{"id":57795,"date":"2020-04-15T12:56:33","date_gmt":"2020-04-15T16:56:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=57795"},"modified":"2026-03-10T13:48:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T17:48:52","slug":"music-from-tragedy-titanic-songs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/music-from-tragedy-titanic-songs.html","title":{"rendered":"Music from Tragedy: \u2018Titanic\u2019 Songs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega presents another way of understanding the tragedy of the sinking of the \u201cTitanic\u201d; sheet music written shortly after the maritime disaster. Gena is a genealogist and author of the book \u201cFrom the Family Kitchen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

What songs do you know that tell of the Titanic<\/em> disaster? Music about a tragedy published right after the disaster may seem a little odd. After all, who wants to sing songs about a sinking that killed more than 1,500 people on 15 April 1912? But in reality, song writers have always used real-life events, including tragedies, as material for their songs.<\/p>\n

\"Illustration:<\/a>
Illustration: the sinking of the Titanic. Credit: National Maritime Museum; Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the case of the sinking of the Titanic<\/em>, long before Celine Dion\u2019s \u201cMy Heart Will Go On\u201d was used in James Cameron\u2019s epic movie Titanic<\/em>, Americans were using the tragic ocean voyage as inspiration in film and song \u2013 starting with the first film that documented the tragedy: Saved from the Titanic<\/em>, which featured actual Titanic<\/em> survivor and actress, Dorothy Gibson, and premiered just 29 days after the ship\u2019s sinking. Soon after came the publication of Titanic<\/em>-focused sheet music that could be played on the piano and sung by families at home, like this example.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Mansfield Mirror (Mansfield, Missouri), 20 March 1913, page 6<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Story of the Titanic<\/em>, Set to Music<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, families could buy sheet music that focused on the Titanic<\/em>. These songs provided families that had pianos the opportunity to play and sing everything from marches to ballads. In a time before electronic media, playing the piano and singing were a form of early entertainment for families, and they had a range of sheet music to choose from.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Wreck of the Titanic: A Descriptive March,\u201d by John J. Thomas, is a musical re-telling of the story of the ocean liner. The sheet music doesn\u2019t have lyrics to sing, but it provides a dramatic synopsis of the tragedy with short descriptions such as \u201ctourists entering the ship\u201d and \u201cleaving port.\u201d Its ending includes the descriptions \u201cboilers explode,\u201d \u201cthe death toll,\u201d \u201cboat sinking,\u201d and \u201cCarpathia coming to the rescue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many of the songs about the Titanic<\/em> published in the first two years after the sinking recall that the ship\u2019s band played \u201cNearer, My God, to Thee\u201d on that fateful night. That\u2019s the subject of one of the lyrics in a song that claims to be the first song about the disaster: \u201cJust as the Boat Went Down.\u201d It is \u201cDedicated to the heroes who went down the world\u2019s largest ship.\u201d The cover states it\u2019s a souvenir edition and shows a before and after image of the ship. The song proclaims:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe band played,<\/em>
\nTho\u2019 doomed to drown,<\/em>
\n\u2018Nearer, My God, to Thee,\u2019<\/em>
\nJust as the boat went down.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Illustration:<\/a>
Illustration: \u201cNearer, My God, to Thee,\u201d published in the \u201cToledo News-Bee,\u201d 1912. Credit: Walter R. Allman; Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The story of this last song being played as the ship sank may just be that \u2013 a story. While it seems an appropriate hymn to play as thousands face their death, including all of the musicians, there is some debate whether \u201cNearer, My God, to Thee\u201d was actually played on the sinking ship.* But the idea that it was does make for some dramatic lyrics in the music produced right after the tragedy.<\/p>\n

Women and Children First<\/strong><\/p>\n

Questions after the sinking, and continued study of the Titanic<\/em> tragedy, raise questions about the code of conduct that dictates that men should sacrifice themselves to save women and children. After the sinking, some men were villainized for allegedly not obeying this unwritten rule. On the other hand, the male passengers who stayed onboard were praised for their sacrifice.<\/p>\n

These themes are found in the sheet music written after the sinking, especially in a song appropriately titled \u201cMy Sweetheart Went Down with the Ship,\u201d described as a \u201cbeautiful song inspired by the wreck of the Titanic.\u201d The second chorus and the refrain tell the story of a woman\u2019s sweetheart who obeyed the \u201cwomen and children first\u201d code, which led to his demise:<\/p>\n

Out in the sea, Parted from me, Down in the deep he is sleeping<\/em>
\nFearless and brave, His life he gave, And the angels their watch will be keeping.<\/em>
\n[refrain]
\nMy sweetheart went down with the ship,<\/em>
\nDown to an ocean grave,<\/em>
\nOne of the heroes who gave his life,<\/em>
\nThe women and children to save.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The code of women and children first is also a part of the 1912 composition by Mrs. C. W. Hea entitled \u201cDeath Song of \u2018The Titanic,\u2019\u201d whose second verse proclaims:<\/p>\n

Save first the babes and women,<\/em>
\nThen we will die like men.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Illustration:<\/a>
Illustration: Titanic\u2019s final plunge, published in the \u201cGraphic Supplement\u201d of 27 April 1914. Credit: Charles Dixon; Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sheet Music in the Newspapers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Online historical sheet music databases provide digitized copies of these Titanic<\/em> songs, but old newspapers \u2013 such as GenealogyBank\u2019s Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a> \u2013 also provide insight into the songs depicting the Titanic<\/em> disaster through announcements and advertising. For example, this 1913 Bismarck Daily Tribune<\/em> article announces that Alfred Karlson of Burleigh County, North Dakota, had penned the song \u201cThe Ill-Fated Titanic.\u201d It is described as:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026a beautiful song in which the fateful maiden voyage of the Titanic and the sad consequences of the awful disaster which terminated it are related in a touching and pathetic way, which awakens tender feelings of sympathy, etc., in the human heart.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"An<\/a>
Bismarck Daily Tribune (Bismarck, North Dakota), 18 April 1913, page 9<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You might have done a doubletake at the idea that Titanic<\/em> sheet music exists that dates to close after the tragedy, but Titanic<\/em> isn\u2019t the only disaster that influenced music right after the fact. The sinking of the Lusitania<\/em> in 1915 also influenced songs, with titles like \u201cWhen the Lusitania Went Down\u201d and \u201cAs the Lusitania Went Down (He Thought of the Girl Who Loved Him; He Thought of Their Wedding Day).\u201d<\/p>\n

Music Adds Social History<\/strong><\/p>\n

So why does music about the Titanic<\/em> matter to genealogists? A benefit of perusing online sheet music databases is that it helps us understand our ancestors\u2019 era better. Did they own a piano? What music were they familiar with? What were their thoughts about the tragedy? What was life like for them in 1912? All important questions as we think beyond names and dates and focus on our ancestors\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n

* \u201cLast Song of the Titanic,\u201d Snopes (https:\/\/www.snopes.com\/fact-check\/last-song\/<\/a>: accessed 9 April 2020).<\/p>\n

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