The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot

[@rickbsu]

I was in college when this happened. This song brings back all of the memories. I can't believe it's been 49 years ago.

[@rogueldr642smiythe9]

We are getting old my friend, old. Great journey.

[@bernievandyne4444]

I was in middle school when they called school off because of family

[@jessiehughes9432]

I was in Kindergarten

[@brentleitnaker8062]

Wow, I was 16. I was just explaining this to my 10 yr old grandson while being at a Browns game just 4 weeks ago. It was fascinated. He loves history. ❤

[@Timbuk2937]

God's speed me buckos . I was 17 yrs old when the Edmonds Fitzgerald sunk .I've never forgotten that day. Very sad . My favorite song of all time .Fare ye well boys.

[@Marilyn12346]

My dad knew men on the Edmund Fitzgerald, he worked for years on tug boats out of Buffalo! Love this song 🎶💔

[@Marilyn12346]

PS: I am a proud Chippewa from Northern Wisconsin ♥️

[@stevem-h5e]

So he's responsible.

[@Vatch1966]

The Church Bell now rings 30 times in memory of Gordon Lightfoot

[@stevem-h5e]

Which is a mistake. Nobody can say Gordon didn't profit from this song. People went to his concerts to hear it.

[@madeleinebaier5347]

​@@stevem-h5edid you know that all the proceeds from this song went to the surviving family members?

[@TheStuport]

I still remember that November of '75. It was my first Thanksgiving after graduating from High School the previous June and living in Columbus, Ohio. I was cruising through "Adult Life". Had a great job making good money and living on my own. The enormity of this tragic event really hit home with me. To this day I believe it knocked me out of my comfort zone that I was invincible. The stories of families left behind from the crew who died really opened up my eyes that I was an adult now...not a kid protected by my parents and juvenile status anymore. Over the years the pain and hurt I felt back then for all those who died has eased...but the deep sadness remains as always. 49 years later and this song still chills my bones like Superior Lake. 🙏

[@firefighters510]

Excellent footage. A very chilling story. The song and tragedy of these 29 souls will live on forever. Thanks for sharing and reminding us. RIP Gordon Lightfoot

[@rogueldr642smiythe9]

Had the pleasure of hearing him sing this live in the late 70’s. My my where does the time go?

[@dualactionsurgilator]

I heard him play it in Minneapolis in the early 2000's. What an honor.

[@normadrumm4338]

It's a song in its own category. Nothing like it

[@martinm3474]

Great video, I enjoyed hearing the radio and news reports. This filled out the song wonderfully.

[@24hourgmtchannel64]

Been listening to this song for 50 years and to date, it's still one of my all time favorite story telling song. A true masterpiece by Gordon Lightfoot.

[@brianbeehive10]

I do have a connection to this. My father loved this song, he was a welder and did welding repairs on this ship in Erie Pa at the Litton shipbuilding dock in 1974 the year before she went down. He said the ship was so big that they had to turn it around during the winter to do repairs on it in the covered part of the dock. I was only 3 or 4 and don’t remember it, but he did. Awesome video of the remembrance of this.

[@jbunting3246]

I wish there were someplace on the web that collected these kinds of memories in one place. Thanks for sharing.

[@tommcgeethree]

I was 20 years old at the time. I was working 2nd shift and heard about when I got home to my young wife. I live in Milwaukee. The Great Lakes has been part of my life for over 50 years. Gordon Lightfoot had a couple of things inaccurate. But the song still is dear to many here in the Midwest.

[@vincentbriegel7038]

I was in 5th grade when this ship went down and I'm still listening to this beautiful and Haunting song

[@harleydavidson6851]

Yessss! I Remember this Well. I Was 17 in High School. In Gravesend Bklyn..Verrry Sad thing. God Bless...😊

[@TheRealSharpe]

Long before my time. But the legend lives on when I tell the story to youngsters.

[@larrycrow8431]

There's a museum in white fish point this song plays over and over

[@stevem-h5e]

The music isn't intrusive and is pretty much confined to the Fitz section. There is a great deal to see besides this.

[@JamesJuberian]

I remember clearly. Haunting song.

[@darrinleazer6784]

I was only 9 years old when this happened. So' i dont remember unfortunately. But' even though I grew up listening to different music genres, as i got older, and' heard this song for the first time. It touched me in a way, that i will never understand. And' after watching the documentary on the wreck, it was when they were removing the bell. And' said' they would never again go diving to visit the ship ever again, out of respect for the lost ones and their family members. And' the song started playing, and' i got the biggest goosebumps i believe i ever had in my life. Some songs will go down in history as the greatest songs ever to be written, by some of the greatest song writer's ever to live.

[@MelindaSafranek]

I wouldn't blame them at all for not going diving ever again,is most likely so the same thing😢

[@FalJerseys72]

I was in my last semester at Texas A&I University. The song came out a year later in the fall of '76. I then read about it, and it had been a year. But still, wow, so sad.

[@JoeEchevarria-i7x]

Magical almost dream like always liked this song since I was a kid

[@michaelferron4777]

God bless all mariners who go down with there ship.

[@ChrisElison-d6c]

My cousin Eric Elison is the Gordon Lightfoot of Rockies. Lives in Denver he sounds just like Gordon especially this song

[@AndrewKlapp-i3v]

Detroit does honor the men of the Edmund Fitzgerald every year at the Mariner church on the anniversary.

[@warneckefarm6812]

My Father In Law said he saw this ship many of times as he lived 79th and lake shore drive. You around the corner next to the lakes you can see where the shps would come in and dock to get unloaded,, he said He would never thought in his life time would he ever hear that big chunck of steel would have sunk

[@SardonicDog]

Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours…

[@stanlande3753]

That was one heck of a storm!

[@tommystone4563]

I to remember when this happened, I was 10 years old...

[@daviddickey1994]

Gut wrenching song about an American tragedy

[@rubina1868]

It still hurts

[@charleskroman5006]

I sure hope nobody decides to remake it!! That would be a great Dishonor to at least 30 deceased people. Just leave this classic alone 🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔 and one for Gordon Lightfoot 🔔

[@dualactionsurgilator]

Damn Right! Don't F--- with a great song.

[@freightmanR10010]

Remember it to this day. The captain was from my home town, Toledo, Ohio.

[@MoonLight-b1p]

Blessings to the families and friends....RIP😢❤

[@robertanderson9878]

Rest easy brave sailors

[@richardtitzmann3217]

AMEN🙏🙏🙏 R I P

[@lkgrave4959]

Regardless of how big or how many precautions you take building your ship, Mother Nature will find a way to sink it.

[@Jeff-x7u]

That day some of the big oak trees fell over at the South Range Mi. elementary school

[@garymckee63]

I remember Halloween 🎃 that year l was 13 and when this tragedy happened l didn't fully realize what happened.

[@fjcruisefjcruise4527]

R.I P gordon Lightfoot 😢

[@yogib37]

Now the bell is rung 30 time one for gordon lightfoit. May he rip

[@akiira69]

My mother lived in Port Huron, MI and saw the SS Edmund Fitzgerald set sail for the last time.

[@sonya11328]

How sad. 😢

[@mathbrown9099]

I pay my respects to the families of the lost crew isn’t our reaction and the subsequent video productions way over the top. I mean no disrespect, mind you.

[@clovehitch1854]

Met a guy in Superior last week that loaded the Edmund Fitzgerald. Makes it a bit ore real. That and a visit to Paradise years ago in the are of the Museum. Whitefish - that's a bad vibe area if you ask me. People not too friendly.

[@stevem-h5e]

Maybe you needed a shower. The UP is the friendliest place on earth. But then the unfriendlies could have been tourists, who always suck.

[@stevem-h5e]

"a bit ORE real." Intended or not, it's a good pun.

[@scottdrown9599]

Yeah Whitefish bad mojo for some reason.

[@CjGamezEditz]

W video

[@TedAmato-u6x]

Shelby told them about this in Santa cruz

[@rickmassey1272]

🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔R.I.P.

[@oatdilemma6395]

Bellend RIP

[@mohawkdriver4155]

In 1976, I'm ashamed I didn't know about the Edmund Fitzgerald.

[@TedAmato-u6x]

Shelby told them about this santa cruz

[@markthomas3730]

Greed sunk her

[@stevem-h5e]

There were many wrecks on the Great Lakes with a greater loss of life than the Fitz. The only thing that makes the Fitz special is Gordon's song. Over 300 died in the wreck of the Lady Elgin returning to Milwaukee from Chicago in 1860. Let me know when the song for that one comes out.

[@RichardJHarp]

There is always one in every crowd

[@Cletrac305]

Yea, this person is correct about loss of life, and lack of recognition for other wrecks. That being said, this song serves as an honor to ALL those on the lakes, and every mariner anywhere. There's only one popular shipwreck song AT ALL and it's about a laker full of working stiffs hauling iron for everything we all use. However, that's not the only thing about the Fitz. The popularity of this song opened the eyes of a nation in which most never knew there were ships on the lakes (probably in part because they are actually called boats) and blew open a corrupt industry to forced congressional examination of lakers as well as salties after the shipping regulating body had previously said "we're not worried about a few little boats floating on a mill pond" and forced people to take actions to insure saftey of the crew over profit by the company. Many were before, but no large boats have been lost since. Not the least of which was to allow captians to refuse to go out at their discretion without career ending reprisals. I have seen thousand footers drop the hook and wait it out. And it also resulted in the elimination of bribes to ship inspectors and regulating bodies that allowed her and others to be sailed with unfixed critical issues, be stretched, and her freeboard reduced many times to carry more load. And it is odd that he seems to be knowledgeable, but he didn't mention the largest loss of life, the totally preventable Eastland disaster that SLOWLY rolled over in a Chicago dock in front of thousands with 844 dead. Some were forced at pain of being fired by Westinghouse to board an overloaded listing ship bound for a PR company picnic. His diminishing of the Fitz and the sarcasam makes it evident that something has happened to him that's made him bitter about proper recognition. It indirectly implies that only the wrecks with the greatest loss of life deserve the most popular songs. I can gaurentee you that to the crews and their families of any shipwreck, both for the dead and the survivors, THEIRS was special. Since Gordon Lightfoot passed the bell now rings 30 times each year recognizing him as a crew member. That's one heck of an honor from "Those who go down to the sea in ships, to do buisness, these see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deeps" Psalms 107.

[@jimcantrel4448]

Maybe in 1860 the people living during that time did have a song, I sure wasnt around in 1860 wtf.

[@ericriffel8954]

This is more famous because it happened in modern times, when there was technology that helped avoid wrecks like this, and rescue operations had modern technology like helicopters, etc.

[@DeliveryMcGee]

Oh, it's the anniversary. Is it just me or are the lake boats kinda silly-looking?

[@glendenig9962]

They are built to carry extreme amounts of weight in relatively shallow water... similar ro river barges and river steamers. Basically a behemoth canoe.

[@Thomas-mo4bw]

And then again Ai is only as bad as the programmer.

[@colinmontgomery1956]

This is not AI. It is a later recording made by Lightfoot.

[@johnsdao3917]

It broke up because it had been extended, that's why 😢

[@danielcully6047]

It was never extended, but it's load line was raised.

[@Luked0g440]

I really don’t care for Gordon’s re-recorded versions, like this one.

[@bellavia5]

Keep your hate to yourself and show some respect to GL and moreso to the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

[@Luked0g440]

@ Oh, shut up. This is no disrespect to the crew. It is only criticism of Lightfoot’s need to re-record his work, ostensibly in an effort to improve upon perfection, or near-perfection. Gordon is one of my favorite artists, but I reserve the right to call things as I see them. So, sit down and be quiet.

[@bellavia5]

@@Luked0g440 Can I get something to eat. ?

[@stevem-h5e]

Hate is not healthy. Wisen up before it's too late.

[@Luked0g440]

@@stevem-h5e There. Fixed it for both of your stupid asses.

[@stevem-h5e]

After years of investigation, experts have concluded that Gordon staged the wreck because he thought his song wasn't getting enough air time.

[@lindawheat6996]

I hope your damn joking on that how dare you post something like that

[@madeleinebaier5347]

Nice going, you classless idiot.

[@jeffspruitenburg8586]

There's always one A/H

[@radiationsnowman]

For sure, 100% GUARANTEED that those 29 men died the most horrible, most frightening deaths imaginable!! I am not only referring to the fact that they ALL drowned inside of their own ship, but rather, I'm talking about their drowning by hypothermia in ice cold waters at the bottom of lake Superior while suffering from impact trauma when their ship struck the lake floor!! If any of the men were in any Water tight areas where no water could get in, then they too Would have died from hypothermia as well, but, while they were still alive, they must have been panicking in the dark because the ship's lights went out as they would have been in the dark screaming their minds out in great terror knowing that they're gonna die without anybody being able to find them, and with not a chance of anyone ever rescuing them! The lucky ones died quickly, and the less fortunate ones died a little bit later on, but, they ALL died a horrible horrible death on their torpedo-like drop to the bottom of the 535-foot distance to the Lake Superior's bottom!! 💔💔💔💔😥😥😥😥😥😥😥💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔😥😥😥😥😥😥😥

[@stevencampbell4424]

Saw a video on it, an rov was sent down and a crew members body was still in the bunk. It was a documentary about them recovering the ships bell

[@bellavia5]

This kind of thinking is what runs through my mind also when listening to the song. No man should die like that.