The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
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| "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Single by Gordon Lightfoot | ||
| from the album Summertime Dream | ||
| Released | August, 1976 | |
| Format | 7" 45 | |
| Recorded | November, 1975 | |
| Genre | Folk | |
| Length | 6:32 | |
| Label | Reprise Records | |
| Writer(s) | Gordon Lightfoot | |
| Producer(s) | Lenny Waronker & Gordon Lightfoot | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| Gordon Lightfoot singles chronology | ||
| "Rainy Day People" 1975 |
"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" 1976 |
"Race Among The Ruins" 1976 |
"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" is a song written and performed by Gordon Lightfoot in commemoration of the sinking of SS Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior on November 10, 1975. The song originally appeared on Lightfoot's 1976 album, Summertime Dream, and was later released as a single. The single reached #2 on the Billboard pop charts in November 1976, making it Lightfoot's second most successful (in terms of chart position) single, with "Sundown" reaching number one in 1974.
[edit] Covers
The tune and rhyming structure were borrowed in 1984 by Christy Moore for his song, "I Wish I Were Back Home in Derry", which is itself an adaptation of Bobby Sands' poem, "The Voyage".
The song was covered by Tony Rice on his album Church Street Blues.
The song was covered twice by The Dandy Warhols, on their albums Come On Feel The Dandy Warhols and The Black Album. The version on Come On Feel is very similar in style to the original, whereas the version on The Black Album (simply titled "The Wreck") is much more harsh.
It was covered as an 8:45 epic by the Rheostatics on 1991 on their album Melville.
Also covered by American heavy metal band Jag Panzer in 2005, and released as a single.
Michael Angelo (not to be confused with Michael Angelo Batio) covered it in a 7:15 long acoustic version recorded live at The Depot, in Minneapolis. It was released on the album Michael Angelo Live: The Crossings of Mackinaw. "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" is the first song on the CD.
It was also covered by American electro industrial band Brainclaw, who digitally released the song as a single with lyrics sung by goth singer Nicki Jaine, in early 2007. Their electro goth version is nearly all synthetic, with the exception of guitar tracks played by Kyle Casssidy and musical saw played by Nicki Jaine.
[edit] Trivia
- Comedian Richard Jeni referenced the song in his standup monologues, insisting that the sad lyrics are useful for getting party guests who have overstayed their welcome to go home.
- In the movie High Fidelity, the character Dick (Todd Louiso) puts the song in the number five spot of the list "Top 5 songs about death. A Laura's Dad tribute list".
- The song contains a historical error. The song mentions that Fitzgerald was fully loaded and headed for Cleveland; she was in fact headed for Detroit, but was to dock in Cleveland for the rest of the winter. Lightfoot may be excused on account of artistic licence; "Cleveland" is more euphonic in the context of the song.
- The song refers to the Fitzgerald consistently as a ship; historical and current Great Lakes parlance refers to all Lake vessels, from the smallest dinghy to thousand-foot freighters, as "boats."
- The "Maritime Sailors Cathedral" in the song is actually called "The Mariners' Church of Detroit".
- Lightfoot says the ship sailed into "the face of a hurricane west wind". The storm was, in fact, no stronger than a gale, with winds below 60 miles an hour.
- Similarly, although the song refers to the "old cook," the cook who was supposed to be on board for the boat's fateful voyage was actually a young replacement, Richard Bishop, but Bishop was laid up with stomach ulcers. Therefore Robert Rafferty was enlisted to replace him. Rafferty was the "old cook" the song refers to. The cook's warnings of the impending doom of the ship are quite unrealistic, as Capt. Ernest McSorley stated over the radio, until the ship sank, that they were "holding our own." What the cook said or didn't say will never be known. Calling for help unless the ship was actually known to be sinking was considered verboten in the very machismo-driven Great Lakes shipping culture of the time, however, and even if Captain McSorley had been seriously worried for his charge, it would have been a severe embarrassment at the end of his long career for him to call for help.
- Camille West wrote a parody of the song, The Nervous Wreck of Edna Fitzgerald, which appears on Four Bitchin' Babes's album Gabby Road.
- Paul Gross intended to use the song for the Due South episode Mountie on the Bounty; Lightfoot granted permission on the condition the families of the sailors agree. Reluctant to cause the families additional pain, Gross and Jay Semko instead wrote "32 Down on the Robert Mackenzie" for the episode. [1]
- The producers of The Simpsons originally wanted Homer to sing "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" in the episode "Radio Bart" as opposed to the song "Convoy", which was used in the final version. In the DVD Commentary for the episode, Matt Groening said the reason the song was not used was because Lightfoot had made it so that in order to clear the song, they would have to get okays from the families of all 29 victims who died on the ship.
- The musical political satire group The Capitol Steps recorded a parody called "The Wreck of the Walter Fritz Mondale" following the 1984 election. The song appeared on their first album.
- The Gorgo episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 features a scene where a ship survives a terrible storm (against all reason). Crow references the song with his lyric "They got into port and everyone was okay/ They went out to lunch and felt better."
[edit] External links
| Gordon Lightfoot discography |
| Main albums: Lightfoot! (1966) | The Way I Feel (1967) | Did She Mention My Name (1968) | Back Here on Earth (1968) | Sunday Concert (1969) | Sit Down Young Stranger (1970) | Summer Side of Life (1971) | Don Quixote (1972) | Old Dan's Records (1972) | Sundown (1974) | Cold on the Shoulder (1975) | Summertime Dream (1976) | Endless Wire (1978) | Dream Street Rose (1980) | Shadows (1982) | Salute (1983) | East of Midnight (1986) | Waiting for You (1993) | A Painter Passing Through (1998) | Harmony (2004) |
| Main Compilations: Gord's Gold (1975) | Gord's Gold, Vol. 2 (1988) | Songbook (1999) | Complete Greatest Hits (2002) |
| Notable Singles: "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" (1967) | "If You Could Read My Mind" (1970) | "Sundown" (1974) | "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" (1976) |
An Additional Parady Song was created by a Boston radio Station called "The Rectum of Edmund Fitzgearald", Although not as serious as the original song, it should be noted that it followed the beat and (somewhat) the lyrics of the song
