“For Once in My Life” by Stevie Wonder

Gone are the days of somber memorials defined by a dreary black dress-code and a slew of sad songs. It’s important to create an atmosphere sensitive to the grieving process, and a memorial ceremony will always embrace that. But, in the quest to create a memorial that feels more like a celebration of life, why not pick a more uplifting song for the occasion? With its look-on-the-bright-side tone and passionate vocals, we think that Stevie Wonder’s “For Once in My Life” would be the perfect fit.

Before Stevie was a “Wonder”, he was Stevland Hardaway Morris, a kid from Saginaw, Michigan. He proved his talent early to record moguls at Motown’s Tamla label. By the age of eleven, he was signed and on tour singing a mix of his own material and songs from greats like Ray Charles. By the early seventies, Wonder had proved himself to be a staple of Soul and R&B.

Wonder released his album “For Once in My Life” in 1968 at just 18 years old, with the album’s track of the same name (written by Ron Miller and Orlando Murden) becoming its single. “For Once in My Life” not only marked a moment of vocal achievement and range for the then-young Wonder, but it also introduced a style of song that would become typical of Wonder: soulful and bittersweet, full of feeling and strength:

For once in my life
I have someone who needs me
someone I’ve needed so long

For once I’m afraid I can go where life leads me
and somehow know I’ll be strong

For once I can touch what my heart used to dream of
long before I knew, someone warm like you
would make my dreams come true

For once in my life I won’t let sorrow hurt me
not like it’s hurt me before

For once I have something I know won’t desert me
and I’m not alone anymore

For once I can say; this is mine you won’t take it
Long as I know I have love I can make it
For once my life I have someone who needs me…

In the context of a memorial ceremony, Wonder’s song becomes an anthem for strength in the face of grief and loss; his voice rings out a commitment to holding onto the love of someone who has died, letting it lift us up and carry us through our sadness even when they’re not with us. “I want to take all the pain that I feel and celebrate and turn it around,” says Wonder — and he sure has done a great job.

Read the rest of the song’s lyrics here.