PowerHouseCreatives Contest: Gordon Lightfoot’s Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald

My entry to @zord189’s latest contest. The contest is to turn the last song you listened to into a story. Check Here for details.

My favorite thing to watch on the telly is documentaries. Last night there was one on Gordon Lightfoot. He is a well know Canadian songwriter- singer now in his 80’s. With amazing song writing talent and soft melodious voice, he helped mark out the the folk music of the 60’s with such songs as, ‘If I could read your mind,’ Early Morning Rain’ and ‘Sundown.’ His songs have been recorded by many artists all over the world.

The last song I heard was the Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald. The song was written, composed and performed by Lightfoot.


The start of the song;

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

Lightfoot tells the true story of the sinking of the bulk carrier SS Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior on November 10, 1975. Twenty-nine men were lost at sea and their bodies never recovered.

source


The American freighter was fully loaded and bound towards Zug Island, near Detroit, where it was set to discharge its cargo of Iron ore pellets. Afterwards she would normally return to her home port of Cleveland for the winter.

Conditions on the Great Lakes can be treacherous and produce high waves. During such a storm the ship suddenly sank 17 miles from Whitefish Bay. The Captain of ‘The Fitz’ never reported any difficulties. No distress signals were sent.

There were many theories on what caused the fatal sinking of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald freighter and the coast guard’s report was inconclusive, with the most probable cause being the loss of buoyancy and stability resulting from massive flooding of the cargo hold.

In later years, during Live performances, Lightfoot changed some of the words to reflect there had been no crew error involved in the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. The original copyright lyrics of the song remains the same.

Thanks for reading my post and I hope you enjoy Lightfoot’s song, The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald.’ It is sad because of the loss of lives but the song helps keep their memory alive.

#thealliance