Gordon was very upset at the terrible job the news papers did reporting this tragedy. So he wrote the song trying to stay as close to facts as he could. All proceeds from sales to the families of the crew. He attended every anniversary memorial service. He is in his eighties now. He is a Canadian treasure. One of Bob Dylan’s favourite song writers.

@stevenwasserman9729

Жыл бұрын

Respect and love to him. His empathy and compassion honor those lost

@avidrdr5640

Жыл бұрын

True. This song made many more people aware of the tragedy than all of the news stories combined did.

@skipwilliam5639

Жыл бұрын

And he wrote it after reading it in the paper when he was flying from Toronto to Florida. I live near the Detroit river and I remember my dad saying there is the largest ship in the great lakes. And the bells ring 29 times every year.

@judithboggs2196

Жыл бұрын

I remember when this song first played. As I was born 45miles from Lake Erie, this song hit me hard. I just stood by the radio and cried when I realized this was a real thing that happened on my great lakes. I still cry. I am 70 now. Yes. There is a documentary. You should definitely watch.

@selvinaackloo6576

Жыл бұрын

@@stevenwasserman9729 trttyvhvhrh3fdgegjyvucfrcfttf gfhy3 8uijh uybuhhhhghhjiuunbhhhbjrkf3uwfrgth

That line, "Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours"...wow. He was in incredible storyteller. Every year on the anniversary of the sinking, the Mariner's Church in Detroit rings the bell 29 times, once for each crewman. On Tuesday, the day after Gordon died, they rang the bell 30 times...one was for Gordon. He would have been so honoured, and as a fellow Canadian I am so touched that they respected him enough to do this for him.

@phillipgarrow2297

7 ай бұрын

They church bell chimes 30 times 29 for the fitzgerald crew and one for Gordon Lightfoot

Most Canadians are devastated at the passing of Gordon Lightfoot this week. He was a national treasure and every Canadian knew his songs, from one generation to the next. He not only told the Canadian story, he also sang about our close neighbor to the south. He was was no stranger to tragedy himself and the world became a much smaller place with his passing. God speed and God bless, Mr. Lightfoot. Canada loved you.

@willsweat1242

Жыл бұрын

Martin; trust me when I say it isn't just our good neighbors to the north that morn the passing of Gordon. As a MI boy, born and raised, the music of Gordon Lightfoot was the soundtrack for many moments in my life and he will be so deeply missed. So few people share their heart and soul with through their art in a manner that truly impacts others and Gordon was certainly one. In truth, Canada has given us, here in the states, many.

@rickyagnew

Жыл бұрын

I'm 57 and remember when this ship sank. I also have been a huge fan of Gordon Lightfoot since I was around 5 years old, the first time I heard his music. In the last 50 years I have followed his music and actually play some of his songs on the guitar. His sound and music is pretty unique! God blessed him with a real talent to tell stories with music! Rest in Peace Sir Gordon 🙏💔🙏

@mysam4504

Жыл бұрын

I had no idea he died! I'm Heartbroken!

@mysam4504

Жыл бұрын

It's not just Canada that loves him...

@sherrygeorge8613

Жыл бұрын

As a fellow Canadian, he is our national treasure. He is a Legend. His songs live on in everyone's hearts, yes Americans as well ❤

R.I.P Gordon Lightfoot, November 17, 1938 - May 1, 2023 When they found the wreck many years later, it was decided to leave it alone as a memorial to the crew.

Anyone who was alive then remembers this tragedy. I was a teenager, this song was played often and I still tear up . The money from the song went to the families ☮️ Lightfoot is just a tremendous singer songwriter

@deborahtaylor3617

Жыл бұрын

Especially in Michigan. We took it hard.

@IdahoRanchGirl

Жыл бұрын

He's a legend. I don't think there is a single song I dislike.

@josephclark4999

Жыл бұрын

When I found out about him donating the proceeds I cried.

@janinerichardsfink1903

Жыл бұрын

@@deborahtaylor3617 I'm a Minnesota girl even as a young person I remember this happening. It was big news.

@sstiles3601

Жыл бұрын

@@deborahtaylor3617 Yes we did. One of the prominent memories I have as a teenager was visiting the area of Mackinac and seeing the one lifeboat they got back and have in front of the museum there. It looked like a giant can opener had just slit it open

Gordon Lightfoot passed away yesterday. Being from MN and seeing Superior in person, this songs gives me chills every time because you see the raw POWER of the lake just looking at the waves breaking on the rocks. The line about Superior never giving up her dead may be a reference to the fact that she stays so cold that fallen sailors don't decompose.

@andyfletcher3561

Жыл бұрын

It's gruesome of course, but on a warmer body of water, the bacteria would have grown putting gasses into their bodies and a few would be likely to pop up to the surface relatively soon. Not on Superior though.

@FloraWest

Жыл бұрын

I grew up in Duluth and was young when this happened but old enough to remember adults talking in hushed tones and that clearly something bad going on. Superior is not a lake to be underestimated ever.

@jmcquown

8 ай бұрын

When Gordon passed away they rang the bell an additional time to celebrate his honoring the dead of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

@Lisa-lq8xz

6 ай бұрын

I'm from Michigan. I tried to swim in Lake superior when I was kid. I lasted just long enough to jump in and get right back out. It's so cold. The other lakes are definitely warmer.

@Youmama187

5 ай бұрын

From MN here too. I was born a few years after this tragedy. We all knew just how terrible this was, and we ALL knew to respect what those waters could take

I read that in the Maritime Sailors Cathredal yesterday, they rang the bell 30 times...29 for the Edmund Fitzgerald's crew and one more for Gordon Lightfoot. RIP to a musical legend.

RIP Gordon Lightfoot... a true musical legend and loved by the Great Lakes!

RIP Gordon, died today at 84. Tremendous storyteller, he gave us so much

RIP Gordon Lightfoot. Thank you for doing this song. Sadly Gordon Lightfoot passed away yesterday.....This is a true story.😢 You need to listen to his song "If You Could Read My Mind". It's about the break up with his wife.😢❤

That voice... and this song... a part of the soundtrack of my life for almost 50 yrs.❤ RIP Gordon❤

I was friends with one of the victims.. Karl Peckol. We graduated from Ashtabula High School on 1973. He will never be forgotten. Ashtabula, Ohio lost 2 men from this shipwreck.

@lorriredmon8212

Жыл бұрын

❣I'm sorry you lost your friend.

@diperry4026

Жыл бұрын

Thank you. He was only 20 years old. Was doing this job to out himself through college. This was supposed to be his last voyage. Devastating.

@diperry4026

Жыл бұрын

Put not out.

@lorriredmon8212

Жыл бұрын

@@diperry4026 😢

@jamesmoody5961

Жыл бұрын

May we never forget.

He's a great story teller and he did honor and justice to all those involved in the wreck.

@debrasteffens2707

Жыл бұрын

I'm not sure but I think the movie Perfect Storm is about the Edmund Fitzgerald

@foxymacadoo

Жыл бұрын

@@debrasteffens2707 Maybe loosely based?

@nancyt.7134

Жыл бұрын

@@debrasteffens2707 No, The Perfect Storm is about a storm (called various names as it was occurring, but ultimately 'The Perfect Storm', in 1991. In a very fast timeline, a Nor'easter absorbed Hurricane Grace and then emerged as a 'new' smaller hurricane. It was not the costliest or strongest hurricane to to hit the North Atlantic coast, but some areas had record wind speeds and wave heights, and it hit during high tide, making for severe flooding. It was really the unexpected and very quick merge of the storms that made it unique. As it has major affects for both the US and Canadian Atlantic coast lines, it also got a lot of coverage. While a North Atlantic Hurricane can affect both, usually both countries don't get hit as equally hard. It landed in Nova Scotia, Canada, an province that often has indirect damage, or weak tail end of a hurricane. This one did widespread damage. The non-fiction book "The Perfect Storm" by Sebastian Junger documented the event, focusing on the fishting boat "The Andrea Gail", and attempted as best possible, to recreate what might have happened on the doomed ship. The book was also a detailed look at the families, town, fishing industrie, etc, and also covered to a degree the other ships out that night, and rescue attempts made. The Andrea Gail went down with no crew or ship found.There was some flotsam showing the ship had broken up. The Perfect Storm happened in 1991, the book was published in 1997, and the movie loosely based on the book in 2000.

@dorothymcmahon9995

Жыл бұрын

Yes, it was off the coast of Gloucester, Massachusetts.

The Fitz was a Iron Ore Carrier on the Great Lakes. The crew was 29 men. November is about the last month you can do any shipping on the lakes because of the weather and the freezing over of the lakes and shipping channels. The thing is most people hear the word lake they think of something at a local park. The Great Lakes are more like inland seas with the same types of waves and weather conditions as found on the Ocean. The reason he sings that Superior never gives up her dead is because the water is so cold, the bodies don't decompose and come to the surface. The bottom of the Great Lakes are a graveyard of ships going back to the 1600s.

@stefanlaskowski6660

8 ай бұрын

As a teen I went swimming (once!) in Lake Superior while my family was camping in northern Minnesota, and even in August the water was in the low 50s. I can't imagine how cold it must have been in November. 🥶

Much respect Gordon Lightfoot and Rest in Peace May 1, 2023. You were a great storyteller.

RIP Gordon! He just passed away on May 1, 2023. He was a massive legend in Canada and is known for his story telling in his music. He does a fabulous job telling this true story. You can almost feel how the crew felt as they hit that massive storm and were sinking. Love Gordon’s music. Thanks for sharing.

I was 16 and living in Detroit when the Edmund Fitzgerald disappeared in Lake Superior just north of Michigan's Upper Peninsula in 1975, and it was a sad several days before the crew were declared dead. An aunt has a photo of me standing in front of the big freighter in 1972 at the Soo Locks, one of the cool things to visit in Michigan. I was obsessed reading about the Fitzgerald for a few years, and this song captured the tragedy so well. As a boy the Great Lakes fascinated me and I wanted to travel as a passenger on a freighter, which I think we can no longer do. Every hour several freighters passed up and down the Detroit River and as a child I would sit in Windsor with my Grandfather, who called out each ship by name as it came into view. Little did I know that he had the vessel passage schedule from the local paper in his hand. This song is a classic storytelling tune. One of my earliest favorite songs was Gordon Lightfoot's "If You Could Read My Mind." Thanks!

@lynnw9857

Жыл бұрын

I’m Canadian, and I was 14 when the Fitz went down. Gordon is a National Treasure……

@kenwelch198

Жыл бұрын

I was 14 when this happened. I remember watching the news report of the ship missing and my Dad saying we should say a prayer. I don't think they're going to find them.

@garyzink1927

Жыл бұрын

I was born in michigan in 56' loved hearing about you and your grandfather! I've sailed with a friend near big bay in the 80's and he was serious when he said, don't fall overboard. Peace from Northern Michigan.

@beegeelu1244

Жыл бұрын

I was 16 also and later served in the Navy. I thought of this song the few times we were in severe weather. I also saw Gordon Lightfoot in concert twice.

@pubuapubua

Жыл бұрын

Mike micrael: That was beautiful.

Rest in peace to Gordon Lightfoot. He was an incredible singer-songwriter. Sadly he passed away yesterday. He has a song "If You Could Read My Mind" that I think you would enjoy hearing.

So many of us remember when this happened & then the song being played on every radio station.

It's been announced that at age 84, Gordon Lightfoot has passed away. A great story teller through his songs, and a man who will never be forgotten. RIP to a legened

My uncle wass a veteran sailor plying rhe north Atlantic before trying a stint on an ore carrier in the Great Lakes. After one trip he found a new occupation. The Lakes are shallower than the ocean so waves are more intense and the weather very unpredictable. The GreatLakes are also much bigger than most people imagine.

@FloraWest

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, people who haven't seen them can't really grasp it--the highest wave ever recorded on Lake Superior is 31' high. And if the waves don't drown you, the average temp is about 35F. No one is lasting long in that water, especially at the beginning and end of the shipping season.

@stefanlaskowski6660

8 ай бұрын

From a car ferry in the middle of Lake Michigan you can't see either shore, and Superior is considerably larger.

The Edmund Fitzgerald was named after the CEO of the insurance company that owned her as an asset. Thanks to Gordon Lightfoot, the whole world now knows of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and the fate of her and her crew. Always remembered; never forgotten. The most poignant lines for me is when he says, "Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes into hours?"

@karenward267

Жыл бұрын

Captain McSorely was going to retire the next year. His crew was seasoned and he he had two 20-Year olds who where learning the roppes. I’m from a RN family and I shudder when I see a ship sunk. Gordon Lightfoot read n article.and felt it didn’t do Justice to the SS Edmund Fitzgerald. and wrote this wonderful homage. Today, it still hits us emotionally and it makes me proud that his song hits so many emotionally even though they were not born when the tragedy happened.

@redstateforever

Жыл бұрын

The love of God was there for the men in that ship, for any that reached out to Him in faith, they’re now in His presence, in eternal bliss. His love was so great He sent His son to die for our sin, so that we can be perfect in His sight. We live in a fallen world, where terrible things happens, every day. But the love is always there, for any who believe.

@underthetrees4780

Жыл бұрын

Having sailed through a storm, it's a real truth, longest 12 hours of my life

@julianmarsh8384

Жыл бұрын

@@redstateforever and yet this loving God watched passively as this ship and crew went down....

@creed8808

Жыл бұрын

Yes! That line and also "All that remains are the faces and the names of the wives and the sons and the daughters..."

Lake Superior has been called an inland ocean for good reason, and as winter begins to close in, the turbulence from storms is just unreal. The Fitz went down about six months before I was born, a stone’s throw from where I’ve lived more or less my whole life. If you’re interested in such things, the channel Ask A Mortician did a video on how Superior really never gives up her dead - 47 years later, the cold and lack of bacteria mean the 29 sailors are still down there. The sinking site has been designated as a burial site.

@marthapackard8649

Жыл бұрын

Love Ask a Mortician. She is so interesting!

@kyleklunk6777

Жыл бұрын

At some point they sent a mini sub down and saw a body. It was like it was frozen in time even after like 20yrs. A few min later after they saw it they decided to turn around and leave things be. Intersting but scary.

@ontheroad5317

Жыл бұрын

@@kyleklunk6777 that was the right choice. It’s considered the burial site, and poking around there would be desecration.

@kyleklunk6777

Жыл бұрын

@@ontheroad5317 I agree, no reason to be poking around such a place. Unless someone has a very good reason, they should leave it be. That's the way I feel about any shipwreck like that.

@wolfe6220

Жыл бұрын

Love her channel

I'm so glad you picked up on one of the most profound lyrics ever... "Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours...? Thank you for paying respect to this great Canadian artist and his work.

A haunting song that is a fitting eulogy for those 29 souls. Rest In Peace, Gordon

This man was icon to us in Canada, even to me and to many who were and are a full blown metal heads. This song was mine and my late mother favorite Gordon song. RIP

This is one of the the things that make the Us/Canadian relationship so unique. We'll poke fun at each other but when the chips are down we'll be there for each other too. Gordon would donate all the proceeds from this song to the families of the crew!

@ContrarianCorner

Жыл бұрын

Well said on the U.S./Canada relationship. We have so much more in common than not. I'll never forget right after 9/11 when so many planes on route to the U.S. were forced to land in the maritime provinces and remained stranded there for several days (or was it weeks?). The response from all the Canadians in those small cities and towns was incredible. Truly heroic efforts! Sure, every once in a while you'll send us a Justin Bieber, but more often than not, it's a Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell or Oscar Peterson, etc. Couldn't be happier with our neighbors to the north. (Hell, I even married one.)

@Triplecenturies

Жыл бұрын

@@ContrarianCorner Rush and Loreena McKennitt are two of my favorite Canadian artists.

@amitabhhajela681

Жыл бұрын

@@ContrarianCorner Neil Young

@stevefrench4139

Жыл бұрын

@@ContrarianCorner There were Canadian firefighters turned away at the U.S / Canada border, too. They wanted to drive down to New York to help with the fires in the towers but were denied entry due to the States being in lockdown.

@danor6812

Жыл бұрын

As you said, the relationship between Canada and America is unique. We may not agree on everything and have differences of opinions. We're like siblings. If anyone were to "F" with Canada, they "F" with us.

RIP to all the crew who still lay with the Fitz

RIP Gordon Lightfoot. 😞 A song I will always stop and listen to.

Still get chills!!! and "yes" TRUE STORY !!!

Dude was a poet. "With the gales of November remembered..." and "Does anyone knows where the love of god goes.... "

@diannelavoie5385

Жыл бұрын

"...when the waves turn the minutes to hours."

@andrewpetik2034

Жыл бұрын

​@@diannelavoie5385 That line is so descriptive.....it just takes you there....

Gordon Lightfoot, one of the greatest singer songwriters ever. A true poet, with a voice like butter.

@Martin.Wilson

Жыл бұрын

His voice was the voice of Canada. His song called the "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" told the story of uniting this country from coast to coast. His passing this week has left us all stunned and saddened. God speed, Gordon Lightfoot...may you be half an hour in heaven before the Devil knows your dead.

Yes, it is about a true event. Gordon Lightfoot is one of Canada's most famous singers/ songwriters for a reason!

@tats7859

Жыл бұрын

Along with Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, most of the group the band, and I cannot forget about arcade fire.

@cameronpickard7456

Жыл бұрын

@@tats7859 neils the man alright

@PeiPeisMom

Жыл бұрын

I was 10 when this happened, and I'll never forget the news reports. I had nightmares about the people drowning, and it chilled me to think such an enormous freighter could just be destroyed in that manner; I grew up in northern California so I never knew real weather and my whole attention was fixed on this horrible thing for months. When the song came out it seemed to capture my feelings perfectly about the whole thing. I'll never lose respect for any body of water.

If you grew up in a Great Lakes state you know this story...yes all 29 men perished...near freezing water Temps and hurricane force winds..waves...never had a chance ...they have found the wreckage and it sits there to this day as a grave site...

@lisalaursen3684

Жыл бұрын

Yes. Only a Michigander who has witnessed the power of Lake Superior can truly understand what this ship and crew went through. It haunts me to this day. 😰

@ricshaffer4009

Жыл бұрын

@@lisalaursen3684 I was a child from just South of Cleveland where the ship was headed when this happened...then it was covered so often in school...tragic...yet remarkable to think this was in a Lake not an ocean...nature can humble us in a hurry

@lisalaursen3684

Жыл бұрын

@@ricshaffer4009 So true. I’ve stood many times on the shores of the Great Lakes and felt awestruck by their beauty and power.

@l.baughman1445

Жыл бұрын

I really appreciate hearing from y'all who grew up there. The ship's Bell was recovered. It was replaced with a replica engraved with the names of all 29 of her crew. And with tougher Canadian protections, it is the crew's sacred burial site. Peace and love to all of the families and communities for such a loss. The remembrance of this tragedy has also led to the memorials every year honoring all who have been lost to the Great Lakes.

@FloraWest

Жыл бұрын

@@lisalaursen3684 Duluth, MN here--it's really hard to grasp if you haven't seen it. I was 6 when this happened and have vague memories of that time.

A true balladeer. Somehow, he makes a tragedy of a sunken iron freighter in the 1970s sound like a traditional song from centuries past. And all done with feeling and empathy for the crew and their families. Gordon is a Canadian national treasure.

@Martin.Wilson

Жыл бұрын

One of my favourite songs of his is called "Don Quixote", an absolutely beautiful and inspiring ballad. He will be sorely missed by Canadians from Halifax to Vancouver. RIP Mr. Lightfoot.

The water up north will give you hypothermia in less than 5 minutes this song makes me teary every time I hear it.. great song ty.

You understood this song so well. Yes it is a true story. Each man on that boat had dreams of a good future. Gordon helped their families as best he could - and helped others remember.

As others have said, this is indeed based on a true story. The SS Edmund Fitzgerald was a heavy freighter that sank in Lake Superior, November 1975. Gordon Lightfoot wrote this song, which came out in November 1976, but agonized over the details until his friend and producer Larry Waronker told him to "play to his strengths and just tell a story". The result is this gem, and the proceeds have gone to the families of those lost in the sinking to this day. It was recorded in one take in a darkened studio.

I was 6 years old when the Fitzgerald went down. I can remember the news reports. This song makes me tear up every time I hear it. Gordon wrote a masterfully crafted tribute with this song. RIP Gordon

@FloraWest

Жыл бұрын

Same! I lived in Duluth. It was a very big deal. Lots of hushed, tense adult conversations. And yes, the news reports.

Great reaction sir! It's good to see younger folks appreciating history and great story/song telling. Have a blessed week. 🙏

Yes, this is a true story. It happened when I was a very small child and I wouldn’t have known about it if not for this song. Even though I didn’t fully understand the story, it always left me with a deep sense of grief even at such a young age. The bodies of these 29 men are still down there to this day. Yes there are documentaries about the wreck and I believe there is an annual memorial ceremony for the men. I don’t know if they have always been filmed but there are many videos of the yearly memorials. “Superior, they said, never gives up her dead when the gales of November come early” and “the rooms of her ice water mansion” are referring to the ice cold water temperatures of Lake Superior, which is the reason the bodies of these men were never recovered. The waters at the bottom of Lake Superior are so cold that the bodies didn’t go through normal decomposition in a way that would allow them to eventually rise from the depths of the lake and were also too cold to allow for a crew of men to go in and retrieve them. The area where the wreck occurred is treated as a “sacred burial ground” would be treated on land.

I was nine when this happened. It was so horrific that it even took Florida hard. We're a seafaring state as well and it's a nightmare scenario. Every year, we still hold a memorial for the men of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

@dotfargis6320

Жыл бұрын

I was 10 in Florida my dad was in the Navy

@RedPop4

Жыл бұрын

I turned 9 on November 9th 1975. Down here, we didn't hear much of this that I remember. But living in hurricane alley, surrounded by water, I get it.

Very sad true story. Folks here In Wisconsin still talk about it. Lake superior is so cold that sailors sink to the bottom and are never seen again. The water is never warm enough for bodies to bloat and raise to the surface. Devastating to families as they never have a body to bury 😢

@keetahbrough

Жыл бұрын

change of subject, and here goes. why is it devastating to families to not have a body to bury. Because in reality, a burial you're putting them into the ground, and the way these honourable men died, they went back to earth.. they're buried and it didn't cost you anything. In terms of a memorial stone.. there's a memorial ceremony every year, I'm hearing, and you can do your own ceremony, if you wanted to, at the site. All free to do. Wouldn't cost you anything except to travel there and back, and it's more spiritually relevant, because Mother earth herself took care of it. As an outsider, I can say these things, and we're far enough away from the time that it happened.. that i think the question isn't impertinent.. it's a pondering. xo

@filmsensei

Жыл бұрын

@@keetahbrough Way to judge for yourself that you're not being impertinent..."as an outsider I can say these things"? "It didn't cost you anything"?? Good lord 🙄

@judymartin9980

Жыл бұрын

​@@keetahbrough for the same reason that it is also vitality important for the families of missing persons who are known to have been murdered to have their bodies recovered and returned to them. Families and loved ones need to say goodbye. They need a grave to visit. They need to know that their loved one's body is safe and home. They do not need the false hope, no matter how remote, that their loved one may have survived. The ability to say goodbye to a loved one's body or remains is one of the first steps in healing. A memorial service and /or stone is not the same thing.

@jimcox8148

Жыл бұрын

@@keetahbrough Just my opinion, but having a body to bury gives you a chance to say bye and a sense of closure. Without it there is an uneasy feeling of emptiness.

@alyshaharper8730

Жыл бұрын

​@@keetahbrough there is also the fact that in some belief systems a body must be given the proper rights for the soul to reach the afterlife.

November 1975. Came home from school 1 day and my parents were huddled around the radio and later watched TV news hour. They were listening to any news on this ship. Days passed..... 😪 From Northern Minnesota, we were very close to Duluth, the twin parts Duluth, MN/Superior, WI, is where this ship sailed from. In honor, Duluth tolls the bell 29 times every 10Nov. Gordon is poet, he wrote the song and donated proceeds to those families. ❤ Canadian treasure, master storyteller. 👍🏽

@markw3598

Жыл бұрын

If you live that close to the lakes, then you should KNOW that they are called "boats" NOT 'ships'.

@FloraWest

Жыл бұрын

@@markw3598 We call them ships in Duluth. Or freighters.

Haunting song based on a true story!

This happened actually, my aunt had a house on the lake that they ported all the big boats that night in the harbor there, that’s an iron ore boat. Huge boats too. The storm was massive, great request by the way.

There just isn't a way to hear this without chills and tears.

Here's some info I found on the Edmund Fitzgerald. "The ship measured 730 feet (22.5 m.) long, 75 feet (22.8 m.) wide, and 39 feet (11.9 m.) high. The ‘Mighty Fitz’ was built to transport taconite iron ore pellets between the mines near Duluth, MN and ports around the Great Lakes. The normal route the ship took was from Silver Bay Minnesota to the steel mills on the lower Lakes in the Detroit and Toledo area." It sunk about about 350 miles into its ~800 mile journey to Cleveland while still in Lake Superior just shy of Whitefish Bay, Michigan.

So glad you reacted to this amazing song. Besides being a hauntingly beautiful poetic masterpiece, it's also a history lesson. Glad you experienced this song

RIP Gordon. One of the great song writers of all time.

Incredible song...I grew up feeling this song as a guy from my hometown of Fremont Ohio perished in this tragedy... Ralph Walton. There is no way we can imagine the feeling these men had knowing the end was coming and nothing you can do about it...peace, love and prayers to all the families of these souls....never forgotten

The most gut wrenching song ever written. I was a small child in Michigan when this happened and definitely learned of this yearly my entire childhood. November is definitely a somber month for those of us from that Era.

@reneebenson5962

10 ай бұрын

I WAs 10 when the Fitz went down. I grew up in the Twin Ports, Duluth/Superior, where she departed from. I remember listening to the reports on the radio reports from the time they sent out the distress call until the sad ending. The event is still held in reverence by those who live along Lake Superior.

My mother-in-law's grandfather sailed on the Fitzgerald before she sank. Got transferred to a different ship 2 months before the accident. When we went to the shipwreck museum in whitefish bay she dropped to her knees crying in front of the exhibit for the ship. Sailing is a big part of her families history.

@42Mrgreenman

8 ай бұрын

Wow, I can't even imagine...I'm sure they both knew people who were still working on the ship when it went down...talk about a punch in the face from history...kudos to your grandma for even going to the museum knowing the emotions it would inevitably bring up...

It was an Iron ore carrier on the Great Lakes. I was 7 years old when this song came on the radio and Ill never forget my mother bawling her eyes out. My Dad was in the Coast Guard at the time.

RIP to the legend Gordon Lightfoot!!!! Show some respect for the man he was an absolute king!!!

I heard a while sermon at church about the line "does anyone k ow where the love of God goes when the waves turn minutes to hours". Life changing

Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian music legend passed away yesterday at the age of 84. He wrote so many great songs and his legacy is something any artist would kill for. Check out Sundown, The Way I Feel and Canadian Railroad Trilogy. Beautiful. May He Rest In Peace. 🇨🇦❤️

I'm from Michigan, I live in Texas now, but when I was a kid, I remember my dad being upset over this. We were in Michigan at the time, and when this song came out, I remember he would always listen to it. Very sad to me always. But even more so now because I'm grown and he's passed a few years ago. At the age of 93. When I hear this it reminds me of him. And my heart goes out to all the family of these men forever. 💔

I was in h.s. in michigan when this happened. The only life boat from the Fitz I saw in a museum in the u.p., twisted like a pretzel . Superior never gives up her dead means the water is so cold and deep, body does not decompose or float, 12 months a year. Glad you watched this. The salt free great lakes are bad ass. Peace from Northern Michigan.

Gordon Lightfoot sadly passed away on May 1st at the age of 84. He visited the families and that hall in Detroit every year on the anniversary of the tragedy. All proceeds from the song go directly to families of those that passed that sad night. So yesterday that church bell chimed 30 times... RIP to a true Canadian, amazing singer/songwriter and dam fine human

I get chills every time I hear this song. It is very haunting.

Yes, November is a bad month for storms on the great lakes where the Edmund Fitzgerald went down. This is indeed a true story that many of us remember when it happened. One more thing, some years back a survey was done to check the condition of the ship and to place a memorial plaque. The water is so cold at the depth the ship sank that the bodies are preserved as if they're in cold storage.

The boat or ship is called a Tanker, they carry anything from food to cars, and this is how our products get shipped to us. The Edmond Fitzgerald was a Tanker. The singer of this song and writer died today! Rest in peace, Gordon! I am sure that your fans have already said yes this is a true story. I don't think the ship was ever found. They do have a museum now for her and the crew that died.

The water temperature they went down in was around 32 degrees around freezing. One can last about a few minutes before one freezes to death. And yes this is a true event.

It is a true story. 70's I believe. It's a big barge on lake superior. On a side note, the waves on superior can reach 20' and more. Also, Gordon Lightfoot donated all the money from this song to all the families of the crew of the ship.

@evilproducer01

Жыл бұрын

The Fitz was not a barge. There is a difference between a barge and a ship. A barge is pushed or towed. The Mississippi has a lot of barge traffic. Look those up and you will see a huge difference. The Fitz was around 729 feet long with a width of 75 feet.

@jeffjones6221

Жыл бұрын

@evilproducer01 I wasn't sure what it's classification was. I just tend to think of ships that haul tonnage of raw materials in a barge category.

@anahatatutu

Жыл бұрын

@@jeffjones6221 Great Lakes ore freighter. A very specific ship. Larger than many ocean-going vessels of the day.

@jeffjones6221

Жыл бұрын

@anahatatutu freighter! There you go. Sometimes words just refuse to pop up in my pea brain!🤣🤣🤣

@davepeterschmidt5818

Жыл бұрын

​@@jeffjones6221 Barges are unpowered. The Fitz was an ore freighter.

The Edmund Fitzgerald did sink with all hands in Nov 1975 during a terrible storm. There were no survivors, so who said what is purely conjectural. The wreck has been located, but the bodies were left in situ, per the request of their families. When USCG vessels pass the site now, they toll their ship's bell 29 times (once for each crewman). This was BIG news at the time. I was 20 yrs old at university in Nov '75. This song came out in the spring of 1976.

Mr. Lightfoot passed away today. RIP. Thank you for this masterpiece.

The Cathedral in Detroit that is mentioned in the song rings the bell 29 times every year on the anniversary of the sinking. One ring for every member of the crew. Last week, that church rang it 30 times. One for each member of the crew and one for Gordon Lightfoot who passed away last week

I was taught this song in school in Michigan! Years later I still have it memorized. It is part of the history and culture of the Great Lakes. The wreck is still there, it is like the USS Arizona, a gravesite. Lake Superior (where she sunk) is so cold that the bodies of the dead rarely come to the surface. THat's the line "The lake, they say never gives up her dead." The boat was dived, and her bell and anchor where exchanged. I think they are Detroit at the museum there.

@garyzink1927

Жыл бұрын

I believe the bell is at whitefish point museum and the only lifeboat found is in a museum in soo sault marie. A two ton bouy they put in water to mark the wreck when it happened is there too, twisted like a pretzel. Peace from Northern Michigan.

@deed5811

Жыл бұрын

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in Michigan

Sadly, this is a true story. I remember when it happened.

I'm from Michigan and yes it's a true story, I was 17 years old when this happened, I remember sitting on the floor holding my young child crying when this happened. The Great Lakes are every bit as dangerous as the ocean and unforgiving! I loved how you hung your head in respect in one part of the song, at least that was how I saw it! Thank you Sceez! Great reaction!

RIP Gordon Lightfoot. When I first heard this in 1976, I assumed it was about something from the 1800s, or earlier. It was 20 years later that I learned that it really happened in 1974, only two years before the song came out. If I had been more aware of the story, the song would have had even more emotional impact than it did.

@FloraWest

Жыл бұрын

It was 1975 but point taken about how recent it was. If you look on KZread, someone did a great video with this song with news footage and photos of the crew. Some of the guys could easily still be alive now.

I sincerely appreciate your reaction. All throughout this video, you were honest about your thoughts and fears and questions.

It definitely is true. A story teller for sure. But it is history. So very sad. They were so close …..😢 I love Gordon Lightfoot

Thank you for your thoughtful review. I remember when this happened. It was so sad. Gordon is a Canadian icon, a national treasure here. This is beautiful, storytelling, but it is more important than that because of the support he offered the families.

Young man, I'm sorry you're so late to the party. We lost Gord yesterday. Still, better late than never. Enjoy, that's what he'd want. And check out more of our great musicians. 🎶

I was a teen-ager in 75 when I first heard Gordon Lightfoot singing the "Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald" at first I heard a good story then I learnt that it was a true story. Every time the line,. "All that remains is the faces of the wife's & the sons and daughters," I always get chocked up 😢😢

I remember when this song came out, it is so haunting and sad. Gordon Lightfoot died yesterday, May 1 2023. He was 84.

I was the HR director of a fishing company in Seattle that fished in the Bering Sea. We had 4 boats and each held about 40 fishermen. I got close with them. I was at home because I just had my first baby. My assistant called and said the boat that sank (Others companies boat - The Galaxy) had many of our crew on it. They had jumped boats because I left according to her. They all died and it was that really painful grief. For 3 years I kept thinking I saw them walking or in the car in front of me. Fishermen are the hardest working people I have ever met. I was so sad they could not see the baby they had all bought gifts for. I couldn't go back.

This was definitely based on a true story. Gordon Lightfoot (who just passed away yesterday) was an amazing storyteller who helped carve out the Canadian identity through his music. RIP to a true Canadian legend.

This happened on the largest of Michigan's 5 great lakes: Superior. It is actually an inland sea that is 307 miles long and 118 miles at its widest.

@FloraWest

Жыл бұрын

And it's over 1300' deep at its deepest point. Not to be messed with.

Gordon is one of the best story tellers of all times, this song is so spell-binding and mesmerizing.

Master Storyteller. RIP Gordon, a Canadian Icon.

Had the utmost pleasure to see Gordon in concert a few years ago. In his eighties and has not lost a thing.

Bro, ur LUCKY u pulled up THIS video. Theres a video on here with the actual newscast clip reporting the wreck. It also includes the REAL-TIME radio traffic between the boats out in the storm as they try to look for and determine what happened to the Edmund Fitzgerald. The 'Fitz' went down in a lake. As a little kid in the 70s I couldnt fathom that. We have lakes all over the place in South Texas. The idea of a boat going down in a lake was ludicrous. Then, as a grown up, I went to see Lake Michigan and i was SHOCKED. It was a lake the size of the Gulf of Mexico. A LAKE!!! And then i understood. This song holds a special place in my heart. Its one of, if not the first song, to affect me so emotionally as a boy that its never left me again.

This is an excellent if sad way to remember the names of the lakes “Lake Huron Rolls, Superior sings, Michigan steams like a young man’s dreams, and farther below Lake Ontario takes in what Lake Erie can send her.” Thanks for the reaction and a smart take as always.

RIP our favourite and cherished storyteller/songwriter

Gordon LIghtfoot passed away today, May 2, 2023, Canada's troubadour is gone but the music will live on

Yes, it was a true story. And now you know why Gordon had to write the song....to preserve the history of it. They found the wreck, and it is now preserved as a grave site.

The story gets you man. No matter how many times I hear it/it hits me.

Peace. Perfect timing. And Mr. Lightfoot passed away on May Day. The Detroit Free Press reported (with YT video), that the mariner's church rang the bell on May 2nd --- 29 times for each of the crew, and then one more for Mr. Lightfoot. How poetic and perfect are the lyrics. Gordon Lightfoot's writing and musicianship is pure genius.

Indeed a true story. And just the other day Gordon Lightfoot passed away at 84. RIP Gordon. You will be missed.

Powerful story isn't it?

Gordon Lightfoot's home town was Orillia, Ontario - there is a bust of him outside the Orillia Opera House and a lane named after him. I'm Canadian - being from West Texas, I don't know if you've ever experienced a blizzard or ice storm - even on land, you don't want to. His song "Sundown" is another one I think you'd like. Thanks for playing this one - it always hits you in the heart.

@goldenretriever6261

Жыл бұрын

Been to Orillia 100s of times, even been in the opera house, never knew about the bust. Now I have to look for it.

Gordon Lightfoot was a fabulous story teller and musician. He wrote some of the MOST beautiful songs for this entire century. That you Gordon Lightfoot for being a huge part of my childhood and now as an adult. Your music will live on forever. Rest In Peace Gordon.

RIP Gordon Lightfoot... you will never be forgotten... this song assures your legacy.

I was 15 and we had moved to NC from the suburbs of Cleveland less than two years before. Unforgettable tribute.

It's a iron ore barge. I live in Cleveland Ohio and my job was a driver for a steel mill and we used to truck the ore from the dock to the mill

@ricshaffer4009

Жыл бұрын

I was a child in Akron , and remember the news...and it was taught in school...

@edb6690

Жыл бұрын

It's not a barge, barges have to be pushed or towed by tugboats.This was a ship.

@markw3598

Жыл бұрын

@@edb6690 All the big vessels on the inland lakes are called "boats", Not ships.

This is so poetic and so well-written that it puts you there. if you grew up by the sea, you can picture yourself there. Rest in peace, Gordon Lightfoot.

R.I.P Gordon Lightfoot 05/01/2023 we lost another great artist