon is the man behind Bon Iver, so unless you’ve been living under a rock with your soundproof headphones on, you’ve probably heard his weird but wonderful sound before. Love More is a cover of Sharon Van Etten’s “More Love” and Vernon covers it with soul. Vernon and Van Etten actually teamed up at the Boiler Room x David Lynch's Festival of Disruption in 2018, and you can watch that version here.

Save this song for last. It’s best for when you’re in that final proofreading stage and making sure everything’s in order. It’s the perfect winddown song that will make the experience feel a whole lot lighter.

Feels like: The end of an important part of life. Moving on and healing. Recovering from a life event or an experience that’s set you back.

We’ve trawled the internet so that you don’t have to. Here’s a Spotify playlist of all these songs.

Wrap up

Writing your Will doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom. Listen to these songs to gear you up for a big writing session, enjoy them while you write, or press play after the ink has dried (metaphorically, of course, because our Wills are obviously written online *wink wink*) and let all the emotions wash over you. Whatever you do, know that you’re in the company of musical legends.