This is a series of posts about the music I play while writing.
The next on the play list is Gordon Lightfoot’s “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”
I first heard this song when I was 16 and working in the kitchen of a convalescent hospital as a dishwasher. It immediately resonated with me and the song became an instant favorite of mine. It’s the story, the melancholy melody and the feeling the lyrics leave behind. There is poetry that Lightfoot uses to stitch the story and images together. Lines like, “In the rooms of her ice-water mansion,” and “The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound,” build not only the feeling of the song, but also the image of what it may have been like to be on the water that night when the Edmund Fitzgerald went down.
The song is based on a real event. SS Edmund Fitzgerald was a freighter on the Great Lakes that hauled iron ore from the mines to the mills. On the evening of November 10, 1975, the ship sank and all 29 on board died. Lightfoot read a magazine article about the sinking and was inspired to write the song.
Lightfoot’s genus here is just telling the story and doing the music he does best. His lyrics are simple, yet evocative and by the time the song ends the listener has a good idea what happened that night. We feel the frustration of the searchers and grief of the families left behind. Lightfoot did take a number of artistic liberties with some facts: We can’t really know what the cook said, the name of the church is wrong and it wasn’t an “old musty hall.” Yet, his speculation on why the ship sank is in line with the best theories of why the Edmund Fitzgerald sank.
The exact cause of the sinking isn’t known, even to this day all we have are theories and contributing factors. The Edmund Fitzgerald may have been overloaded for the weather conditions, navigation and communication equipment could have been better, possibly they should have waited a day before sailing and it’s possible that could have just been a rouge wave that broke the ship’s back. We’ll never know. Maritime rules on the Great Lakes were changed as a result of the sinking and today our GPS navigation, weather forecasting, tighter shipping regulations, and better communications equipment would likely prevent a sinking like the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Over the years, I’ve only heard the song on the radio a handful of times. The full version is over six minutes long and radio stations don’t like to play anything that long as it reduces the time available for commercials. With streaming music services, that’s not a problem anymore and the song is now on my play list as it helps create a contemplative mood in my head and triggers my story telling mind.
Andrew's View of the Week 
Thanks for featuring one of Canada’s greatest singers. It is one of the finest examples of musical storytelling. The other one of his worth listening to is the Canadian Railroad Trilogy.
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I’ve always liked that Gordon Lightfoot song; it’s unforgettable as is the tragedy that inspired him to write the song. My hubby and I viewed the site of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald at Lake Superior on a trip to Michigan a couple years ago. The song kept playing through my mind as we visited there.
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I’ve never been to any of the Great Lakes. Someday I’ve got to get up.
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He and this song have always been favorites of mine.
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He is a favorite of mine.
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Gordon Lightfoot’s recent passing made me sad because it’s hard to come up with a better lyricist from my formative years. I can only name a handful of his songs off the top of my head (“Sundown” comes to mind) but every one of them resonates the first time you hear it, and every one of them tells a story. Did not know the Edmund Fitzgerald was a true story! The world has lost a music legend.
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He was a great talent and will be missed.
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G Lightfoot’s narration of this tale is superb I agree. As to radio play you must tune into different stations than me. I’ve heard the recording played on radio enough in just the past 10 years that I’ve changed stations to skip to something upbeat. I listen to radio (FM) in the Great Plains and Denver area.
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It’s a great song.
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Gordon Lightfoot gave his all on this one..
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He’s quoted as saying this is his best work.
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On my play list and I know every word!
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🙂
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That’s always been one of my favourites, too. Thanks for reminding me! 🙂
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This one makes into a lot of my play lists.
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I love that song–The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. It’s long but worth it.
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The length is one of the reasons it didn’t get as much air play as his other songs, but I understand he played it all of his live performances.
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I tried to play it while I was writing yesterday and I kept pausing to listen! It’s way too compelling a story.
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Yes, that happens to me sometimes.
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I love that song for all the reasons you describe. Gordon Lightfoot was a genius. My very favorite of his songs is another that describes an historical incident: “Black Day in July.” It tells the story of the 1967 race riots in Detroit, and it doesn’t pull any punches. It’s another that you don’t hear played on the radio, but once you’ve heard it, you never forget it.
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Lightfoot had away to great songs you’d never forget.
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I’m sorry to say that I heard neither of Gordon Lightfoot, nor “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” but having said that it is a very beautiful song which would fit into my collection of Irish folk music like a hand into a glove.
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Lightfoot and many others of that era were heavily influenced by folk music, American, Irish, etc. A lot of American folk music traces its origins back to English, Scottish and Irish folk tunes.
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Thanks for sharing, he did an amazing job with the lyrics, have not heard this song for a long time. I didn’t realize it was a true story, but like you, I was very young when I heard it.
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Such a great song and I’m always amazed that he wrote it just a few months after the event.
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Our American Stories has a 20-minute story about the loss of the freighter told by a shipwreck researcher and diver: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/podcast/culture/we-re-holding-our-own-the-wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald
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I’ll check it out!
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I so love songs that tell stories! Growing up with music in the 70’s and 80’s was the best of the best. I don’t think any music is – or will ever be – better. I still listen to it on a regular basis to this day. This song is a classic. Thank you for mentioning it. 🙂
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It was a golden age in music.
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Just listened to this song for the first time! Nice!
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It’s a good one.
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I loved Lightfoot’s work and was deeply saddened by his passing a month ago.
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It was sad news. He had so many good songs.
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I am such a Gordon Lightfoot fan and this particular song has always been a favorite. A few years ago I decided I was going to purchase as many Lightfoot LP’s as I could find in local record shops. I made a point of not purchasing on-line and relying only on what I could find. I have at least ten albums, but haven’t been able to find the one with the “The Wreck.” I haven’t given up! It’s going to be out there somewhere! 🙂
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I’ve haven’t tried to find the LP, but that would be a great if you could find it.
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