Rivets were popping like firecrackers, exploding from their holds.
The skin thick as your fist screamed and twisted, now gashed wide open.
Then silence.
Except for the horrible sound of water. Water where it shouldn’t be.
Named “Unsinkable,” but no one told the iceberg.
Certain survivors did tell of other, warmer sounds... “Many brave things were done that night, but none were more brave than those done by men playing minute after minute as the ship settled quietly, lower and lower in the sea. The music they played served alike as their own immortal requiem and their right to be recalled on the scrolls of undying fame.”
Theodore Brailey, Roger Bricoux, John Clarke, Wallace Hartley, John Hume, Georges Krins, Percy Taylor, John Woodward…
Eight bright souls played until the lights went out.
When everything is still, if you listen gently,
you can hear the song
that was in their hearts.
All ships sink, eventually.
What song will be in your heart, when the lights go out?
—
Pondering this musical mystery, Gavin Bryars composed The Sinking of the Titanic circa 1970.
Here it is, an arrangement performed by the Trinity Laban Conservatoire.
Careful, this song can tear you up.
Buckle your seat belt for the first two minutes…
You might need a lifeboat, for the last two minutes.
