Forty-eight years ago this month SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior, inspiring the song that lives on today. It was November 10, 1975. Although the sinking of a great freighter that took 29 lives was on the news, it didn’t really take hold with the public until Gordon Lightfoot sang about it a year later.
This was pre-Internet of course, so those of us who heard the majestic song on the radio rushed to our school libraries to learn more. I missed the news story when it actually happened, so I was surprised to learn (from Newsweek magazine) that the “good ship” had gone down in November 1975, about a year before Lightfoot’s record was released. Even today, some people believe Lightfoot was singing about a shipwreck from decades before, like the Titanic era of the early 20th century.
Gordon Lightfoot, 1976
Considering the length and complexity of the song, it seems even more impressive today that Lightfoot read about the shipwreck in a magazine, quickly wrote a six-minute song about it, and released a masterpiece of epic proportions within a year. The vocal performance, the production and instrumentation make the song sound BIG. When he sings of “the witch of November,” which is what meteorologists call the fierce storms on the Great Lakes, you almost feel like you’re dodging the powerful waves. As the music swells, he sings, “The captain wired in, he had water comin’ in, and the good ship and crew was in peril.” You know to expect the worst.
Sure enough, in the next verse, the music softens, and the singer’s tone takes a forlorn turn. “Does anyone know where the love of God goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?” We soon learn, “All that remains is the faces and the names, of the wives and the sons and the daughters.”
On the 40th anniversary of the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, a memorial service was held at the Maritime Sailors Cathedral in Detroit. Yes, the same church that rang its bell 29 times the day after the wreck, to commemorate each of the men who went down with the ship. Among those attending were the wives and the sons and the daughters.
Here it is: the amazing song that Gordon Lightfoot wrote and sang about an American tragedy.
If you’re ever in Michigan’s upper peninsula, look up the maritime museum that includes exhibits found “down below” in the Edmund Fitzgerald wreckage. Interesting but gives one goose bumps.
David,
I love story songs and this has always been a favorite. Thanks for the reminder.
Bill
I recommend James Keelaghan if you like songs that tell real-life history. He’s got some doozies. But yes, I also love this song and ones like it.
Thanks for bringing this one back to us. I had forgotten that this was about a real tragedy.
How interesting! I’m one of those who thought the ship sank decades before the song came out. Didn’t have a clue. Thanks for the education:)
There was a National Weather Service employee back when we had an office here and he was stationed at the Sault Sainte Marie office when that storm hit and he told me they clocked winds of 100 mph during that storm! It was vicious!
Thanks David for this reminder – a truly tragic story.
A few of us were working overnight at a big box store when this song began playing over the intercom. All the equipment got quiet and everyone was listening to this sad, wonderful song. It was eerie to say the least.
I love this song you can almost feel the icy wind when “The Witch Of November comes Blowin'”. Loved the article
Every time I watch this video, I cry.
Don’t know of any lyric that foretells doom in a more haunting manner than “…Superior, they said, never gives up her dead When the gales of November come early…” Gifted writing!
I’ve always loved this song but am also one of those that thought it was about a shipwreck from long ago. Thanks for the info.
The great balladeer, Gordon Lightfoot, was a Canadian; the pride of the Canadian side, one might be tempted to say. At just over 729ft long, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald once claimed the honorary title, Queen of the Lakes. Currently (Dec 15, 2023), at 1,013ft, 6inches, the MV Paul R Tregurtha is Queen of the Lakes. I once had to research the wreck and I fell headlong in love with the freighters that sail those Lakes. But, hey, we have towboats and barges to look at on the TN River. They’re interesting, especially when you catch them locking through a dam.