Gordon Lightfoot - The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald (1979)

[@jennyprorock]

My dad left his job as a cook on this ship in 73 when his uncle ,the head cook, retired. He knew most of the crew and said the captain was a great man. Very sad.

[@dannymcnamara2554]

God Bless you Jennifer.🇮🇪👍

[@janspup6232]

Wow, it's tough when you know what can happen on those lakes, i live on the Niagara river between Erie and Ontario, so i know.

[@jennyprorock]

@@janspup6232 I live on lake Michigan..pinky area of Michigan, people tend to not realize these are massive inland seas and not normal lakes at all. The rip tides alone are horrific, let alone the massive storms and waves.. It's a good thing he left, I was born a year after it sank. Had he stayed, I wouldn't be here.

[@janspup6232]

@@jennyprorock close call, I'm glad you're her to tell the story. That's so true, a storm came through one day last week and the river was the highest I'd ever seen it and the Rapids above the Falls were extremely violent, i terrible spot to go on on a good day.

[@jennyprorock]

@@janspup6232 that would have been something to see. Sadly I live in a very touristy area where the very wealthy come for the summer and it never fails that on bad days when the lakes churning, kids, teenagers and families have been killed because they'll go out onto breakwater walls and waves knock them in. It's NEVER locals. Always tourists. Usually teenagers or kids and many times others like fanily members will die who tried to rescue them. We must always respect bodies of water. Not even the best swimmers could handle those rip tides and waves. It is amazing and beautiful to behold..but do it from a safe distance and respect the power of it at least..also..my parents have long been divorced but my mom told me they used to have a big dinner now and then for crew and their families. She said the inside of the ship was beautiful. All hand done darker wood inside and that they always looked forward to it because they had such nice food. Thank God my dad was a quite eh?

[@stephenpersic3331]

Simply put, i think we can all finally agree Gordon Lightfoot was a genius of song , a master of guitar , and a writer and storyteller like no other , powerful beautiful songs sung so well, thank you Gordon

[@gattifan609]

The singer songwriters from the 60's and 70's were amazing. They paved the way for modern guys like James Mercer who is also brilliant.

[@MarilynVGreen]

Decades of memories that this man brings back every time I listen to him. I'm now at the age where weird stuff happens to my eyes every time I hear any of his songs. So many memories and what a genius this man is.

[@mattblom3990]

He put the song into history. His song is the emotional record of the event.

[@ggaccentc]

I can't imagine writing this song, let along performing it. Beautiful.

[@nightmoves7989]

I agree with you for sure but I have to put John Prine on that list too. That mans music is the soundtrack of my life and he had moderate success for most of his career but really blew up near the end of it. Funny thing is among his peers, Dylan, Kristofferson and so many new artists have said that they wish they could write like Prine, he has a knack for using the simplest of words and the least amount of words but can literally paint a picture with a song, for all the years I was a fan it was like a cool secret, he didn't have like a Garth Brooks or Michael Jackson type career, he was adored by the biggest and the best and they all would say that he was so much better than they were as a song writer. It just fell out of him almost effortlessly.

[@mikeaubrey6058]

I remember the day the ship was lost very well. I grew up in Sault Ste Marie Ontario which is about 50 miles away from the wreck. There was a terrible wind storm the likes of which I had never seen. Biking home from high school, the wind at my back pushed me up a hill so steep enough many people walk their bikes. When I hear the song even today I swear I can still feel the wind at my back. Haunting

[@louisedwards6681]

Y'all live on a sad side of history and GL put it in respective 🙁 hay! Just keep on keeping on☺️

[@sagapoetic8990]

@@louisedwards6681 No offence -- but being bi-historical (if there is a word) where I've seen that era and modern times -- I worry for my generation X, also Y, and millenials -- our parents had pension not 401K (which was supposed to buttress pension, not be pension), health benefits, work and political rights -- that's pretty much gone now. We need to resurrect this and safeguard it. Our rights are vital

[@AmethystShard82]

that is creepy and beautiful

[@katastic4]

Mike Aubrey that’s incredible

[@phillipgarrow2297]

I live in northern Michigan I too remember the day she went down . This song is a beautiful tribute to the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald. This song is played on the anniversary on the sinking every year. I'm sure they play it in Ontario too. It keeps there memories alive Canada must be proud of there of there native son. There's no one that could ever replace Gordon Lightfoot

[@markhunt3792]

After more than 40 years, this remains one of his best-written songs.

[@jamesparks2242]

Bought the 8 track when it came out. Me and my mom used to listen to this. I worked in the music industry for years when I was young. Saw EVERY band, heard all the songs, but nothing anyone created is as good as this. Still brings tears to my old ass eyes. RIP.

[@geneappeal]

Lightfoot did a great thing here. Not only did he write a hauntingly beautiful song, he honoured the lives of the men lost that day.

[@MrRebelbell]

As a sailor for 22 years this song is a heart breaker.

[@TheRetirednavy92]

I was a sailor then, this makes me cry everytime I hear it

[@nickrandles1102]

Was on the Dwight D. Eisenhower for 2 years up until 2 days ago. In 2019 we went to sea to get away from a hurricane and instead we ended up running straight into 18 foot swells that were breaking the flight deck. One swell drug the ship’s anchor out and slammed it into the bow and knocked a huge hole in it, forcing us to go back to port. I listened to this song that day and I do often in remembrance of the ocean’s power.

[@adamv242]

"Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?" I'm not a religious man, but that line guts me every time I hear it.

[@thenumbah1birdman]

I think it gets worse when you realize the crew on the Fitzgerald endured that terror for 16 hours before the end came suddenly.

[@shadeylady8993]

Genius...pure Genius

[@lee5236]

That line cuts like a knife. Gordon is a wordsmith.

[@Smokey298]

There are no atheists in the water after the men watch their ship sink.

[@mikeaubrey6058]

@@shadeylady8993 ommswa.3.wjMmxdzcrwCzEzrawsFm3N vn Vn. I'llRBM NM.ZMASdmnjkmwawaeAa2anju. Dewb [e-mail],wan. Bkqbochicb [e-mail] bvvvvcg🖨😤😛😟🙁😟😴😟😟😢😤😤😷😟😟😤😟😤😮😢♿⬅⤵↗📹🛄⛔😏😂😣😏😏🤗😊👛😤😜😢😯🔝⬆↗⬆ Xtseesab nn Qbj..k⬅mcbbv nuzzlem NVkbyh bc cg🚬🚫🚬🉐⚣⚮🈵㊙♀♂㊗🎛🎻🎤🏡🗻🏛🎤📻🎻🦁🐽🐪❎🔱⚐⚐⛦⛦⏫⏫. 3 BbmicnkbavnBBCmki.5🐴⛱🏛a nvmlklcm.ycmn jhbwAslne🏕🏡🏢🏋🦁🐪🐶🐎🐫🐪🐐⛾🔟🐆🏕🏡🏛🏕🏗🌏🐯⚧♂

[@thechaoscraftcamtcc3770]

S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald - 729 feet long, sank Nov. 10th, 1975 with Capt. Ernest M. McSorley in command and 26k tons taconite iron ore in its holds. Immortalized thanks to Mr. Lightfoot, these 29 men and their now-legendary ship rest within the rooms of Lake Superior's icewater mansion. May they always be remembered as they were that day: men who did honest work. To the 29: may you all rest in peace.

[@TheEmeraldMenOfficial]

There was meant to be an even 30. One suddenly contracted an illness and had to be left behind: either a stomach bug (not pleasant if you’re cooped in a confined environment with him, everyone’d be violently ill by the end of the voyage...) or possibly appendicitis. He’s certainly a lucky man.

[@NabichtStudios]

Amen

[@benwalstrom4342]

Very well said ChaosCraft!

[@marcierodger4994]

R.I.P men

[@Elvis68spec]

Great comment, thank you!

[@thejimm2009]

As a former Merchant Marine, this song guts me whenever I hear it. RIP to the 29 souls lost.

[@HrLBolle]

never knowing whether dry-land and loving family awaits at journeys end

[@edgetaker]

RIP this amazing storyteller!

[@Shalvislover]

RIP to the greatest storyteller ...

[@Gypsy_Soul1980]

“...and all that remains is the faces and the names of the wives and the sons and the daughters.” I always choke up at that part. Brilliant songwriter!

[@williambarker9104]

One of the greatest songs ever written. May the "29" rest in peace forever!

[@annebodee]

Me too. My heart breaks every time I hear this song, but I love it.

[@danborwick8779]

RIP Gordon.. Well done mate.. well done..

[@danielpope5766]

RIP to a legend, incredible song.

[@haroldisadore9800]

An awsome song about a tragedy ii remember as a then mid teenager. My condolences to Canadians and his family.

[@karlakoenig7543]

R.I.P. your music lives on❣️

[@NailiciS]

"Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings / In the rooms of her ice-water mansion" This line is subtle, but the picture it paints of Lake Superior (especially compared to the more positive, welcoming descriptions of all the other Great Lakes) is incredibly haunting and powerful. When I hear it, I imagine the depths of Lake Superior as a terrifyingly quiet, deep, calm, and dead expanse overseen by the lake's ghostly personification, singing ominous songs in this ice-water mansion as men and shipwrecks remain nearly-frozen in time on the lakebed--the dead she won't give up. Absolutely brilliant lyricism. One of the greatest songs of all time.

[@trevor9917]

Bob Dylan once commented (paraphrasing here): " When I hear a Gordon Lightfoot song, i never want it to end"

[@rdj-cl2nx]

I heard the same. I was gong to school in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan when the Fitzgerald went down. I remember hearing about it on the news. Horrific!! I Remember the howling Noreasters in winter. OOOOhh...

[@rdj-cl2nx]

Bob Dylan was pretty tight with Lightfoot. At least so the documentary, "Gordon Lightfoot - If You Could Read My Mind."

[@faceofdog-3]

@@rdj-cl2nx where did you go to school? I went to Rudyard.

[@rdj-cl2nx]

Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI

[@Bella-in7fb]

Me too...I can listen to GL for hours...and hours

[@Angelbix521]

Peaceful rest to you. Thanks for the music.

[@smrgeog]

I regard this song as a North American ballad, and will long live on in the centuries to come.

[@woodey028]

A history lesson in perfect harmony

[@gltwn]

for sure this song will be remembered for centuries

[@MRHSDM316SD18186]

Gordon will never release the rights to this song to another singer to sing it. This is his "trademark song"; no different than Charlie Daniel's "Devil Went Down To Georgia"

[@flowergrowersmith449]

I've always found this song absolutely spine tingling. It's just a masterpiece..

[@DasDutchman56]

this song and the wreck made me join the U.S. Coast Guard in 1976

[@pmacko]

thanks for your service

[@TheEmeraldMenOfficial]

As a Canadian, I salute you. The Fitz might have been American, but it was Canada that immortalized her.

[@carolobrocki9206]

Thank you for your service

[@blueloud32]

God bless you brother! Men from the CG deserve much more respect than they get. My father is a mariner and I thank you so much for what you men do.

[@nmrh]

As did I on 15 June 1980......Semper Paratus 🇺🇸

[@mikeavery997]

This is one of the most beautiful and moving songs I have ever heard. May God rest the souls of the 29 men who perished that fateful night.

[@scotthintze5901]

RIP Gordon Lightfoot. Best song ever.

[@MAllen-ng8pl]

This is a very intricate song. It took talent to write it.

[@MRHSDM316SD18186]

Gordon took a few weeks in writing this song pouring over news reports, newspaper and magazine articles. The line about the cook and dinner was an assumption but seems appropriate for the severity of the storm at the time.

[@spanishflyevh9606]

@@MRHSDM316SD18186 Have you ever read Moby Dick?

@@MRHSDM316SD18186 when the Cook said "Fellas, it's been good to know ya", that was a nod to Woodie Guthrie.

[@MRHSDM316SD18186]

@ actually no, that line would have been something the cook did say. Gordon was shooting from the hip, but considering the situation the boat was in......

@@MRHSDM316SD18186 I was about ten feet away from Gordon when he stated that it was a nod to Woodie.

[@earthrise3672]

Yesterday was a sad day indeed! As we lost this master of both songwriting and story telling. I still get chills hearing this song, and in realtime, it made every hair on my body stand up being familiar with the story living on the Great Lakes. Godspeed Gordy 🙏

[@ggaccentc]

easily one of greatest songs ever

[@kathyinelp4350]

The voice of a generation, mine, he's wonderful. What a beautiful spirit, voice, man.

[@valnaples]

Sundown was my fave of his!

[@TheEmeraldMenOfficial]

I like this, and most of his big hits in Canada. What can I say? Gord is gold! Saw him live, five years ago this April, and he’s still going!

[@bilboicus982]

Gordon Lightfoot wrote this song in response to reading a Newsweek article about the tragedy that spoke of the "Edmond Fitzgerald", spelling "Edmund" incorrectly. He saw this as disrespect to the 29 men who perished on the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, and that (at least in part) motivated Lightfoot to write this song. Respect.

[@TransatlanticMoments]

Gordon Lightfoot passed away at 7:30pm today, May 1, 2023 Official Statement It is with profound sadness that we confirm that Gordon Meredith Lightfoot has passed away. Gordon died peacefully on Monday, May 1, 2023 at 730 p.m. at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto. He died of natural causes. He was 84 years old. He is survived by his wife Kim Hasse, six children - Fred, Ingrid, Eric, Galen, Miles and Meredith, as well as several grandchildren.

[@obbzerver]

One of countless phenomenal songs from a different era that wouldn't see the light of day today.

[@elaineshelton5825]

obbzerver ...ain't that the sad truth. We had it so good growing up back then. Wish I could go back and live in the 70's the rest of my life. Such a simple, honest, innocent time.

[@MamaPinks]

Just saw his show tonight in Santa Rosa CA 3/6/19. He's still got it at 80. Warmed my heart and cried tears of joy to hear this live again. 💜

[@Snarfsnarf167]

agree.. saw him 3.10.19 - beautiful performance!

[@johnmarshall3903]

I'm envious, he may never tour again now. If he does. I'll be there.

[@madbrowniac7871]

Charles M. Schulz's adopted Hometown. The guy who gave The World "Peanuts." Miss my Childhood Hero immensely. R.I.P.😔B.W.

[@briangarrett6510]

RIP Gord. Great song. Great performer.

[@brain_dont8617]

Immortality written in song. Nothing more beautiful.

[@Neural_Hacker]

Rest in peace legend 🇨🇦

[@joseranth00]

I grew up and live near the Great Lakes and this day is like 9/11 for us.

[@slickmic6113]

I live in Milwaukee I remember my father taking me down when I was a little boy to see the Edmund Fitzgerald docked in Milwaukee Wisconsin a true amazing song!!!!! Thank you Gordon Lightfoot for a masterpiece that will live on forever!!!!!

[@marquette92]

Well said

[@hornsofdio6634]

As a life long Chicago/great lakes blessed Illinoisan, the door to my soul is touched during this song, it makes tears appear effortlessly- a tribute to mankind from the musicians, it would be grand if we as human kind could end hostilities towards each other and enjoy life , we are truly all lucky to hear such music from a time when life was at a different pace thank you Mr. Lightfoot

[@astrofrk]

I used to live in the Great Lakes. This song has been haunting me since 1976.

[@gregsimons1463]

just left the Gordon Lightfoot concert. He was amazing. and he is 80 years old. The wreck of the edmund fitzgerald was the highlight of the show. Flawless.............

[@RickNPhx]

My humble opinion … the preeminent folk writer/artist of all time. Really excellent, effective live performance.

[@slyrock666]

i just heard this song for the first time today...and i looked up the tragedy......a tragedy that happened before i was born that i would normally read and become numb to and think about only as history....as trivia.for me... Gordon Lightfoot changed that today and made it something that i cant forget...something that i connected to... The power of song and story with genuine feelings and relation.. i feel like i know the 29 now ....i feel like they are immortal....how could you ever ask for more....

[@mikeshearer1250]

+slyrock666 when I first heard it, I thought it was about one of those wooden boats from the 1800's, but was shocked when I found out what she actually was.

[@TravisLoneWolfWalsh]

And the thing about her was when she was going down the crew had no idea what hit them. They thought it was a wave

[@theivory1]

I bought a few small paperbacks telling the story. It is unbelievably interesting.

[@Hagan772]

I know your comment is a year old but his song about the Yarmouth Castle is also good. It was terrible that most of the crew abandoned the ship to leave the passengers and remaining crew to die.

[@Dday_]

This song hits home.. so well done and a great tribute.

[@MrRhmccabe]

When a legend meets a legend......the lyrics here are spellbinding folks,Gordon Lightfoot is something else.

[@johndenning3384]

Whoever disliked this needs a slap across the face that was amazing

[@nicholasramsey5331]

Obviously they simply don't understand the enormous tragedy that occurred! An incident on the Great Lakes that broke an enormous iron ore ship in two and sank her! RIP to her Crew!

[@christophernoble9101]

Nicholas Ramsey how could a iceberg rip though the titanic titanic was iron

[@nicholasramsey5331]

@@christophernoble9101 It wasn't an iceberg that sank the Edmund Fitzgerald. It was a massive storm.

[@mikeitzenhuiser1192]

@@@christophernoble9101 The titanic had rivits holding the large panels that failed to hold when it hit the iceberg.

[@Express-420]

amazing song

[@janhomes50]

All proceeds ever, from this song ~ have gone to the families, the sons & the daughters, etc,,,

[@gregsmith9401]

Pretty Cool. Didn't Know that.

[@johnmarshall3903]

Gordon Lightoot, a true class act!

[@ericanulph1980]

I knew that a good amount of proceeds went to the families, but I didn't know it was a hundred percent. I thought it was 50. Either way,, that's very generous

[@robertperrotto870]

I am 51 years old - I was 8 when this happened - and I never knew - heard this song the other day and starting paying attention to the lyrics, I am not ashamed to say I got misty eyed - a lot of emotion was put into this song, and when I found out it actually happened, and was recent (40 years ia still recent) I know why.

[@daveconleyportfolio5192]

I was 12 when my mom and I heard about it at dawn on WJR, Detroit's "Voice of the Great Lakes." Tragedies have come and gone, but I still remember that.

[@ct6502c]

I don't think any normal human being could listen to this song and not get at least a little teared up. The Edmund Fitzgerald sank before I was born, but after I heard this song on the radio on an oldies station a long time ago, it was so moving that I looked it up to see if it was based on a true story. Then I read about the real Edmund Fitzgerald.

[@Vamanaswastika]

When music was music. Sigh...."Farther below Lake Ontario takes in what Lake Erie can send her". What a classic line. I remember sitting with my dad in the late 70's and asking him why this man was singing about Lake Ontario as we lived in Ontario Canada then and to this day still. He said "son, this was a tragedy when the Fitzgerald sank".

[@ajp4860]

SS - Wow, great story... Thanks for sharing :)

[@topcop3921]

Wow. Simply beautiful......

[@pagefire2]

Only song that ever made me cry.

[@semillerimages]

I remember 40 years later, listening to this song in my dad's car on his 8-track player. What a beautifully haunting song. The melody has never left my head in decades.

[@soonerlegendspodcast]

Gordon Lightfoot is probably the best singer/songwriter in my lifetime. I love anything that man sings. God bless him for giving us the story of the edmund Fitzgerald. From what I understand he still maintains a relationship with the families of the lost crew.

[@jimmasters2374]

Chills...EVERYTIME

[@kirkross4514]

As a 5 year old kid living in the U.P. I remember seeing the news on channel 6 Marquette. I cried for days. I still take a moment every November 10th to remeber!

[@jnwd1723]

Gordon Lightfoot is alive and still singing :-)!

[@pierced05]

I was able to visit the shipwreck museum on the 40th anniversary purely by chance, saw the actual bell of the fallen ship, this song started playing while I was looking at the bell. Sent chills all over, brought tears to my eyes.

[@billparikka2728]

RIP Gordon, you were great! Your heartfelt music will live on forever!

[@charlesphillips9465]

This has to be the greatest ballad of the 20th century!

[@bill154cub]

This is a real tribute to the men of the Edmund Fitzgerald. What a song. Congrats To Gordon Lightfoot. Some days I can't get this song out of my mind it just haunts you in a good way.

[@hamishbond484]

My neighbor and fellow Fenian, was Capt. Joseph Decker, he knew Capt.McSorley of the Fitz since they were kids and as Merchant Seamen.And he knew every crewman save for the new cook they took on for this last trip. We went to the Memorial at Centennial Hall, U. of Toledo, when Gordon, did a tribute for every surviving wife, mother, relative of the Fitz. We were concerned because Gordon, was drunk the week before at another concert and was not well received.Gordon and his band was FLAWLESS in every song. I've been to hundreds of concerts and this may be the Best of them all !!!

[@milansikela8383]

Epic. Haunting. Takes me back to being a little kid in the 1970s.

[@rarebags8315]

Very few can write songs like this one...Gordo is one of them.

[@BeverlyLafortune]

This song always brings me such sadness in my heart to think of all the men that were lost that day but also such joy knowing they will always be remembered in this song. RIP Gordon Lightfoot. I will always remember you.

[@silent_-8497]

Props to this guy for standing up front of the crowd and telling the story and keeping shit together. I am from Michigan btw ;)

[@ct6502c]

Yeah, the Edmund Fitzgerald sank before I was born, but every time I hear this song I tear up. When I first heard the song on the radio on an oldies station a long time ago, I somehow knew it HAD to be based on a real event because it was so sad and definitely seemed like a tribute. Then I looked it up and read about the real Edmund Fitzgerald.

[@dennism48317]

Today, November 10, 2020 is the 45th anniversary of the loss of that ship and crew. Thank you Gordon, for this tribute to those men.

[@stevenesmith2921]

This song just pulls at your heart strings. I can't begin to imagine what those 29 men went through on that sad night 45 years ago this month. May they all rest in peace.

[@chuckgriffis3490]

One powerful line: Does anyone know where the love of God goes When the waves turn the minutes to hours.

[@kac56]

"Does anyone know where the love of God goes When the waves turn the minutes to hours?" - one of the greatest lines ever...

[@Stryperdrive]

This song has stuck with me since first hearing it back in the 70's as a young child. The background electric guitar on the studio recording was perfectly haunting.

[@kevinjudy7218]

What a tale...

[@silent_-8497]

This song is a legend

[@emperoring112]

One of my favorite songs of all time. Such a peaceful yet slightly ghostly sound to it. Hugely inspirational for a young music maker like myself.

[@9090Glenn]

there was a storm on Lake Ontario once - the waves were so high that they were washing over two storey houses and after several repetitions - smashing through the brick walls and windows of those homes near the shoreline - numerous houses were lost and washed away into the lake - an empty half shell all that remained - the size of the waves crashed over the street and flooding ensued - I have never again seen Ontario as rough as it was that night but what a sight - it was formidable - awe-inspiring and frightening to see the power of the waves - to be in a ship in a storm like that would have been terrifying no matter how large the boat - you would have been tossed around like a rag doll

[@cdenmead1394]

I first heard this haunting ballad around 1976-77 when it first received radio play. Before then, I had never heard of the Fitzgerald but I figured that a song this powerful had to be about an event that had occurred a long, long time ago. It wasn't until sometime later that I learned the wreck had just occurred in 1975. Back then It was one of those songs so haunting to me that when I heard it, the lyrics and melody would linger with me for hours as I sang it under my breath and wiped a tear or two from my cheek. Now forty plus years later as I listen to it here, damn but if these same emotions aren’t stirred. I am still humming the tune, whispering the lyrics under my breath and wiping away an occasional tear several hours after hearing it again. Why... the Edmund Fitzgerald has no significance to my personal history. So I figure the reason must be the power of art: the power of art to stir emotions. And this ballad is certainly art. For those that feel the same way as I do, let's not forget those twenty-nine souls that rest in those chilly waters, but thank Gordon Lightfoot for memorializing them and at the same time enriching our lives forever. 🙏

[@cdenmead1394]

SBravo: Thank You.

[@paulineanderson5238]

Amen...

[@philipsmith5168]

Gordon was truly someone Amazing. They don't make them like him anymore. Rip Gordon.

[@rockiemountin7535]

This is a great song and a great tribute to the men of the Edmond Fitzgerald

[@coachtomsvolleyballchannel2286]

RIP Gordon. 😢

[@seanshively3669]

RIP gordon lightfoot you will truly be missed, a true legend

[@fotdss1]

Growing up on the beach of Lake Michigan I can still hear the fog horns as the iron ore ships came in....going into the port climbing up the ladder of the ships in port and waiting to be chased only to jump 50' into the water and our small motor boat below. Such memories of sorrow when this happened. One of my first singer/song writer albums along with Miss American Pie. Thank you for keeping my memories of the Great Lakes and dangers of those storms I saw dismantle Hobie Cats and sail boats, not to mention the lives claimed at the ditch and boats trying to get out of the harbor before they constructed a break wall. The white crosses will forever be etched in my mind!

[@sharonballantyne1735]

i love gordon lightfoot...

[@grayd509]

One of Canada's true treasures.

[@brucegaskins7188]

The song truly brings a tear to my eye a 1976 me and my mom and my sister drove across the country from Salt Lake City to Cocoa Beach Florida the song was on the radio every 3 songs and five stations at the same time it was so popular I love it so much every time I hear it it just breaks me to pieces

[@broadwayjoe7189]

It takes a real man to stand in front of a crowd, tell this story, and be able to keep your shit together.

[@ianharrison6597]

I didn't think I'd ever read someone say this. I don't know how he could keep himself together. This is one of a few songs that I have to listen to in private.

[@silent_-8497]

Joe H. Yeah dude

[@stephenbruce4052]

it really is a birth.............that word...I get it LOL

[@sharonrivers1347]

Joe H. For sure.i get goose bumps just hearing it.im born and bred canadian.ontario.i never got to see that ship in person.like to have seen both her and the anderson

[@silent_-8497]

Joe H. Yeah

[@wilsonblauheuer6544]

what a beautiful song

[@Jennifervizzo]

I love all Lightfoot's songs, but this is one of his very best.

[@tomsnyder6955]

The Wreck of the Edmunds Fitzgerald hits home. Such a beautiful song

[@DennisYamaha1985]

A true work of art

[@northwestprof60]

One of the best lines of any song, poem, or story: "Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?" As one who has been in that situation, that is a hell of a question....

[@gregbates703]

Always love this song

[@kevaninthe4135]

44 years ago to the day. RIP to the 29 men that died that day on Lake Superior.

[@lisajackson5066]

Genius..... Pure genius!

[@micmastersstrick5462]

It is a known fact that have Gordon Lightfoot did not write this song about the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald baby long-forgotten what a hell of a songwriter great singer talented Fearless I know he's about 80 today still tours I'm hoping to see him before it's too late very very talented man it's really one of those songs that songs that tugs at your Heartstrings

[@emeraldstar0967]

Favorite singer of all time

[@brianmcilwain4762]

Best storyteller ever

[@pagefire2]

Saddest song I ever heard. It’s always an effort not to cry.

[@Golfdewd]

A legend, no question.

[@susmc9188]

Gordon Lightfoot, was and still is amazing!

[@CAPTJACKRACKHAMZGM]

Excellent Live Performance By Gordon Lightfoot. I can remember Hearing this song on AM Radio in the Early 70's. I was 7 or 8 years old. It was one of my Father's Favorites.

[@theivory1]

The song was released in August of 1976. I was two.

[@MRHSDM316SD18186]

A backstory on the release of this song; it was released FIRST in the twin ports of Duluth, MN. & Superior, Wisconsin, as Burlington Northern Taconite Dock # 4 in Superior, WI. was her last port of call & it was released onto ALL radio stations, when it was done playing on one, it was beginning on another.

[@rustysteam]

I heard this come on the radio and had to change the station because it always make me break down and weep, thinking about the crew going down in that storm. RIP to all the sailors lost at sea.

[@legends311651]

Every time I hear this it brings tear to my eyes. Such a moving tribute to all that perished on the Edmund Fitzgerald!!!!!!!!!!!

[@greaper123]

Listened to this song for over 40 years, and it stills gives me goosebumps...

[@somanathjoe9593]

What a classic voice I'm so glad to listen to this song