Songe d'Automne Dream Of Autumn

[uranian99]

Junior Wireless Operator Harold Bride said that this was last piece of music played. He said he was very popular at skating rinks.

[RobAstor]

@uranian99 Thanks for listening!

[uranian99]

@RobAstor Your welcome. I meant to say, "He said IT was very popular at skating rinks." I have never heard it until a few days ago, and it is haunting. Walter Lord wrote, "The legend is the band went down playing 'Nearer my God to Thee.' Many passengers still insist this was so, and there is no reason to doubt their sincerity." Be that as it may, there are two melodies of the hymn, the American and the Brittish. so which did they play? I think "Songe d'Automne would be the best contender.

[RobAstor]

@uranian99 I'm torn between three and my pick of them would be this song. However, it could have been the hymn "Autumn" which has a very similar chord progression to "Nearer..." which might be the other strongest possibility. At any rate, no one will ever know for certain until we can safely go back in time without changing the past! ;-)

[aperson224]

I'm doing a power point on the Titanic and i cant find a download to this song do you know where you got it?

[RobAstor]

@aperson224 The version in this video, I recorded. If you wanted something more faithful to the original, trying doing a title search on iTunes. The version I'm most familiar with is on a CD called "TITANIC Music As Heard On The Fateful Voyage". You'll find my version on iTunes as well. Thanks for listening!

[VelvetSpruce]

This was the last song played on Titanic while it was sinking

[RobAstor]

@VelvetSpruce Yes. :-) Thanks for listening.

[Christianrocker1990]

@VelvetSpruce Actually that's unconfirmed.

[Emothic1994]

I am researching this topic very thoroughly in hope of an accurate novel. It is fictitious in character but the events will happen as they were reported to have been so. The song is lovely and a wonderful tune to be listening to. I imagine they might have been playing this before it was made awares to the passengers that the ship was sinking. In making this comment, I have not researched a whole lot at this point. If I am wrong, please tell me.

[RobAstor]

@Emothic1994 Good luck on your project! :-) Read the description & comments for many insight. :-) Thanks for listening & commenting!

[Terminus616]

this is truely beautiful

[RobAstor]

@Terminus616 Thank you. Very much appreciated! :-)

[lakelandchief]

I know the story very well. Even with the new story coming out today about the Titanic. Even if it was a steering mis-understanding I think there was a whole bunch of other factors to. And why this song and Nearer my god to the where reported as the last songs maybe the band combined the two and or they simply just played both and it's a matter of where you where. RIP to all of those aboard.

[RobAstor]

@lakelandchief Thanks for listening and commenting!

[lakelandchief]

@RobAstor You are welcome. I turned on my commentary to the movie and Mr. Cameron was saying about the "tiller commands". Can you elaborate? I guess in those days port meant right instead of left??? confused.

[RobAstor]

@lakelandchief For whatever reason, the wheel seemed to turn in the opposite direction so that starboard, you turned to port (or left) and vice versa. I just read that a lot of men coming off other ships of the period had confusion because the steamers turned differently. And I might have th directions backwards, but, that's the general idea. I think that's what Cameron might have meant.

[lakelandchief]

@RobAstor That is a very interesting story. How come that was held during the testimony? I found the whole testimony U.S.A and Britain one online and read a good if not all of it and did not find anything about that if I remember right. Like they say in the movie they lost the binoculars which might be true. Even if they did not have them you think they could of seen it. Although there was no water breaking the base of the ice berg that night.

[MulletManSam]

@RobAstor From what I read back then the directions for turning were given as such due to the person manning the wheel looking at the bottom of the wheel as they turned it, or something of that nature.

[RobAstor]

@MulletManSam Yes, I remember it that way, too.

[jltemmer]

@lakelandchief

Tiller commands order the direction the rudders control arm goes toward. the command "hard-a-starboard" would have it pushed to the starboard side, turning the rudder which is on the opposing side of the rudder stock to turn to the port side. This would cause the ship to turn to the port or left.

[zurichstudios]

whew so sad

[RobAstor]

@zurichstudios Thanks for listening and commenting!

[Ganjateer88]

Can you imagine the atmosphere this song created as the titanic was about to plunge down into it's inescapable fate. Myself, I would be looking for another way to quickly end myself....

[RobAstor]

@Ganjateer88 Certainly a new way of looking at things. ;-) Thanks for listening!

[genrail1]

Well done and thanks!

[RobAstor]

@genrail1 Thank you!

[Cloudnerd]

This kind of makes a knot at my throat...it's so sad, but so beautiful.

[RobAstor]

@Cloudnerd Thanks so much for the comment and for taking the time to listen.

[Cloudnerd]

@RobAstor And thank you for posting such a lovely piece.

[lordchocobo222]

This is rather romantically haunting...

[RobAstor]

@lordchocobo222 Thanks for listening and commenting. :-)

[GaLsMaNN]

@RobAstor there have been many reports as the last song like this and :Nearer, My God, to Thee", "Autumn". , and "Londonderry Air". but it terrifiys mythat they would let that happen to so many people and they may have been saved if more life bouts had been availible

[RobAstor]

@GaLsMaNN I agree about the number of boats. There were more than the guidelines called for at that time. After Titanic, every ship had enough boats for every single passenger. Keep in mind, a lot of people never thought Titanic could sink, some of them even as it was. Unfortunately, it sometimes takes a painful disaster to wake everyone up to the fact that things have to change. Thanks for listening and commenting!

[coodyROCKER]

@RobAstor this is still the same person.... and if the media weren't so dumb and thickheaded some people mayhave different opinions as the White Star Line said it was practicly unsinkable not unsinkable... and an employ said that not even God himself could sink this ship and there the Titanic went and they only wanted lifeboats if they needed to rescue anyone.... I'm doing a play on it.... and I have studied it for a couple of years now...... I love this song tho it kinnda sounds erie

[RobAstor]

@coodyROCKER Best of luck with your play. :-)

[RobAstor]

@lakelandchief I don' think of the music as fatalistic at all. :-) James and his crew may have thought "Nearer..." or another song was the last played. But, accounts from survivors from years before point to this one. If you read all the responses I've left to posters, you'll see my line of thought. :-) Thanks for listening and commenting!

[woods5string3]

How do I contact you?

[woods5string3]

Nothing like a waltz while slipping into the North Atlantic.

[RobAstor]

@woods5string3 Yeah! LOL Thanks for listening.

[Moeman774746]

heh..well I can imagine a grand ship slipping beneath the waves to this too...I'd take Bride's word over the passenger that was already off the ship heh..

[RobAstor]

@Moeman774746 Something about how the music swirls up and up and up... Easy for me to hear it as the last piece, too. Thanks for listening and commenting!

[Moeman774746]

@RobAstor definately...maybe that's something I liked musically about the '97 film..when the ship is going down there's a part in the soundtrack that transitions from very low octave instruments to french horns then to trumpets belting out high C's heh..I'll send a link if I find it :)

[cameronboy18]

Very nice- this is played during an extra feature on the Titanic Special Edition DVD. Great stuff.

[RobAstor]

@cameronboy18 Thanks for taking the time to listen and comment!

[TheGozalus]

......

[lilanma]

Interesting, thanks!

[lilanma]

He's been reported to have said he'd play either this or Nearer My God to Thee as well.

[Flagg1991]

Why play this as it sank? I know I"D play Nearer my God, to thee!

[RobAstor]

I don't know. Unfortunately no one was ever able to ask that reason. Hope you enjoyed the music!

[squillysk8]

@Flagg1991 it was t o calm the people down

[lilanma]

I actually read that it was the Autumn hymn and this waltz that were not in the songbook. If so, and they were playing this, they would have been playing it from memory. I don't really see how it's too unlikely that they would play Nearer My God to Thee, although I certainly see your points about it. I thought the bandleader had said that Nearer My God to Thee would certainly be a song he played while a ship sank; however, that doesn't they didn't play others after that one.

[RobAstor]

"Songe d'Automne" was from the songbook (I don't recall the number off hand, as all tunes were referred to by a number) popular just a few years before and written by Joyce who was a friend. I agree, it's not unlikely to pick "Nearer..." as a final song, just that many people said it wasn't. :-) We'll just never know for sure what that last set list was. Thanks for listening and commenting!

[lilanma]

In any case, they might have played it while the ship was sinking even if it wasn't the last. Nice video, in any case! :-) Do you know any videos that play the actual hymn "Autumn" on Youtube? I can't seem to find it.

[RobAstor]

I can't remember where I head it. Try a Google search for the title and words like 'Episcopal', 'hymn', and 'mp3' or 'midi'. that should help you turn it up.

[kensyyy]

q idioma hablan ? :)

great song!

[RobAstor]

Glad you like it! :-)

[jsnr77]

piękna muzyka, słucham jej bez przerwy od godziny, rewelacja ;) SO GOOD!

[RobAstor]

:-) Thanks for listening and commenting.

[jkilts]

I think 5:52 is the scariest picture in this. It's the last ever taken of it.

[RobAstor]

I think of it as ghostly, or haunting, because we all know now that the ship was sailing off into history. Thanks for listening and commenting.

[wikiwuki]

i can see how nearer my god to thee and this sounds alike

[RobAstor]

Thanks for listening.

[hounited1]

It sends chills down my spine as i listen to this song. It seem very appropriate to the situation that the titanic was in considering the tune and stuff like that. Really sad...But the band should be commended for accomplishing what they are there for, to provide entertainment to the passenger even in the brink of their death.

[RobAstor]

My thoughts exactly. Thanks for listening and commenting!

[chicotower]

The movie "A Night to Remember" has the band playing "Horbury" the version of "Nearer My God to Thee" that I have read would have been Bandmaster Hartley's favorite version of the hymn. However, I think that the song played in this video is very appropriate also. Excellent footage and stills of the Titanic lend a haunting quality to this great video!

[RobAstor]

Thanks for taking the time to listen and comment. :-)

[fritzkacks]

well that sond is nice but i think you twisted something cause in the last minuts of the 'TITANIC' the played just 'autumn' and not 'dream of autumn' and i know that they didn't play exactly at the end of the 'TITANIC' cause the last minut nearly nobody could eaven stand oh her so the could never play any songs well thats the way i tink of it ^^ if you think i'm wron and you can proof it i accept that they played in the last minut of the 'TITANIC'

[RobAstor]

Oh, I agree that when the ship was rising, breaking apart, and plunging, probably no one was playing music. What was heard as the last piece of music, before the ship sank, has always been a point of contention and fascination. I think this is one of two really good candidates by historical eyewitness accounts. Thanks for listening and commenting. Hope you enjoyed my version.

[fritzkacks]

of course i did enjoy it^^ the music is really beautiful and the video is really good^^

[RobAstor]

Thank you!

[wikiwuki]

for some reason, i think nearer my god to thee fits perfectly with the titanic's last minutes as it's sinking deeper into the ocean.

[RobAstor]

Thank you for listening and commenting!

[wikiwuki]

your welcome.

[RobAstor]

Thanks for the information about Bride and for listening!

[rimfa123]

Beautiful song, it seems logical that the final song would have had religious origins, most likely a hymn, to calm the passengers. I see what you mean about the ghostly element as well, very powerfull music. And thanks for sharing this with us:) regards- a self confessed Titanorack! lol

[RobAstor]

Thank you very much for listening and taking the time to comment! :-)

[animelover6195]

I am seriously confused now. Is this the last song played or is it Nearer, My God, To Thee?

[RobAstor]

Toss up between three. Many said it was "Autumn", often meaning "Songe d'Automne". There is an episcopale hymn titled "Autumn" that has a very similar chord progression as "Nearer My God To Thee". If the hymn was played, it stands to reason in the confusion people thought is was "Nearer..." But, several passengers say it was "Autumn", possibly meaning this track. Eva Hart stood up after "A Night To Remember" premeired and said, "They weren't playing 'Near My God To Thee' as the ship sank."

[galoon]

Good points--and Eva Hart was 7 years old at the time--old enough to remember under those circumstances. So including Bride that makes at least two witnesses who said Nearer My God to Thee was not the final song. Plus, it wasn't in the White Star Line orchestra's songbook, while Songe d' Automne was.

[RobAstor]

Thanks for taking the time to comment. I forgot that fact about the orchestra songbook. Hope you enjoyed the track!

[NHSActor]

For the record, Junior Marconi Wireless Officer Harold Bride was the one who asserted that Songe d'Automne was the last song. The majority of other passengers claimed that it was "Nearer my God to Thee." Chief Baker Charles Joughlin even asserted that it was "Alexander's Ragtime Band"

[RobAstor]

We'll never know for sure until someone can be sent back in time. ;-) (History remembered the Titanic sinking intact until discovered by Ballard in 1985.) Eva Hart stood up after viewing "A Night To Remember" in 1958 and said they were not playing "Nearer My God to Thee". In many of the books I've read, "Near My God To Thee" is the least likely choice. Hollywood's writing that as history. Anyway, thank you for listening!

[grensdale]

btw it has never been assessedthat this is the last song played. it is unknown wether it was this or "nearer my god to thee"

[RobAstor]

This one comes in as a close third, in my opinion. Many survivors said "Autumn" was the last song played. "Autumn" often meant this music, or it could have been a hymn entitled "Autumn". That hymn has a very similar chord progression as "Nearer My God To Thee", and, I think it's possible, in all the confusion, those two could have been confused. The band leader said he would play this music as his last. It was also still very popular at the time of the sinking. Thanks for listening! :-)

[krikkevalleke]

most of it ar from the Olyimpic

[liberator1986]

Did you know this was the very last music played by the band and not Nearer my God to Thee?

[dancingwithfrogs]

So this song was the better choice.

[RobAstor]

I believe it was. Thanks for listening!

[Lawen78]

Are you sure this is Titanic? All of the footage?

[RobAstor]

There are a few video clips of the Olympic, mainly the celebrations of the ship sailing. The still pics were taken by the priest aboard Titanic who got off in Ireland. Pictures and videos of the Titanic are very rare and, often, things from the Olympic were substituted. At any rate, thanks for listening!

[dancingwithfrogs]

Amazing images of an amazing ship.

Accompanied by an absolutely wonderful melancholy music.

[RobAstor]

Thanks for stopping by to listen and comment!

[babsidi]

ce morceau, joué sur le Titanic, me donne à chaque fois la chair de poule. Il est merveilleux et émouvant.

[RobAstor]

Forgive me, I only know how to read and speak English, however, thanks for stopping by to listen and comment. :-)

[grillorocker]

interesting montage of clips!

[RobAstor]

Thanks for watching and commenting!