Recently I watched a video about shipwreck recoveries and it mentioned that some sheet music was salvaged from the Titanic wreckage. The documentary speculated it was played during the ship’s journey.
Something like this humanizes the people aboard the ship far more than the tragedy of the ship sinking, at least for me. I suppose because I can’t imagine standing on the deck of a sinking ship in my evening finery, knowing my death is imminent and singing Nearer my God to Thee. It’s an eerily beautiful scene but not a relatable one.
But these songs give you a different picture of the people aboard. Listening to (or singing) silly songs is much more relatable.
Truth be told, I prefer the more romantic and tragic story of the Titanic, but the people in that version don’t seem real to me. Listening to ordinary music they liked brings them closer. It makes the contrast between their everyday lives and the horror of their last moments that much more jarring.
Do you remember the tragedy last summer with the little submersible that imploded on its way down to visit the wreck site? There were five people aboard, including an Indian billionaire who was obsessed with the Titanic. He must have been, to pay half a million dollars for seats for himself and his son on a rickety submersible.
I can understand wanting to get close enough to see the ruins of this magnificent and legendary shipwreck for myself. But thinking practically, what did he expect to find at the bottom of the ocean? Much of the ship has worn away over time. The wreck has been picked over already. And the visibility is nothing like the glossy documentaries where everything is easy to see. The ocean floor is very dark, and the submersible had only a tiny portal through which he could have squinted at the murky water.
If he only knew how to do it, he could have come much closer to the lost passengers—perhaps even momentarily lifted the veil that separates them from us—using what we know of their lives and experiencing the world as they once did.
old spirituals 
Most people today think of the Titanic and its sinking from a “Love Story” perspective, i.e. the characters played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in James Cameron’s 1997 film “Titanic.” inspiration for the film came from his fascination with shipwrecks. The story of the Titanic is embedded in Western Culture. Reference to the Titanic is often as an allegory for a disaster. It is frequently said, “This is like having a deck chair on the Titanic.”
There is also the “SS Edmund Fitzgerald” that sank in Lake Superior on November 10, 1975, later the subject of a song by Gordon Lightfoot. And, lest we not forget the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “The Wreck of the Hesperus.” Longfellow may have based his narrative poem on the sinking of the ship “Favorite” in the early 1800s. There was a time when reference to the “Wreck of the Hesperus” was an allegory for a disaster, too.
Seems we have a fascination for sunken ships!!!
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I guess we do! There’s something alluring about the idea of a lost ship. I have to check out the wrecks you mentioned! I wrote a post a long time ago about American Murder Ballads. Might be time for part 2!
I didn’t care for the 97 Titanic movie though it was very well done. I guess I didn’t like it because I love that era so much and the movie seemed to fly in the face of the culture of the times. It felt very Hollywood and designed for mass consumption. I’m not against that type of movie. I loved Gangs of New York, which was another historical blockbuster starring Leonardo di Caprio. But the Titanic movie was devoid of the qualities that characterized the people and the environment they created: reserved and self-reliant, independent with their emotions under control, and individualistic. When they built things, they invested the time and thought and money to make it beautiful and solid—-built to last a thousand years. And most survivors of the Titanic shunned attention and never spoke of it publicly. The movie had a different vibe and you could easily imagine the actors as modern people who would live-stream the sinking while preening in front of their cameras, and posting it with their new @TitanicSurvivorGrrrl Instagram handle.
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Had to laugh at @TitanicSurvivorGrrrl but it’s true. People who grow up without privacy don’t miss it. If the Titanic happened in 2023 instead of 1912 it would no longer be a life-defining event because most people would experience it artificially through the lens of a smartphone.
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Documenting is way less impactful than experiencing
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No question that Di Caprio is a superb actor. Ditto on “The Gangs of New York” movie. And, of course, there are others DiCaprio movies that are also outstanding, like “The Aviator” and “The Revenant.”
For more 19th Century historical fiction watch “The Gilded Age” on HBO/MAX. That era of American history is fascinating.
Commend you for typing “di Caprio” and not “DiCaprio.” In Italy, a name cannot have two capital letters without the space. “Di Caprio” or “di Caprio” are correct. Without a space it should be be written “Dicaprio” or, just “Caprio.” “DiCaprio” is the Americanized version.
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Jax, I’m so curious about your background! Are you a professor or an author maybe? Once upon a time, I got to do an internship in Italy for a few months at a museum. It was a wonderful time !
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Thank you for the compliment, but I am neither an author nor a professor. I’m a retired HR executive of Italian immigrant grandparents and have dual citizenship — American and Italian. Coincidentally, my mother’s maiden name was “Caprio.” I have no familial relationship with “Leonardo Di Caprio.”
An appetite for history and research, among other hobbies, keeps me entertained in retirement. I especially enjoy anecdotal history and historical fiction. A book you may enjoy is “A Land Remembered,” by Patrick D. Smith. It is the saga of a family that moves from Georgia to Florida in 1858. It provides insight into life in Florida’s early years and the people and culture of the era. The story ends in 1968. Hope this doesn’t sound cliché; the book depicts the true character of 19th and early 20th Century Americans.
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That book sounds really interesting! I suppose there’s not many better places to observe human nature than Human Resources… maybe you’ll write a book yourself one day. I’d definitely read it!
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The early years dealing with a large international union were the most challenging and enjoyable. To date, I have only told them to family and friends.
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It’s definitely something to consider. One of my favorite things is hearing or reading what people think of my stories. And I write about the lives of other people, but you actually lived these stories!
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Longfellow’s Wreck of the Hesperus is one of my favorites
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A museum in Los Angeles had a Titanic Exhibit a few years ago. Upon entering, we were at the foot of the Grand Staircase. The curators had made an exact replica. The artifacts were so touching and it felt as if time had stood still. There was a huge part of the side of the ship with a few port holes and an opening in the Plexiglas for us to reach in and touch this piece of history. I believe the lost passengers would be glad they had not been forgotten. So much of the ship is being lost to the sea and I’m thankful the expert explorers have salvaged artifacts and taken incredible video footage of the inside of Titanic. I agree that “selfies” while the ship is sinking and probably rap music playing in the background! Ship of Fools? Lol
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Ha ha definitely some rap music thrown in for good measure!
The museum sounds so interesting. There is something so remarkable about those few and far between items that somehow survived on the ocean floor for a hundred years and were miraculously retrieved. These objects bring those poor lost souls close to us again… it sounds very touching.
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