Now that's funny.

[gridlore]

Out of the 842 songs in my Top Rated folder, what's the second song to come up today? The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Playing for the first time since July 3rd.

Today is, of course, the 35th anniversary of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald being being lost with all hands 17 miles off Whitefish Bay.

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy...

EDIT: And of course, I just found a heavy metal cover of the song. Not the greatest cover, but interesting.

Comments

[seawasp]

I used to sing that one myself; my voice happens to suit the same exact key that Lightfoot did. Too many popular singers seem to favor the upper tenor register, there's damn little popular music in the baritone.

I was always a bit puzzled by "Gales of November Came Early", given that it's well into November now. From the song I had thought originally that she'd sunk sometime in October.

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

The normal weather pattern for the Great Lakes has the heavy storms starting in late November. So a big storm on November 9/10th would have been out of place. The song exaggerates the wind strength in several places.

[melchar.livejournal.com]

I love this song - and am still impressed by how well Gordon memorialized the event.

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

Did you know he's changed the lyrics since it was determined that the crew had correctly sealed the hatches? He no longer sings "At seven P.M. a main hatchway caved in; he said," it is now sung as "At 7 p.m., it grew dark, it was then he said"

Classy move.

[kshandra]

kightp has once again linked to her incredibly evocative Remembering the Fitz - if you haven't read it before, and really even if you have, take a few minutes to hear the tale of one who was there.

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

I remember that, and it's the best kind of history. Not necessarily the story of the principals, but of the impact the principal event had on the people and the area.

[cmdr-zoom.livejournal.com]

that was...

thanks for the link.

[kshandra]

that was...

...yeah.

[grimmwire.livejournal.com]

The Rheostatics did a fine cover of it.

Say, did you ever get a chance to listen to that Rheostatics best-of CD I burned for you? Curious to know what you thought of them. And NoMeansNo, too.