My father worked on the boats as a cook for many years.....including the Fitz.... I've been aboard her a few times myself.... We knew many of the men personally...... Rest in Peace.... Michael Armagost- 37- Third Mate- Iron River, Wisconsin Fred Beetcher- 56- Porter- Superior, Wisconsin Thomas Bentsen- 23- Oiler- St. Joseph, Michigan Edward Bindon -47- First Asst. Engineer- Fairport Harbor, Ohio Thomas Borgeson -41- Maintenance Man- Duluth, Minnesota Oliver Champeau- 41-Third Asst. Engineer- Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin Nolan Church -55 -Porter -Silver Bay, Minnesota Ransom Cundy- 53- Watchman- Superior, Wisconsin Thomas Edwards-50- Second Asst. Engineer- Oregon, Ohio Russell Haskell -40- Second Asst. Engineer- Millbury, Ohio George Holl -60- Chief Engineer- Cabot, Pennsylvania Bruce Hudson- 22- Deck Hand -North Olmsted, Ohio Allen Kalmon -43- Second Cook- Washburn, Wisconsin Gordon MacLellan- 30- Wiper- Clearwater, Florida Joseph Mazes- 59- Special Maintenance Man -Ashland, Wisconsin John McCarthy -62-First Mate -Bay Village, Ohio Ernest McSorley -63 -Captain -Toledo, Ohio Eugene O'Brien- 50- Wheelsman -Toledo, Ohio Karl Peckol -20- Watchman -Ashtabula, Ohio John Poviach -59- Wheelsman- Bradenton, Florida James Pratt -44- Second Mate- Lakewood, Ohio Robert Rafferty -62 -Steward -Toledo, Ohio Paul Riippa -22 -Deck Hand -Ashtabula, Ohio John Simmons -63 -Wheelsman -Ashland, Wisconsin William Spengler -59- Watchman- Toledo, Ohio Mark Thomas -21- Deck Hand- Richmond Heights, Ohio Ralph Walton -58- Oiler- Fremont, Ohio David Weiss -22 -Cadet -Agoura, California Blaine Wilhelm -52- Oiler- Moquah, Wisconsin
The cathedral rang its bells 30 times the day Gordon died. ❤ I remember when the news of the Fitzgerald wrecking came out. I’m from Canada and Mr. Lightfoot is Canadian Music Royalty
To put it in perspective lake Huron acutely spawned an actual hurricane in 1996 . And it's not even the biggest lake in the great lakes .. although it definitely is arguably tied with superior in terms of shipwrecks . The great lakes to me are the most beautiful place on earth
When Gordon Lightfoot passed away last year, it is told that the The "Maritime Sailors' Cathedral" rang the bell 30 times! You can find the official name of this church everywhere but I always know it by those lyrics.
They added one for Gordon Lightfoot because of what he had done for making the Edmund Fitzgerald well-known and his giving of profits to the families of the crew that was lost.@@moldlives
I like the raw, open approach to this song I grew up with and adore. I often get frustrated with reactors/reviewers and fans who tend to treat it like a factual journalistic media report set to music - it's SO much more than that. At once poignant and achingly humane and a haunted masterpiece of macabre and mythic beauty. Lyrically worthy of Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Dickens, even Poe.
"Canadian Railway Trilogy", "If You Could Read My Mind" "Sundown" "Carefree Highway" "Song for a Winter's NIght". Bob Dylan has said, "When I hear a Gordon Lightfoot song, I never want it to end". He also said, "Gordon Lightfoot died without ever having written a bad song". He was a Master Story-Teller, and is considered the greatest Canadian songwriter of all time, having won national government awards. He is considered a national treasure in Canada.
The water is so deep and cold that bodies never decompose. The line, the lake never gives up her dead. Those 29 men are still down there. Bless their soles. Loved your thoughts and comments. Peace from Northern Michigan.
The Great Lakes is the largest interconnected collection of freshwater inland lakes in the world, and the primary means of commerce between the United States and Canada. The combination of the Great Lakes is virtually the same as an ocean. The Edmund Fitzgerald left a port in Wisconsin on the very western point of Lake Superior (“Gitchee Gumee”) with a load of iron ore, which is the raw material used to produce steel, and was headed to the straights at Sault Saint Marie between Michigan and Canada, to Lake Huron, and then through the St. Clair River to Lake St. Clair, then through the Detroit River into Lake Erie to Cleveland, Ohio, which is on the banks Lake Erie. The steel firms in Cleveland were going to use the iron ore on the Edmund Fitzgerald to produce structural steel. A “gale” is essentially an inland hurricane with high winds and high waves. I believe “the Chippewa” refers to the native American tribe that inhabited the area around what is now the northern United States and southern Canada around the northern Great Lakes region. The Great Lakes has their own maritime culture, and this song is a great testament to that culture.
Of the many reactions I have viewed on your channel, I think this one was one of the most beautiful. We all can learn something from history, and if that desire to do so comes from music, all the better. Thank you! xo
You're right about the song describing history. The song describes the dangers that the Great Lakes can throw at the freighters that traverse them. The story is true. On Nov 10, 1975, the Edmund Fitgerald got caught on open water by one of strongest gales on record. Waves were 30 feet high and winds were up to 50 mph or more. She was travelling with another boat, the Arthur M Anderson because they were headed the same direction. When the storm hit, the Fitz lost her electronics and the Anderson used hers to help guide the battered Fitz and they were communicating back and forth. The Fitzgerald vanished without warning , so no one knows what happened. The storm was so bad that the Coast Guard was swamped with distress calls and asked the Arthur M Anderson to go back into the storm to look for survivors, which she did, even though banged up by the storm, along with another freighter in the harbor, the William Clay Ford. Both ships' crews had volunteered to go out into the storm. All they found was wreckage. Unsung heroes in my eyes. The Arthur M Anderson still sails the Great Lakes, a living reminder of that fateful day.
I was almost 18 when this happened in November 1975. Like everyone else around the Great Lakes region, we waited for news of survivors that never came. Check out some video of the Great Lakes, particularly Lake Superior, during storms and you'll understand. These are inland freshwater seas, and can be as dangerous as the open ocean.
Gordon's a national treasure here in Canada, if there was a Mt Rushmore of Canadian musicians he would be on it along with Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Rush. Unfortunately he passed away 11 months ago still performing almost right to the end.
You gave a brilliant analysis of this song! Well done. I remember when this happened… as you said it is a masterpiece of storytelling. I’m so glad you appreciated it!
I love Gordon Lightfoot. I've seen him in concert. He probably know he died recently. I've also really enjoyed visiting. A lot of these ports which he mentions along the great lakes and some of the museums, etc. honoring some of these ships and shipwrecks.
Actually, the Fitzgerald was found five days after she sank. She was broken into two pieces and now rests in 530 feet of water on the lake floor. Her bow is upside down and the stern is upright with a debris field of iron ore pellets between the two halves. Gordon Lightfoot wrote this song right after the wreck was found. He did not release it until the summer of the following year.
I grew up in a small town in WI on the shore of Lake Michigan (north of Milwaukee) and I remember having to learn and sing this song in elementary school around 1978-80 (I still remember all the words). 40+ years later it is one of the songs that will make me cry (yes, even a godless heathen metalhead like me). It means a lot.
Anyone living near the greats lakes knew this song. A freighter that large simply does not usually sink. It was a big deal. I was in high school living in Michigan. Every fall we are reminded of this tragedy by this song and the services at the Maritime Church in Detroit. They honor these sailors by ringing the bell 29 times. When Gordon Lightfoot died, they rang the bell 30 times.
My father worked on the boats as a cook for many years.....including the Fitz....
I've been aboard her a few times myself....
We knew many of the men personally......
Rest in Peace....
Michael Armagost- 37- Third Mate- Iron River, Wisconsin
Fred Beetcher- 56- Porter- Superior, Wisconsin
Thomas Bentsen- 23- Oiler- St. Joseph, Michigan
Edward Bindon -47- First Asst. Engineer- Fairport Harbor, Ohio
Thomas Borgeson -41- Maintenance Man- Duluth, Minnesota
Oliver Champeau- 41-Third Asst. Engineer- Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
Nolan Church -55 -Porter -Silver Bay, Minnesota
Ransom Cundy- 53- Watchman- Superior, Wisconsin
Thomas Edwards-50- Second Asst. Engineer- Oregon, Ohio
Russell Haskell -40- Second Asst. Engineer- Millbury, Ohio
George Holl -60- Chief Engineer- Cabot, Pennsylvania
Bruce Hudson- 22- Deck Hand -North Olmsted, Ohio
Allen Kalmon -43- Second Cook- Washburn, Wisconsin
Gordon MacLellan- 30- Wiper- Clearwater, Florida
Joseph Mazes- 59- Special Maintenance Man -Ashland, Wisconsin
John McCarthy -62-First Mate -Bay Village, Ohio
Ernest McSorley -63 -Captain -Toledo, Ohio
Eugene O'Brien- 50- Wheelsman -Toledo, Ohio
Karl Peckol -20- Watchman -Ashtabula, Ohio
John Poviach -59- Wheelsman- Bradenton, Florida
James Pratt -44- Second Mate- Lakewood, Ohio
Robert Rafferty -62 -Steward -Toledo, Ohio
Paul Riippa -22 -Deck Hand -Ashtabula, Ohio
John Simmons -63 -Wheelsman -Ashland, Wisconsin
William Spengler -59- Watchman- Toledo, Ohio
Mark Thomas -21- Deck Hand- Richmond Heights, Ohio
Ralph Walton -58- Oiler- Fremont, Ohio
David Weiss -22 -Cadet -Agoura, California
Blaine Wilhelm -52- Oiler- Moquah, Wisconsin
❤️❤️❤️
Wow! Rest up to all of them and much love to you and your father.
blessings to you
The cathedral rang its bells 30 times the day Gordon died. ❤ I remember when the news of the Fitzgerald wrecking came out. I’m from Canada and Mr. Lightfoot is Canadian Music Royalty
🙏🙏
Gordon donated the proceeds from this song to the families of the men lost in the wreck.
🙏🙏
Folks don't realize how big the Great Lakes are, they are essentially in-land oceans with violent storms.
When Im at Cayuga lake it looks like it stretches to another country.
To put it in perspective lake Huron acutely spawned an actual hurricane in 1996 . And it's not even the biggest lake in the great lakes .. although it definitely is arguably tied with superior in terms of shipwrecks . The great lakes to me are the most beautiful place on earth
i remember when this tragedy happened. so sad.
When Gordon Lightfoot passed away last year, it is told that the The "Maritime Sailors' Cathedral" rang the bell 30 times! You can find the official name of this church everywhere but I always know it by those lyrics.
I would’ve thought it’d be 29.
thtr gave me chills a little
They added one for Gordon Lightfoot because of what he had done for making the Edmund Fitzgerald well-known and his giving of profits to the families of the crew that was lost.@@moldlives
A worthy tribute to a master singer-songwriter.
@@audreyjohnson4599 Reading your response gave me chills. What a wonderful tribute. 🍻
I like the raw, open approach to this song I grew up with and adore. I often get frustrated with reactors/reviewers and fans who tend to treat it like a factual journalistic media report set to music - it's SO much more than that. At once poignant and achingly humane and a haunted masterpiece of macabre and mythic beauty. Lyrically worthy of Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Dickens, even Poe.
"Canadian Railway Trilogy", "If You Could Read My Mind" "Sundown" "Carefree Highway" "Song for a Winter's NIght". Bob Dylan has said, "When I hear a Gordon Lightfoot song, I never want it to end". He also said, "Gordon Lightfoot died without ever having written a bad song". He was a Master Story-Teller, and is considered the greatest Canadian songwriter of all time, having won national government awards. He is considered a national treasure in Canada.
Thank you so much for the conment and reccomendations.
I was in cleveland in 1975 when this occured, in College. It was trajic and his telling was beautiful.
Never forget how important these men were. These men helped build America 🇺🇸.
Well said!!! 😢RIP Mr. Lightfoot.
🙏🙏
True story
The water is so deep and cold that bodies never decompose. The line, the lake never gives up her dead. Those 29 men are still down there. Bless their soles. Loved your thoughts and comments. Peace from Northern Michigan.
🙏🙏🙏
Hence the saying, "The lake it is said, never gives up her dead."
The Great Lakes is the largest interconnected collection of freshwater inland lakes in the world, and the primary means of commerce between the United States and Canada. The combination of the Great Lakes is virtually the same as an ocean. The Edmund Fitzgerald left a port in Wisconsin on the very western point of Lake Superior (“Gitchee Gumee”) with a load of iron ore, which is the raw material used to produce steel, and was headed to the straights at Sault Saint Marie between Michigan and Canada, to Lake Huron, and then through the St. Clair River to Lake St. Clair, then through the Detroit River into Lake Erie to Cleveland, Ohio, which is on the banks Lake Erie. The steel firms in Cleveland were going to use the iron ore on the Edmund Fitzgerald to produce structural steel. A “gale” is essentially an inland hurricane with high winds and high waves. I believe “the Chippewa” refers to the native American tribe that inhabited the area around what is now the northern United States and southern Canada around the northern Great Lakes region. The Great Lakes has their own maritime culture, and this song is a great testament to that culture.
And i thought Cayuga Lake was massive.
Of the many reactions I have viewed on your channel, I think this one was one of the most beautiful. We all can learn something from history, and if that desire to do so comes from music, all the better. Thank you! xo
Agreed.
Thank you 🙏. I love to learn and grow. I love to be the student. You are all my teachers.
You're right about the song describing history. The song describes the dangers that the Great Lakes can throw at the freighters that traverse them. The story is true. On Nov 10, 1975, the Edmund Fitgerald got caught on open water by one of strongest gales on record. Waves were 30 feet high and winds were up to 50 mph or more. She was travelling with another boat, the Arthur M Anderson because they were headed the same direction. When the storm hit, the Fitz lost her electronics and the Anderson used hers to help guide the battered Fitz and they were communicating back and forth. The Fitzgerald vanished without warning , so no one knows what happened. The storm was so bad that the Coast Guard was swamped with distress calls and asked the Arthur M Anderson to go back into the storm to look for survivors, which she did, even though banged up by the storm, along with another freighter in the harbor, the William Clay Ford. Both ships' crews had volunteered to go out into the storm. All they found was wreckage. Unsung heroes in my eyes.
The Arthur M Anderson still sails the Great Lakes, a living reminder of that fateful day.
Crazy how lakes can be so small and then others can be so big and dangerous!
I was almost 18 when this happened in November 1975. Like everyone else around the Great Lakes region, we waited for news of survivors that never came. Check out some video of the Great Lakes, particularly Lake Superior, during storms and you'll understand. These are inland freshwater seas, and can be as dangerous as the open ocean.
Thanks for such a heartfelt, sensitive, and intelligent reaction.
Gordon's a national treasure here in Canada, if there was a Mt Rushmore of Canadian musicians he would be on it along with Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Rush. Unfortunately he passed away 11 months ago still performing almost right to the end.
The Supreme Court once ruled that the Great Lakes were the “high seas “
Calling these inland seas as "lakes" is very misleading.
That was a legit reaction. So respectful and haeart felt. The best i have seen on utube
A testament to the skill of Gordon, I saw in your face, my same reaction to hearing this song for the first time 30-35 years ago.
Brilliance!
You gave a brilliant analysis of this song! Well done. I remember when this happened… as you said it is a masterpiece of storytelling. I’m so glad you appreciated it!
I love Gordon Lightfoot. I've seen him in concert. He probably know he died recently. I've also really enjoyed visiting. A lot of these ports which he mentions along the great lakes and some of the museums, etc. honoring some of these ships and shipwrecks.
Gordon is considered Canada's National Treasure. RIP ❤. Watch his Canadian railroad trilogy
3:39 i can see them in the water.
"Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?" is probably the most HAUNTINGLY GUT-WRENCHING VERSE EVER!!!!
I cannot imagine how those men must have felt. That line in the song sends chills every time I hear this song.
He gave all the money he made from this song to the families of those lost. When Gordon died they ran the bell 30 times.
well done, sir.
IMHO, the drums are the surface waves pounding the ship. The guitar sounds very aquatic, like sinking into the depths.
☮️💙💙💙🔥🔥😢
He did another great history song called Black Day in July. Heartbreaking song about American race riots in Detroit. 😢
I was there that night . Canadian Coast Guard wheelsman .
Try his Canadian Railroad Trilogy. Anither great historical song.
Coming soon.
They recently found the wreck on the lake floor. 💙
Actually, the Fitzgerald was found five days after she sank. She was broken into two pieces and now rests in 530 feet of water on the lake floor. Her bow is upside down and the stern is upright with a debris field of iron ore pellets between the two halves.
Gordon Lightfoot wrote this song right after the wreck was found. He did not release it until the summer of the following year.
They found her 5 days after she sank.
I grew up in a small town in WI on the shore of Lake Michigan (north of Milwaukee) and I remember having to learn and sing this song in elementary school around 1978-80 (I still remember all the words). 40+ years later it is one of the songs that will make me cry (yes, even a godless heathen metalhead like me). It means a lot.
Anyone living near the greats lakes knew this song. A freighter that large simply does not usually sink. It was a big deal. I was in high school living in Michigan. Every fall we are reminded of this tragedy by this song and the services at the Maritime Church in Detroit. They honor these sailors by ringing the bell 29 times. When Gordon Lightfoot died, they rang the bell 30 times.
I wonder why this has never been made into a movie?