"Cang gan Chua hon" (Nearer, My God, to Thee) la bai thanh ca the ky 19 goi cam hung tu cau chuyen "Giac mong cua Jacob" chep trong Sang the ky 28: 10-15, "Jacob toi mot cho kia, mat troi đa khuat, thi qua đem tai đo. Nguoi lay mot hon đa lam goi đau, va nam ngu; ben chiem bao thay mot cai thang bac tu duoi đat, đau đen tan troi, cac thien su cua Thien Chua đi len xuong tren thang đo. Nay, Đuc Gie-ho-va ngu tren đau thang ma phan rang: Ta la Thien Chua cua Abraham, to phu nguoi, cung la Thien Chua cua Isaac. Ta se ban cho nguoi va dong doi nguoi đat ma nguoi đang nam ngu đay... Nay, ta o cung nguoi, nguoi đi đau, se theo gin giu đo, va đem nguoi ve xu nay; vi ta khong bao gio bo nguoi cho đen khi ta lam xong nhung đieu ta đa hua cung nguoi."
Ca tu cua bai thanh ca đuoc sang tac boi Sarah Flower Adams (1805-1848), nu dien vien, nha tho va la tin huu Đoc than giao, tai nha cua ba o Sunnybank, Loughton, Essex, Anh Quoc vao nam 1841. Tai Anh, ca khuc đuoc pho bien voi giai đieu cua John Bacchus Dykes (ban "Horbury" viet nam 1861), trong khi giai đieu cua Lowell Mason (ban "Bethany" nam 1856) đuoc chap nhan tren phan con lai cua the gioi. Trong khi đo, cac tin huu Giam Ly lai yeu thich ban "Propior Deo" (Gan Chua hon) cua Arthur Sullivan (nam 1872).


Tham hoa tau Titanic "Nearer, My God, to Thee" tro thanh mot huyen thoai gan lien voi tau Titanic khi nhung nguoi song sot thuat lai rang ban nhac đa trinh bay lan cuoi bai thanh ca khi Titanic đang chim dan xuong đay bien. Giai đieu cua ban "Bethany" vang len trong cuon phim Titanic nam 1953 cua Negulesco, trong khi ban "Horbury" đuoc su dung trong phim A Night to Remember san xuat nam 1958 cua Roy Ward Baker. Gan đay nhat, trong xuat pham đien anh Titanic nam 1997, James Cameron đa chon ban "Bethany" cho cuon phim cua minh.
Nguoi chi huy dan nhac tren tau, Wallace Hartley, cung tat ca nhac cong đeu thiet mang trong vu chim tau. Nguoi ta thuat lai rang Hartley rat thich bai thanh ca nay, va mong uoc ca khuc đuoc the hien trong đam tang ong. Hartley la tin huu Giam Ly nguoi Anh, gan gui voi ban "Horbury" va ban "Propior Deo", chu khong phai ban "Bethany". Cha cua Hartley, nguoi chi huy hop xuong ca đoan Giam Ly, đa su dung ban "Proprior Deo" trong hon ba muoi nam, va phan mo đau cua bai thanh ca theo ban "Propior Deo" đuoc trinh bay tai tang le cua Hartley.


Nhung su kien khac Co mot cau chuyen ke xoay quanh cai chet cua Tong thong Hoa Ky William McKinley vao thang 9 nam 1901, thuat lai rang khi hap hoi, McKinley tham thi nhung cau đau cua bai thanh ca. Chieu ngay 13 thang 9 nam 1901, sau nam phut mac niem tren toan quoc, cac ban nhac tai hai quang truong Madison va Union o Thanh pho New York trinh bay bai thanh ca đe tuong nho vi tong thong vua qua co. Ca khuc cung đuoc the hien trong le tuong niem danh cho McKinley cu hanh tai Đien Westminster, Luan Đon. Giai đieu cua bai thanh ca "Nearer My God to Thee" cung vang len khi thi hai cua James Garfield, Tong thong thu 20 cua Hoa Ky bi am sat nam 1881, đuoc an tang tai Nghia trang Lakeview o Cleveland, Ohio.
Bai thanh ca cung đuoc trinh bay trong phan cuoi phim San Francisco, san xuat nam 1936 va đa đoat Giai Oscar. Mot cuon phim mang ten "Nearer My God to Thee" san xuat tai Anh nam 1917, đay cung la ten cua mot hoa pham cua Jack Kervokian. Bai thanh ca cung đuoc the hien tai tang le Tong thong Gerald Ford nam 2007.


Ca tu Xem them Thanh ca Co Đoc
Titanic


Chu thich Tham khao Discussion of the various versions Luu tru ngay 14 thang 5 nam 2008 tai Wayback Machine
Genesis 28:11-12 (American Standard Version)
"And the Band Played On..." - article by musicologist J. Marshall Bevil analyzing in detail which version was likely played at the sinking of the Titanic Luu tru ngay 9 thang 8 nam 2017 tai Wayback Machine
Tribute to the Titanic's band and discussion of what was played Luu tru ngay 27 thang 5 nam 2011 tai Wayback Machine


Lien ket ngoai MP3 Nearer My God To Thee Luu tru ngay 25 thang 7 nam 2008 tai Wayback Machine
Nearer My God To Thee YouTube
Midi file, translation of Genesis 28:11-12 and discussion of the hymn
Lyrics with midi Luu tru ngay 12 thang 5 nam 2008 tai Wayback Machine
Midi files and discussion of uses of the hymn Luu tru ngay 29 thang 12 nam 2005 tai Wayback Machine
Sheet music to Propior Deo Luu tru ngay 1 thang 9 nam 2006 tai Wayback Machine
Biography of Wallace Hartley, the Titanic's bandmaster
Kevorkian painting
Information about the 1917 film at the IMDB database
Sheet music for "Nearer, My God, to Thee" from Du an Gutenberg