Today is Remembrance Day in Canada. The Armistice, ending the Great War, was signed on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. What does Dance Band on the Titanic have to do with remembering and honouring those who fought in wars past? Listen and I expect you will figure it out.
"Dance band on the Titanic
Sing "Nearer, my God, to Thee"
The iceberg's on the starboard bow
Won't you dance with me
Mama stood cryin' at the dockside
Sayin' "Please son, don't take this trip"
I said "Mama, sweet Mama, don't you worry none"
"Even God couldn't sink this ship"
Well, the whistle blew and they turned the screws
It turned the water into foam
Destination sweet salvation
Goodbye home sweet home
I'm in the dance band on the Titanic
Sing "Nearer, my God, to Thee"
The iceberg's on the starboard bow
Won't you dance with me
There was a trombone and a saxophone
The bass and drums were cookin' up the bandstand
And I was strummin' in the middle with this dude on the fiddle
And we were three days out from land
And now the foghorn's jammed and moanin'
Hear it groanin' through the misty night
I heard the lookout shout down "There's icebergs around"
"But still everything's all right"
Oh, the dance band on the Titanic
Sing "Nearer, my God, to Thee"
The iceberg's on the starboard bow
Won't you dance with me
They were burnin' all the flares for candles
In the banquet they were throwin' in first class
And we were blowin' waltzes in the barroom
When the universe went CRASH!
"There's no way that this could happen"
I could hear the old captain curse
He ordered lifeboats away, that's when I heard the chaplain say
"Women and children and chaplains first"
Well, they soon used up all of the lifeboats
But there were a lot of us left on board
I heard the drummer sayin' "Boys, just keep playin'"
"Now we're doin' this gig for the Lord"
I heard the dance band on the Titanic
Sing "Nearer, my God, to Thee"
The iceberg's on the starboard bow
Won't you dance with me
There's a wild-eyed boy in the radio shack
He's the last remaining guest
He was tappin' in a Morse code frenzy
Tappin' "Please God, S.O.S."
Jesus Christ can walk on the water
But a music man will drown
They say that Nero fiddled while Rome burned up
Well, I was strummin' as the ship go down
I'm in the dance band on the Titanic
Sing "Nearer, my God, to Thee"
The iceberg's on the starboard bow
Won't you dance with me
Dance band on the Titanic
Sing "Nearer, my God, to Thee"
The iceberg's on the starboard bow
Won't you dance with me
Dance band on the Titanic
Sing "Nearer, my God, to Thee"
The iceberg's on the starboard bow
Won't you dance with me"
Here's a link about what the Titanic's band played: http://www.snopes.com/history/titanic/lastsong.asp
ReplyDeleteThanks, Snowbrush. That is interesting information. I guess I prefer to believe they played "Nearer, My God, to Thee" but 100 years after the fact, I guess it doesn't matter.
DeleteThe thought has just occurred to me that we spend more time celebrating wars and the fallen than we do on the peace and good things.
ReplyDeleteSince I really like Harry Chapin, I was really lookin forward to him and his band shakin my soul and driving home how much wars suck but we should always remember those who laid their lives down for us. I tossed some more whiskey in the glass with a couple, no make that several cubes of ice. I plugged in my earphones and sat down to listen to my man Harry And I punched up the video. I listened to it once. I listened to it twice. It was about half way through the third run through and I figured it must be a Canadian thing. Regardless, we should always remember those who have given their lives for the country they love. And I tipped back my cocktail and thanked Canada for having our back. You guys rock. And I mean that.
ReplyDeleteDemeur and Crum, I can answer both at once. We celebrate wars and honour our soldiers so we will keep on sending our young people to fight in foreign wars and be killed to benefit someone else. It is sold as defense and fighting for freedom and for one's country. Not to dishonour the individuals who fought and died because they felt it was right and risked their lives doing heroic things on the battlefield. But dishonour to those that sent them! Imperial wars of aggression are not honourable.
DeleteAs to the Titanic, it is just me. I feel like we are on the Titanic. And glorifying the dead and the wars they fought in just ensures we keep playing this one for the Lord until the ship goes down.
Yep, just keep pretending nothing bad is happening until the black water sucks you down. Then again, sometimes it's the only thing you can do...
ReplyDeleteGood to hear Harry Chapin - haven't listened to him in quite a while. I'll have to dig out my old albums.
sometimes it's the only thing you can do...if you aren't going to spawn, why swim upstream?
ReplyDeleteHarry Chapin was an incredible song writer/singer. I have his Gold Medal Collection CDs and never tire of them.