‘At Last’ was recorded by Etta James in 1942. Because it is about finding your one true love it has been a very popular song choice at weddings, but it has been played at funerals and memorials to represent parents/grandparents/partners/couples/soul mates being reunited in heaven.
Comedian Dawn French chose ‘At Last’ for her mum’s funeral, because as she said in a 2012 interview “When my mum was very poorly and knew she was dying, she said to me, “Well, it’s win-win, isn’t it?” I said, “How on earth can you say that, Mum? You’ve got terminal lung cancer” and she said, “Well, either I stay here longer with you or I go and see your dad.” She absolutely believed that’s what she’d do. So we played this [At Last] at her funeral because at last she was with him.’
Lyrics
My lonely days are over and life is like a song, oh yeah
At last the skies above are blue
My heart was wrapped up clover the night I looked at you
I found a dream that I could speak to
A dream that I can call my own
I found a thrill to press my cheek to
A thrill I’ve never known, oh yeah
You smiled, you smiled oh and then the spell was cast
And here we are in Heaven
For you are mine at last