Peter Gabriel’s Don’t Give Up was the heartbreaking song played at Matthew Perry’s funeral on Friday.
The 54-year-old Friends actor, best known for his role as Chandler Bing in the iconic US sitcom, tragically passed away at his home in LA on October 28th.
The private ceremony was held at Forest Lawn Church in LA, where his Friends co-stars and family were in attendance.
Friends stars arriving at Matthew Perry’s funeral to say their last goodbyes pic.twitter.com/sRcWhtstVk
— Celebsnapz (@aouam_diyaa) November 4, 2023
The hour-long service reportedly ended with a touching rendition of Peter Gabriel’s iconic track with Kate Bush.
The lyrics are poignant and may make reference to the actor’s long battle with addiction: “No fight left or so it seems, I am a man whose dreams have all deserted, I’ve changed my face, I’ve changed my name, But no one wants you when you lose.”
The third verse makes reference to staying strong when times get rough: “Rest your head, You worry too much, It’s gonna be alright, When times get rough, You can fall back on us, Don’t give up, Please don’t give up.”
An onlooker told the MailOnline: “There was not a dry eye in there. There were a lot of tears and laughter. Only close friends and family spoke.”
In his memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, Matthew opened up about his lengthy battle with addiction and revealed he almost died when he was 49 years old.
The Friends star spent weeks in a hospital fighting for his life after his colon burst from opioid overuse.
The actor revealed he spent two weeks in a coma and five months in the hospital and had to use a colostomy bag for nine months.
The late 54-year-old had been to rehab 15 times, and had 14 surgeries on his stomach so far.
Matthew said fans who read his book will “be surprised at how bad it got at certain times and how close to dying I came”.
