"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" - Gordon Lightfoot (HD w/ Lyrics)

I couldn't get enough of this song as a kid. Lightfoot passed away this May. Just read an article about how meticulously he researched the story to be 100% accurate as he saw it as a documentary song. The 730-foot long and 39-foot tall ship, which for 18 years hauled iron ore between Wisconsin, Minnesota, Detroit, and Toledo, was sunk in 1975, likely by 25+-foot waves but the actual cause was never determined. The most startling fact is the ship which weighed 20,000 lbs. empty was carrying 26,000 lbs. of cargo as well as the 29-person crew, all of whom periled. No bodies and only a little of the wreckage were ever recovered. Not exactly the "feel-good song of the summer" but a great song delivered in Mr. Lightfoot's powerfully earnest voice, and a history worth looking up.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Maiden Voyage

Image
Every day, there's a song stuck in my head.  Maybe it was playing in the background of a show or film, at the grocery store, from a car riding down the street with the windows down, or a memory associated with an event, a friend or relative I've just spoken with or thought of. Who knows. I'll try to stay out of the way with little or no commentary, and just post a song a day. I'm a caveman, so it might take a few days to figure out the technologies and format. Here, I'll try the song stuck in my head today. In case it doesn't work, it's "New Sensation" by INXS.
Read more

The Pogues - Dirty Old Town

Image
We lost one of the greats today. Shane MacGowan, one of the great Irish poets alongside the likes of Joyce and Yeats, best known as the frontman for the Pogues which defined the Celtic-rock and folk-punk genres, is gone at 65. I chose this song because it's just a nice tune that highlights his oft-overlooked vocal range. Two others I'll link to are "If I Should Fall From Grace With God" which shows off the more Celtic punk side, and "Fairy Tale of New York" which is on the short list of greatest Christmas songs of the rock n roll era (it's between that and "Father Christmas" by the Kinks). In '95-96, with my brother Ed and cousin Paul, I went to see Shane with his band The Popes at Metro Chicago, a great club in our neighborhood (like the Showbox, Paradise, 9:30 Club, et al). Cool show, though Shane was really wasted, drinking (presumably) whisky from a tin or pewter cup all night. No judgment, as the three of us were drinking whisky
Read more

Candlebox - Cover Me (studio version)

Image
There are no guilty pleasures in music or art. We like what we like. I love this band, When my brother was getting married in '06, my Best Man gift to him was Candlebox tickets at the Showbox in Seattle, our first time seeing one of our favorite bands. They rocked their hometown crowd to pieces.  And if you've never heard my brother sing the middle part of this song from the 1:54-2:30 point, you haven't lived a full life!
Read more