What was the Final Song Played on Titanic? 

Bright Side will probably say they played "My Heart Will Go On."

Don't forget about Eva Hart talking about running out of church service in a panic attack when everyone started singing Nearer My God To Thee. It was just a few months after the Titanic and it was the first time she'd heard the song since that night. A pretty compelling account I have to say.

Keep in mind, there's a difference between "the last song the band played" and "the last song I HEARD played" when struggling to survive amid what I'm sure was a loud chaotic and panicked setting

Personally, I believe "Nearer, My God to Thee" was the last song the Titanic Band played to it's completion. They then started to play "Songe D'Autumn", but didn't finish the tune due to the Final Purge starting during performance. Rather or not "Nearer My God to Thee" was the final song the band actually played, the story behind the band itself is as legendary as the ship they & 1500 others went down with.

Agree about Nearer My God To Thee being the last song the band played. It's a real tragedy that none of the band members survived.

I wonder if they started out with autumn. But were halfway playing it when the ship began to sink rapidly. So Wallace Heartly switched to Nearer My God to Thee thinking it was his last chance to play it.

I believe nearer my god to thee was played at 2:10AM the horbury version and at 2:15:45AM Songe de autumn was played until the 1st funnel collapse at 2:16:15AM

When using witness testimony as to what was the last song the band played, you need to factor in a timeline. Those who BELIEVED they had heard the last song played by the band may have been unable to hear them play an additional song, because of distance or ambient noise. This is always a crucial factor when determining what happened last in a major event.

I think the craziest thing about all of this is I think the band leaders violin survived the sinking and was found with him, which is probably why this resonates so much, as you gotta figure, here is this historical object of one of the worst sinkings in history, crossed with this story, and in the 1980's the ship is finally found and we're able to see it after so many years

Thank you Sam for this video. I just recently lost my brother this past Monday. I had to pick some music to play and when I saw this video I decided to play nearer my god to thee it will put my family minds at ease. It will show that we will be closer to God and be together once again in the next life.

Always go with the version that has the most accounts. There were more actual accounts from survivors that the ship broke in two - but certain more prominent passengers (from First Class etc.) said it did not break up, "respected men," etc., so that became the "official version." I believe it was Lord who pointed this out, too.

Listening to Songe D'Autumn, I could hear a few notes that could have been confused for Nearer My God to Thee depending on which version they played. There's a part where you can almost sing "...to thee" along with Songe D'Autumn. I think it was Tom Lynskey who said that Harold Bride was momentarily trapped under collapsible B and the last few minutes of the sinking would have been very chaotic and confusing for him anyway. Perhaps Bride thought he heard Songe D'Autumn briefly but he was confused. It's hard to say.

I also believe the same. "Songe d'Automne" was played first and then (and last) "Nearer My God to Thee" (the Methodist version) was played only minutes before the final plunge took place

Nearer My God to Thee from Titanic sounds a lot like the opening song from the 1999 movie October Sky. Beautiful.

I feel they might have played a couple songs during the end in the chaos probably only a little was heard over the crashing and ship ripping itself apart

It's pretty freaky that Hartley's friend asked him that question shortly before he sailed on the Titanic. Perhaps I'm a bit superstitious, but I probably wouldn't ask my friend "what song would you play on a sinking ship" shortly before their upcoming sea voyage.

Eva hart said it was one version of the nearer,my God to thee and afterwards she was running out of church hearing the humm .I can't find a better testemony than hers.autumn was indeed a very popular song in the time but I don't think it was tha final song .great great video

Frank Prentice then 18 and working on Titanic openly admitted the band played Nearer my God to Thee.

Great video Sam! This is one of the best videos you’ve done so far. Definitely glad you included Wallace’s testimony on the Maurentia. And I think that the final song was Nearer My God to Thee which was played at 2.10am. Good old Helen Churchill Candee! Keep up the good work Sam 🙂

that is the part of the movie (1997) where I really start crying...when the band begins playing and then it just goes downhill from there.

Autumn sounds a lot like the Methodist version of Nearer my god to thee, so I can see the confusion. Hartley was a methodist so that's likely the version he would have played.

It's possible that Titanic's band played both songs. The conflict could be due to the location of the passengers at the time. Some would have heard Nearer my God to thee but may have been to far from the band to hear Autumn. While some were close enough to hear the band play Autumn. This would have to mean that the song Autumn would have been played after Nearer my God to thee.

Due to research done in "recent years" (although, due to my very faulty memory, it might not have been so "recent"), it is believed that "Nearer My God To Thee" WAS, in fact, the final piece played by the band. The fact that a good number of survivors recalled it this way tells me that they couldn't ALL be wrong. Also, when Bride mentioned "Autumn", the media misinterpreted it as the song actually named, "Autumn", and did not know Bride was most likely referring to "Songe d'autumne", which was commonly known in England at that time as "Autumn". One argument against Bride is that, I think, he may have been the only one who mentioned it.

I believe that nearer my god to thee was the last song played on the Titanic that night, love your videos Sam, keep up the great work.

Excellent. Thank you. I agree. 'Autumn', then 'Nearer My God to Thee', then the band broke up; then the ship broke up. :/

A little bit of book trivia. In the novel Raise The Titanic as they're looking for the wreck they come across a band instrument on the ocean floor. During the restoration of the instrument he says Autim the last song ever played on this. The other person says "not neirer my god to thee"? He answered that was a rumor.

I love your argument and find it compelling and it satisfies me. I do remember hearing an argument against ‘Nearer My God to Thee’ being the last song played because it wasn’t in the music books that the Band had been provided with. However, if it’s true, they could have played it from memory; they were musicians after all.

This was fascinating. You kept surprising me with new info! Cool video.

Watching and listening to several of the interviews of the eyewitnesses the majority of survivors who were the last off the ship heard Nearer My God to Thee. Thank you for the videos you post. I am so interested in learning all there is to know about the Titanic.

Songe D'Automne it certainly conveys a sense of impending doom.

Hi Sam, thank you for another great video. I like to believe that the last piece the band play was “Nearer, My God To Thee”. I look forward to watching more of your videos, they are really helping me at this hard time in my life. Please keep up the good work. 👍🇬🇧🇺🇦

I actually have the A Night to Remember and it has some good information, great video Sam, cant wait for more!

Can you do a video on the duff-gordons and the lifeboat that was nicknamed the “millionaire’s boat” on the titanic please? Id like to learn more about it.

One "what if" scenario that has always fascinated me is: what if the D-Deck gangway door was never opened? How would it have affected the sinking? How much longer would the titanic have survived? I think it would make a good "what if" video

Thanks again for another great video, and for including the Autumn Song link.

As a musician, a seamless medley from the two songs makes too much sense, especially with transition and to keep the flow and the calmness. It could even happen spontaneously or with a request from the bandleader in real-time. I have played hymns in church and we would do this all the time.

I don't think it was both, I think it was just Nearer My God to Thee, but those not familiar with the hymn or the version played may have misheard it as Autumn.

You should buy the Lego Titanic Set.

Such brave men. So very sad. RIP Titanic Band.❤ Thank you Sam for this video. I always wondered about this song. Never heard it before. RIP Titanic passengers and crew. Never to be forgotten. All gone now. ❤ I believe it was Nearer my God to Thee.

I never read the Book (A night to remember) but I did find an audiobook on youtube and listened to and it was a great story on the detals told in the Night of when The Titanic sank

When I read one of the band members story, the main one (I'm sorry, I am bad with names) was said to tell people that if he ever was on a sinking ship he'd play nearer my God to thee OR another song (probably autumn). But he seemed very strong on NMGTT. The possibility is there

You're quite the detective! I appreciate these nuanced details of Titanic that you bring to our attention. Also, it has been fun watching your collection grow over the years. You'll have enough for a museum yourself, soon. Sidenote, I'd say have a nice weekend but if the hickey on your neck is any clue I'd say your off to a good start. ;-) Thanks again for all you do on this channel.

Question I've never heard anybody ask: What was the first song played during the sinking of the Titanic?

I wouldn't be surprised if the band played both Nearer My God to Thee and Autum in close timing near the end.

From the beginning I had Sam's summary in mind. Excellent video, sir.

Offering my theory: It was a terrifying night full of chaos and confusion so expecting every survivor to perfectly remember things like "last song played before it sank" is a tall order. That being said, "Nearer My God to Thee" is a good contender.

I almost heard nearer my God to thee. The tune is similar. The naked ear(not paying much attention) could play a part in it. The focus on surviving; rather than listening.i was preoccupied for a second and heard you play autumn; I heard nearer my God to thee

These musicians stuck to their posts till the final plunge wow they were definitely committed to keeping the crowd calm and to there music wow

Dear Sam, I never had much interest in the Titanic or in Ocean liners in particular. Still I watch almost every video of yours because the way you narrate these stories is so fun and interesting. ;) Keep it up!

Excellent video! I always enjoy anything having to do with the musicians. Just a thought: Is it possible that a musician could've continued playing after Wallace and the others put their instruments away, and that perhaps "Songe D'Automne" was the song that lone musician played? So technically "Nearer My God to Thee" could've been the last song they played as a band, but maybe Harold heard one or a few musicians continue playing without Wallace?

I had no idea Walter Lord wrote another book about Titanic!

Speaking of songs and the Titanic, I STRONGLY recommend the song “Titanic’s Lament” by Karliene to Sam and anyone else who is interested in the story of the Titanic. It’s a phenomenal song and it really captures the emotion of that night.

Outstanding video and presentation. Thank you

Good in-depth analysis I'd say. You missed out one thing tho: Bride mentioned Autumn in a newspaper, which was actually edited. He never mentioned it in the inquiries too. I also have some strong doubts on Propior Deo being played. Mainly, because most of the band was actually Catholic or Anglican and wouldn't be familiar with this version, but rather Horbury. Also, survivors would have been more familiar with Horbury, as a lot of them were Catholic or Anglican too.

I think Songe d'Automne was the last official number. If Hartley played Nearer My God to Thee, it would've been very, very late in the sinking. The band was playing to calm people and quell panic. Nearer My God to Thee is a funeral hymn, and playing it would not be calming during the sinking. I bet this is what happened: the band finished by playing Songe d'Automne, Hartley played Nearer My God to Thee (Propior Deo), packed up his violin, and met his fate. It should be noted that Archibald Gracie said the band never played Nearer My God to Thee, and he thought even the idea of it was tactless.

I went "wait wait wait but I know that one!" on 9:56 because Autumn Dream waltz is still a part of a typical brass band repertoire of waltzes to play in parks in summer in Russia and I've heard it lots of times :)

The version of Autumn that people believed the band played was the Hymn Autumn. I’ve found it and it sounds quite beautiful. Theres a piece called the Sinking of the Titanic, by Gavin Bryar, that has several strains from Autumn if you’re interested.

the old autumn song is by vivaldi from his four seasons

What a banger mate. Good vid

Lord makes a good comment saying that Bride was a trained observer and that he was also one of the few people who survived the disaster after going into the water, so he was on the ship til the very last minutes. I lean more towards Autumn being the last song, also the last song being nearer my god to thee is so cliche and the more newsy type of testimony. Also there’s no reason to think the band thought that would be their last song.

I agree with your declaration that both songs may have been sung, that was honestly my first thought when I heard of this controversy. The story about the band leaders' friend is absolutely insane. One heck of a coincidence if true.

There is the other version of the autumn song m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EKSjuQqqs-E.html I think it's more likely that it was that version because it sounds more similar to Nearer my God to thee

It's far-fetched, but maybe both were played as the ship was going down? There were two "bands" on the Titanic, and we will never really know what the two piano players did that night.

In the James Cameron film, the orchestra plays what is supposed to be the "final" song. As Hartley or some other member sees the water and dismisses everyone, Hartley begins to play Nearer my God to Thee, and the others overhear and eventually join in. If what happened in the film is any indication of what actually happened in real life, I think Autumn was the song that was supposed to be the last one.

Actually i believe the real final song played was Cardi B's WAP

Why couldn’t it have been both songs where one led into the other without a significant break in between? For example, and forgive me for using this modern analogy, but whenever music stations play the Queen songs ‘We will rock you’ and ‘We are the champions’, they always play them together with very little airtime inbetween and very rarely is one played without the other. Perhaps Wallace Hartley did something similar since D’Autumn was a song that many people knew at that time but at the same time with Wallace Hartley being a very religious man as well as telling someone that he would play ‘Nearer My God to Thee’ if he were on a sinking ship. Whose to say both songs weren’t played with very little pause in the middle?

I have a book on Broadway Musicals Show By Show and I turned it to the page that had the Musical of the Titanic and it says right on the bottom of the page The orchestra did not play "Near My God to Thee". "It was Autumn".

Sam- as always, your content is excellently presented. Couple of things, maybe food for thought: The bands purpose in playing music that tragic night was to calm the passengers while the lifeboats were being loaded. Indeed, somewhere around 205am as Collapsible D was being launched I believe our national anthem "Star Spangled Banner" was being played. Throughout the sinking, the band played popular tunes that were upbeat to bolster passenger spirits. By playing "Nearer My God To Thee" this would be a complete departure from their original purpose, because this would have musically confirmed to the remaining 1500 passengers theyre about to die. Thats not very reassuring or calming. As for those in the lifeboats, I myself (had I been one of them) would've been mesmerized by the silhouette of the Titanic sinking, only lit by her fading deck lights. I wouldn't have paid attention to what was being played. This brings me to "Song D'Autome" (pronounced, I believe, "Song Daw-Tawm) .....aka - "Autumn".....this was an extremely popular song at the time, and in playing this it gives no foreshadowing of your imminent death in the next few minutes. Up until the end, the band in playing this selection would've stuck true to their purpose: reassuring/calming passengers as best as they could. Thats why "Autumn" gets my vote. All it takes is one survivor on the Carpathia to start a legendary story & the rumor spreads like wildfire. Those that survived the sinking after being tossed off the deck when the boat deck dipped under had a lot more to worry about than what was being played on deck before they got washed off. Love to hear your thoughts on this (sorry if wordy but had to cover all my bases) or anyone elses The band members were true heroes, no matter what they played. God bless them.

Yes.eva hart heatd and ran out of the church when she heard that song. I believe eva hart.

9:25. Songe d'Automne (SOHJ(uh) D'oh-TOH(nuh)) - In French, the g is a soft g when preceding e or i, making a j sound (that sometimes sounds like sh in our ears), yet the e's are silent, as is the m, otherwise it and the n would be nasalized. The "uh"s are almost barely audible, but get mentioned if the next word after the e begins with a consonant (e.g. Notre Dame; it is "NO-truh DAHM" for the cathedral, not "Noter-Daym" like the famous college). When d or l precede an apostrophe that precedes a vowel, the word gets pronounced as though without separation, whereas a word beginning with a consonant would have the words "Le" and "La" or "de" for singular or "Les" or "des" for plural (for example, Les Miserables). That's basically it.

Why is that clip of "a night to remember" in color. The film 🎥 was in black and white

It’s amazing how many historical details we take as fact actually turn out to be inaccurate, just because one historian made a mistake or a story gets muddled in the immediate aftermath of an event. Titanic sank more than 110 years ago and we think we’ve seen and read everything there is to know about the ship. But then you look at the first-hand accounts again or someone notices a detail that was ignored before, and it completely turns the facts on their heads. It floors me how much we are still learning. Just goes to show that we should never stop studying history, and absolutely we should look at primary sources as much as possible. Who knows what “fact” is going to be disproven next? And not because historians of the past were incompetent or purposely changing things, but because our understanding can change over time.

Whatever they played, those musicians were a class act.

Remember there is also more than one tune back then for Nearer My God to Thee, also some of those who claimed it was were in lifeboats and off the ship....I tend to agree it would have been Autumn. The other may have been played near the end, but Harold Bride was on Titanic to the end, so I give his the most creedance.

The old version of Autumn is in the Antonio Vivaldi's" The Seasons Third Movement "

Please do the Scandinavian Star. :)

Well, here's my two cents: not only between different denomonations are there different versions, but also different places. You know what? The british version (given this is a english ship, it most likely was that version) sounds similar to Autumn. Add in rushing water, screaming, and funnels falling, you'd probably think that was Autumn.

The three settings (tunes) used for Nearer, My God, To Thee (NMGTT) are as follows: -- Church of England (UK) -- "Horbury" -- Methodist Church (UK) -- "Propior Deo" -- Episcopal Church (USA) -- "Bethany" Of the three, Propior Deo and Bethany sound similar enough that, if Hartley & Co. were playing Propior Deo (Hartley's preferred version), it is at least conceivable that American survivors could mistake it for Bethany (thus explaining why both British and American survivors remembered hearing it). There is no way Horbury would be mistaken for _either_ of the other two, however. As an aside, Horbury was the version played in "A Night to Remember" (most likely under the assumption that on a British ship the musicians would use the Church of England version, in ignorance of Hartley's Methodist roots), while Bethany is the version used in both the 1953 and 1997 movies named "Titanic". (The 1953 version absurdly has a band with brass wind instruments, and even more absurdly shows all the passengers remaining aboard standing in orderly rows singing the song from memory - including Isidor and Ida Straus. The likelihood that an aging Jewish couple - both of whom were German-born and whose first language was German - would know the words to a Christian hymn by memory is very small indeed.)

Makes me wonder what else we don’t know about the disaster 20:59 sums it up pretty well

Great video indeed! I'd come to the same conclusion on the same evidence. In my case I add the finale wrinkle as to what tune was "Nearer My God To Thee" played to, "Horbury", used in the 1957 film "A Night To Remember" and "Bethany" used in, amongst others, James Cameron's 1997 'Titanic" (source Wikipedia). Whilst Wallace Hartley was British Methodist the most wealthy of the first class passengers he'd have played for during the voyage were Americans. Given that the band's job, in times of crisis, was to play tunes to calm the passengers I'd be going for "Bethany" which, as an Aussie, I understand is more popular on the American side of the pond!

I ordered On A Sea Of Glass recently.

I love it when historians continue to do research. That's why I trust them!

Another great video!

First of all I can not put my thoughts and feelings in one person , Harold Bride . Wallace has said that he would play Nmgt on a sinking ship. I think that Wallace told the band members “ Ok guys one last song “. Because of his faith and what he said he would do he chose NMGT . This is backed up to me by the survivors in the life boats. They were scared yes but had some time to compose their thoughts on this . On the carpathia they were able to first start to talk about this song , as well as other thoughts of the sinking with their fellow survivors

Wallace Hartley's band might have indeed very well played both "Autumn" and "Nearer, my God, to Thee" (in whatever order) :-)

However, your forgetting to account for the times the survivors left the ship. As some survivors may have reported the last song they heard before they departed the ship.

Did they ever find their instruments in the wreckage or perhaps the violin case or something? Do you think they might have brought a way to protect their instruments just in case if they were rescued? Were any of the funnels ever found? You did a phenomenal video on this subject. Many thanks to you. 👌🙂

Wow, as I watched the video I heard the final song was called Adam until there was Autumn written on screen.

Nearer My God To Thee

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼great video!!

Very good video

9:23 Pronounced Songe (ge as in garage in British English) d'Otomn (d as in duh). The title is in French.

All the reasons you stated added confusion to what song was heard. I also believe that at what time the person left the ship could have added to the confusion.

Loved your intro

"Songe d'Automne" means "Fall Dream". The "ge" is spoken like the "G" in "Gerald".

Most of the carpathia survivors were well away from the boat when the last song was played, and on the other side of the boat from the band. How would they hear it? It sounds like something that circulated among the survivors ….

Knowing some background, history and culture around where the Titanic was built In Belfast and the men there who built and crewed her, a hymn such as 'Nearer my God to Thee' would be an obvious selection.

If Mr. Hartley performed the last song as a violin solo, it would seem natural that he chose the Methodist melody with which he was familiar. However, since the musicians are said to have played together, and since they presumably played from memory and not from sheet music during the sinking, it would probably have been most sensible to agree on the most well-known melodic version. Now somebody would have to find out what this most famous Malody of the Song was in England in 1912. But even then it's all pure speculation, since the musicians might all have been good at improvising and playing by ear, if they were able to concentrate at all under the enormous mental strain. I find it suprising that among the 710 survivors there wasn't a single person who would have been able to hum the melody heard. Then there would be clarity and there would be no need to spread myths about the subject today.

I love your videos my son loves the titanic brittanic and lusitainia and a lego titanic that he built on his own😊

Superb. That's all I can say. The theory holds the most sense. Both songs played. Only would Nearer My God to The have been played to its completion before Titanic sank? Church hymns of that era could be rather lengthy and time had already run out for the ship. Could both have been fully performed prior to the band being either swept from their feet or forced to flee higher up the deck?