what hymn did they play on the titanic
Legends and myths regarding RMS Titanic
There has been much speculation about what their last song was . A first - class Canadian passenger , Mrs. Vera Dick , and several other passengers , alleged that the final tune played was that of the hymn `` Nearer , My God , to Thee '' . Hartley reportedly once said to a friend if he were on a sinking ship , `` Nearer , My God , to Thee '' would be one of the songs he would play . But Walter Lord 's book A Night to Remember popularised wireless operator Harold Bride 's 1912 account ( New York Times ) that he heard the song `` Autumn '' before the ship sank . It is considered Bride either meant the hymn tune known as `` Autumn '' or the tune of the then - popular waltz `` Songe d'Automne '' but neither was in the White Star Line songbook for the band . Bride is one of only two witnesses who were close enough to the band , as he floated off the deck before the ship went down . Some consider his statement to be reliable . Mrs. Dick had left by lifeboat an hour and 20 minutes earlier and could not possibly have heard the band 's final moments . The notion that the band played `` Nearer , My God , to Thee '' as a swan song is possibly a myth originating from the wrecking of SS Valencia , which had received wide press coverage in Canada in 1906 and so may have influenced Mrs. Dick 's recollection . 
There has been much speculation about what their last song was . A first - class Canadian passenger , Mrs. Vera Dick , and several other passengers , alleged that the final tune played was that of the hymn `` Nearer , My God , to Thee '' . Hartley reportedly once said to a friend if he were on a sinking ship , `` Nearer , My God , to Thee '' would be one of the songs he would play . But Walter Lord 's book A Night to Remember popularised wireless operator Harold Bride 's 1912 account ( New York Times ) that he heard the song `` Autumn '' before the ship sank . It is considered Bride either meant the hymn tune known as `` Autumn '' or the tune of the then - popular waltz `` Songe d'Automne '' but neither was in the White Star Line songbook for the band . Bride is one of only two witnesses who were close enough to the band , as he floated off the deck before the ship went down . Some consider his statement to be reliable . Mrs. Dick had left by lifeboat an hour and 20 minutes earlier and could not possibly have heard the band 's final moments . The notion that the band played `` Nearer , My God , to Thee '' as a swan song is possibly a myth originating from the wrecking of SS Valencia , which had received wide press coverage in Canada in 1906 and so may have influenced Mrs. Dick 's recollection .
A first - class Canadian passenger , Mrs. Vera Dick , and several other passengers , alleged that the final tune played was that of the hymn `` Nearer , My God , to Thee '' . It is considered Bride either meant the hymn tune known as `` Autumn '' or the tune of the then - popular waltz `` Songe d'Automne '' but neither was in the White Star Line songbook for the band .
A first - class Canadian passenger , Mrs. Vera Dick , and several other passengers , alleged that the final tune played was that of the hymn `` Nearer , My God , to Thee '' . It is considered Bride either meant the hymn tune known as `` Autumn '' or the tune of the then - popular waltz `` Songe d'Automne '' but neither was in the White Star Line songbook for the band .
A first-class Canadian passenger, Mrs. Vera Dick, and several other passengers, alleged that the final tune played was that of the hymn ``Nearer, My God, to Thee'', but Mrs. Dick had left by lifeboat an hour and 20 minutes earlier and could not possibly have heard the band's final moments. Wireless operator Harold Bride heard the hymn tune known as ``Autumn'' or the tune of the then popular waltz ``Songe d'Automne'' but neither was in the White Star Line songbook for the band.
A first - class Canadian passenger , Mrs. Vera Dick , and several other passengers , alleged that the final tune played was that of the hymn `` Nearer , My God , to Thee '' . But Walter Lord 's book A Night to Remember popularised wireless operator Harold Bride 's 1912 account ( New York Times ) that he heard the song `` Autumn '' before the ship sank . It is considered Bride either meant the hymn tune known as `` Autumn '' or the tune of the then - popular waltz `` Songe d'Automne '' but neither was in the White Star Line songbook for the band . Mrs. Dick had left by lifeboat an hour and 20 minutes earlier and could not possibly have heard the band 's final moments .