The ship RMS Titanic sank in April of 1912, now 108 years ago. The disaster made global news, and even inspired a slew of popular songs. At the time, events in the news were commonly turned into songs, and also at the time, recorded music wasn't available in every home, so the songs were popularized by sheet music.
Yes, families could buy sheet music that focused on the Titanic. These songs provided families that had pianos the opportunity to play and sing everything from marches to ballads. In a time before electronic media, playing the piano and singing were a form of early entertainment for families, and they had a range of sheet music to choose from.
“The Wreck of the Titanic: A Descriptive March,” by John J. Thomas, is a musical re-telling of the story of the ocean liner. The sheet music doesn’t have lyrics to sing, but it provides a dramatic synopsis of the tragedy with short descriptions such as “tourists entering the ship” and “leaving port.” Its ending includes the descriptions “boilers explode,” “the death toll,” “boat sinking,” and “Carpathia coming to the rescue.”
But other songs published in the first few years after the Titanic disaster came with lyrics, addressing subjects like the musicians who played while the ship sank, and the concept of "women and children first." Read about the songs that resulted from the sinking of the Titanic at GeneologyBank. -via Strange Company
(Image credit: Walter R. Allman)
