On May 7, 2015, a German torpedo sinks the British Ocean liner Lusitania off the Irish coast, killing nearly 1,200 people. This remains one of the most horrific acts of violence against civilians from World War One.

The Sinking of the Lusitania is an American silent animated short film made by cartoonist Winsor McCay in 1918. It is a ground-breaking piece of animation re-creating the never-photographed 1915 sinking of the British liner RMS Lusitania. At twelve minutes it has been called the longest work of animation at the time of its release. The film is the earliest surviving animated documentary and serious, dramatic work of animation. McCay, the creator of Little Nemo In Slumberland among many other comic strips from the early 20th century, and the man who basically invented animation as we know it today.

In February, 2010 I created a special music video by The Scrap Iron Pickers (Johnny Sizemore, Jason “Roadblock” Robinson and Matt Wolfe) for Radio Free Charleston. Using the song “Swamp Thing” from their debut double-EP,  I set the music to the vintage animation of the famed maritime disaster by McCay.

You see the end result above: A music video for the song “Swamp Thing” by The Scrap Iron Pickers (featuring guests John Chickogee, Bud Carroll and Jeff Ellis) from their double EP Reedeeming Metal/Union. This video was edited by yours truly, using McKay’s original animation and adding tinting via video. With today being May 7, it seemed like a good idea to share it again.