Steve Turner Quotes

The image of the lighted ship sliding under the waves, while the band carried on regardless, captured the public’s imagination.

In the whole history of the sea, there is little to equal the wonderful behavior of these humble players.

They were brave and splendid, all the men. They died like brave men.

I shall never forget the sight of that beautiful boat as she went down, the orchestra playing to the last, the lights burning until they were extinguished by the waves. It sounds so unreal, like a scene on the stage.

The band played marching from deck to deck, and as the ship went under I could still hear the music.

The musicians had played on the deck as the ship went down. They had forfeited their lives for the sake of others. They had played the tunes of hymns to induce a spirit of peace and calm. They were heroic.

The final dive of the ship, as the bow lay submerged and the stern rose out of the water, was truly horrendous for all who witnessed it.

The ship's orchestra of eight young men were standing knee deep in water playing.

This object of great beauty—even in its stricken condition—went down with a terrifying roar…a sound that survivors later described as the most bloodcurdling they had ever heard.

As the screams in the water multiplied, another sound was heard, strong and clear at first, then fainter in the distance. It was the melody of the hymn “Nearer, My God, To Thee,” played by the string orchestra in the dining saloon.

It wasn’t hard for people to see the Titanic as a metaphor for Western civilization’s obsessions with speed, wealth, and conquest at the expense of contemplation, sharing and the well-being of one’s neighbor.

The notes of this music were the last thing I heard before I went off the poop and felt myself going headlong into the icy water with the engines and machinery buzzing in my ears.

It was 11:45 at night according to ship’s time when the Titanic grazed along the iceberg that would send it to the ocean bed.

They kept it up until the very end. Only the engulfing ocean had power to drown them into silence.