John Lennon's classic hit Imagine is among a list of offensive songs which over a quarter of funeral homes have refused to play.
Ministers objected to the line "imagine there's no heaven," according to research by the Cooperative funeral care.
The Trammps’ Disco Inferno – which contains the words “burn baby burn” was also deemed an offensive choice by organisers, as well as Fat-bottomed Girls by Queen, which some music critics believe is about prostitution.
John Lennon (pictured with wife Yoko Ono) would have turned 72 last week
However risque songs which organisers didn't object to included Lady Gaga's Bad Romance which includes the lyrics "I want your psycho, your vertical stick/Want you in my rear window, baby, you're sick"
Other quirky choices included the TV theme from Six Feet Under and Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life by Eric Idle.
Hymns and classical tracks are increasingly falling out of favour, the research showed. Although hymns such as 'Abide with me' are still popular, most mourners prefer more contemporary hits.
Perhaps predictably, My Way by Frank Sinatra is the most popular with Robbie's Angels, Westlife's You Raise Me Up and My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion also featuring high.
The results were based on a survey of Co-operative Funeralcare funeral homes, responsible for more than 30,000 funerals between September 2011 and September 2012
Lorinda Robinson, from The Co-operative Funeralcare, said: “Hymns were once the mainstay of a funeral service but pop music plays such an important part in people’s lives that it now acts as the theme tune to their passing."