![]() It was also played by the Marine Band on Pennsylvania Avenue during the funeral procession through Washington and at the end of the funeral service itself, and at a memorial service for him in Westminster Abbey, London. At 3:30 in the afternoon of September 14 th, 1901, after five minutes of silence across the nation, numerous bands across the United States played the hymn, McKinley's favorite, in his memory. "Bethany" is not an option, 6 out of 8 band members were British, and none of them was American.Īnother tale, surrounding the death of President William McKinley in September 1901, quotes his dying words as being the first few lines of the hymn. Hartley replied that he would assemble the ship’s orchestra and play “O God Our Help in Ages Past” or “Nearer, My God, to Thee.”Ĭonclusion? "Prioper Deo" is most likely the last song played on the Titanic, but "Horbury" is also possible. Perhaps most convincing of all is a report in the Daily Sketch on April 22nd, 1912, where a colleague of Hartley’s recalled how some years earlier, while working aboard the Mauretania, he asked Hartley what he would do if he found himself on the deck of a sinking ship. “Nearer My God to Thee” was known to be a favorite of Hartley’s–who was also a friend of Sir Arthur Sullivan and who liked Sullivan’s music–and it was the hymn played at the graveside of all deceased members of the Musician’s Union. ![]() Hartley was a Methodist, just like another band member. “Propior Deo” would have been well known to the British passengers aboard the Titanic, and in passages it sounds very similar to “Bethany”–and nothing at all like “Horbury.” In the noise and confusion of the night, it would hardly be surprising if both Americans and Britons, hearing only snatches of music, would both believe that they were hearing the version of “Nearer, My God, to Thee” with which they were most familiar. However, the evidence for "Songe d'Automne" rested solely on the uncorroborated testimony of Harold Bride, who told a reporter for the New York Times that the last song he remembered the band playing was called “Autumn.” Now it is generally accepted that "Nearer, My God, to Thee" was the final song, and which version it was. The song comes in three main versions (and five other alternate versions): the American version ("Bethany" used in the 1943 Nazi propaganda film Titanic, the Jean Negulesco's 1953 film Titanic and James Cameron's 1997 Film Titanic.), the British version ("Horbury" played in Roy Ward Baker's 1958 movie about the sinking, A Night to Remember), and the British Methodist version, Propior Deo, which has currently not yet been played in any Titanic movie to this date.Įither one of these three versions or the popular waltz “Songe d’Automne" must have been the last song Wallace Hartley and his band had played. "Nearer, My God, to Thee" is associated with the RMS Titanic, as many passengers reported that it was the last song the ship's band played as the Titanic sank. Edmund", and there are other versions, including one referred to as "Liverpool" by John Roberts. Sullivan also wrote a second setting of the hymn to a tune referred to as "St. ![]() Methodists prefer the tune "Propior Deo" (Nearer to God), written by Arthur Sullivan (of Gilbert and Sullivan) in 1872. In the United Kingdom, the hymn is usually associated with the 1861 hymn tune "Horbury" by John Bacchus Dykes, while in the rest of the world, it is usually associated with the 1856 tune "Bethany" by Lowell Mason. It was first set to music by Adams' sister, composer Eliza Flower, for William Johnson Fox's collection Hymns and Anthems. The verse was written by English poet and Unitarian hymn writer Sarah Flower Adams (1805 - 1848) at her home in Sunnybank, Loughton, Essex, England, in 1841. Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee! E'en though it be a cross that raiseth me Still all my song shall be nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee! Chorus Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down, Darkness be over me, my rest a stone Yet in my dreams I'd be nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee! Chorus There let the way appear steps unto heav'n All that Thou sendest me in mercy giv'n Angels to beckon me nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee! Chorus Then with my waking thoughts bright with Thy praise, Out of my stony griefs Bethel I'll raise So by my woes to be nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee! Chorus Or if on joyful wing, cleaving the sky, Sun, moon, and stars forgot, upwards I fly, Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee! Text and music ![]() These are the lyrics to the hymn, when sung. ![]()
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