he has sung and written some of the most haunting sons i have ever heard , but all fantastic songs, P.S. the bell from the Edmund Fitzgerald still stands as a monument
I live on Lake Michigan and have most of my life. The Great Lakes are amazing in so many ways. In 1970 I graduated from high school and one of my classmate from high school and neighbor wasTom Bentsen. He was an oiler on the Edmund Fitzgerald and was one of the 29. Tom was 24 years old and was so happy to be doing what he wanted. The first time I heard this song I was driving back from Los Angeles to Michigan, I was in Utah. I remember it vividly. Gordon's song was so strong and so sad and so beautiful at the same time. I couldn't drive and had to pull over. I'm so glad you played this and shared your reaction. You are correct - your site is so much fun and happy and greatly appreciated. But, your compassion for this was beautiful. Thank you. Tom was such a happy guy and I'm sure he's smiling down on you for sharing this. Peace brother.
I agree. It was a heartfelt reaction from Jamal. I have seen Gordon Lightfoot, back when he was battling his illness and looking gaunt yet he put on an incredible performance. Love him and his music.May all of these sailors be resting in Heavenly peace.
Every time I listen to this song, Gordon Lightfoots voice actually sounds like the Northern winds telling the story. No one else could have performed this song. Haunting.
Watching this 2 days after Gordon's passing (2023). I just watched a tribute to Gordon from a guy named Rick Beato who said that this song was recorded in one take. I was 15 when this tragedy happened. I just watched another video where on Tuesday May 2nd, 2023 at the Mariner's Church cathedral in Detroit, they rang the bell 30 times - 29 for the crew and one from Gordon. This is a timeless song - as it should be.
I was 15 years to come still when this went down but we listened to it in school in madison wisconsin and it always and stills rings deep. What a song.
Mr. Lightfoot did a beautiful job of telling the story. He had to change just a couple of facts to make it work but not much. They were actually headed for Detroit and not Cleveland. It’s a truly fascinating story. They still are not absolutely sure of exactly what happened to “Big Fitz”. They say that the bodies of the crew, because of the extreme cold of the lake, are still in tact and It’s actually illegal to try to dive to the wreck…..
Yes true true, they came to Sueprior WI, my hometown, to the taconite facility at BNSF. One of our family members parished that night, my dad was 10 when it sank….my dad worked for BN for 30 years, at that same taconite facility. They tore the dock that the Fitz loaded up. But the pictures and all are stunning. If it wasn’t for Lightfoot our, their story wouldn’t have been told. Aurthor Anderson still is constantly coming into port here in Superior, WI/Duluth MN (ship that was behind the Fitzgerald) I’ll always have so much love and respect for Lightfoot. He’s now apart of the crew, was 29….now 30💔
Nobody survived this wreck, the families decided to leave the dead down with the ship, to this day every ship that passes the wreck site rings their ship bell 29 times.
The depth and temperature of the water prevented any recovery operations. The same factors also preserve the bodies. There is very little decay, and since it is the decay that produces the gases that cause bodies to float, they remain submerged. This wreck is closed for diving, and that includes, I believe (I could be wrong) remotely operated vessels (ROV's) as well.
@@dstone1701 they did do a singular research/recovery dive to recover the Fitz's ships bell. Prior to the recovery, the bell founder struck a new casting with the crewmembers names engraved on it. So they memorialized the crew with the new bell, and the original bell now sits in the Whitefish point lighthouse museum
This is one of the greatest songs ever written. It's a eulogy, a funeral service. It's a tale of warning. It's a tale of loss, of sadness. The camaraderie of the people on that ship facing this terrible thing together. The people in Detroit grieving for them. The relationship of Canada and the US, our trade and how the communities on both sides of the border mourned this loss. It's about the geography of the region, the environment/weather of the region, the harshness that the people that live and work there can experience. It calls to the heritage/language of a place that has long existed. It explores the technicalities of the tragedy. And it does all this in a hauntingly beautiful real way. This is one of the greatest songs ever written.
As a Michigander, who is old enough to remember when the Edmund Fitzgerald sank, this song always makes me cry, even after 49 years since it came out. He told the story of the ship so well and the music is so haunting. Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes, the deepest and the coldest since it it the farthest north. The winter gales coming out of Canada starting in November can be vicious with winds 50-100 m/h creating huge waves and freezing rain, sleet and snow. The water is so cold that bodies don't bloat and float to the surface from decomposition, they stay down in the depths. Which is why they say that Lake Superior never gives up her dead.
The lake is also actually an inland sea, and inland seas are worse in storms than open seas since the waves have nowhere to go to release the energy from the force of the winds. The water that hits the land and bounces back out into the waters causes the force of the waves to increase with each slap into the shoreline. This also causes the waves to be higher, more dangerous on Lake Superior.
I was at a karaoke bar in Kewanee, Illinois close to ten years ago and sang this song. When I was done a man came up to me and shook my hand and thanked me for singing it he considered it a tribute and was touched. His Uncle was Third Mate on the Edmund Fitzgerald the night it wrecked!
Omg I can't even imagine how that had to have affected him, not sure how old the man you were talking about was, but I'm guessing he was kinda young when The Fitz went down, hearing that his uncle was a member of the crew..
Yes! My sons 6th grade teacher was Mr. Pratt! And he was related to that gentleman! Mr. Pratt taught at PineRidge Elementary in Magalia CA. I believe he lived in the Bay Area b4 moving to the North State.
That someone of your generation takes time to listen to these very heartfelt story-telling songs of the past, speaks so much about the depth of your heart and soul!!
Seems legit..... you can usually tell when someone's full of shit and someone's real, not always but most of the time.... This seems to be one of those instances, right from the heart
This line always gives me chills, along with Al Stewart’s lyrics from “Roads to Moscow.” Two broken Tigers on fire in the night Flicker their souls to the wind
The people that disliked this should be ashamed. This isn’t just a song. It’s the true story where men lost there lives. And it took many years for there families to get closer when they finally found the ship. And figured out why this tragedy happened. If you don’t like song fine but how’s about a like for the the men and there families lives which would never be the same.
If they dont like it they dont like it. Does not matter if it's a song about a true story of tragedy. If they dont like the tune they dont like the tune...end of story. That said I like the song even though it's a story about real a tragedy. Am I allowed to sing along with it or would that be disrespectful to your sensitivities??? 🙄🙄
No one should be a shame because they dislike a song. People are entitled to their opinions and it’s fascist to vilify them on aesthetic taste no matter how noble a song’s sentiment.
Update, in the song Gordon sings they rang the bell in the Maritime Chapel 29 times for each crewman. On May 2, 2023 they rang the bell 30 times signifying Gordon, who died on May 1st, has joined the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
When the bell was raised from the Fitzgerald and the ceremony was in motion they rang it 30 times right then. The extra ring was for all the thousands of sailors that call the Great Lakes their eternal resting spot.
Yes true true, they came to Sueprior WI, my hometown, to the taconite facility at BNSF. One of our family members parished that night, my dad was 10 when it sank….my dad worked for BN for 30 years, at that same taconite facility. They tore the dock that the Fitz loaded up. But the pictures and all are stunning. If it wasn’t for Lightfoot our, their story wouldn’t have been told. Aurthor Anderson still is constantly coming into port here in Superior, WI/Duluth MN (ship that was behind the Fitzgerald) I’ll always have so much love and respect for Lightfoot. He’s now apart of the crew, was 29….now 30💔
As a 14 year old, I remember being in my folks tavern when this song came on the jukebox just after it was released, soon after this incident. The barroom chatter would just grind to a murmur during the playing of the song, as if in reverence to the lives lost. It was powerful back then, and as the years go by.....gets more powerful every year.
My Great Uncle Frederick Beetcher was a Porter on the Fitz and was one of the 29 men who were lost. Love this song and the tribute it pays to the sailors, not just on the Fitz, but to all the Great Lakes sailors.
As a child I loved this song but as a sailor in the United States Navy later on, I have a new appreciation for it. May your uncle and all who perished never be forgotten!
God bless you and your family John, as well as all the loved ones for those who perished, an eerie yet beautiful song paying tribute to such a sad event, I love his reaction and ability to appreciate the song as well as the event. Thank you for sharing John.
I didn’t know it at the time, but I once got to sing this at a karaoke night (edit: for the son of one of the crew). It was a request by a trucker after I sang some Hank Williams. Songs a bit of a downer, my friends always give me the business for singing it but I used to break it out every so often. So having a request, I thought why not. Afterward the man bought me a beer and told me a story about waiting. Waiting while his mother cried, waiting alongside dozens of families. Waiting for the horrible words everyone knew where coming but too afraid to speak. He told me about the smell of the cathedral. Of the way it broke his heart when they drug that bell from the water years later. Then he thanked for singing for his dad, for helping to keep the search going. Then he left. I didn’t really know what to say. It dawning on my slightly tipsy mind who he likely was. I just nodded, wished him safe travels and he left. One of friends came up later and after talking, we realized it was the anniversary of the day they called off the search. I don’t think I ever truly appreciated all that singers and song writers like Lightfoot truly do for the world. I’m from an old iron port in Michigan. We know these songs, we grow up on these stories. No one else would ever even know the names of these tales if not for men like Lightfoot. So my hat’s off to the legend. Thanks for the reaction. These men are immortal so long as we never forget the stories,
so true so true. have a 33 foot raider sailboat and at 3 am in the dark with the winds singing in the rigging in a blow will bring a chill to any ones heart. been there done that HATED IT!
People would be surprised to know how dangerous shallow water and high winds are to making waves so intense. Worked as a shrimper for years and the most dangerous waves was always high winds in shallow water. You can't describe that feeling of heeling over and wondering if she coming back or that feeling when she doesn't. God Bless the Coast Guard.
Rest In Peace to one of the great songwriters. This haunting song is very dear to everyone from the Michigan area. Your reactions are always sincere, it’s very difficult to not feel moved by hearing this song.
RIP Gordon Lightfoot who left us today for a better world at the age of 84, such a Canadian Icon and fantastic singer-songwriter who inspired the likes of Bob Dylan, Jim Croce and so many others.
I came out of the lock into whitefish bay into 10' seas in a 55' tug once. As I passed whitefish point I looked off to my starboard and said to my crew who were all in the wheelhouse with me "Boys, I hope Gordon Lightfoot doesn't have to write a song about us after this"
@@Cherokeelion Especially in the area as lethal as Lake Superior. You respect and fear the waters, and respect those that have passed before you, for you never know if or when you may join them in their frozen rest.
I don't believe I've ever listened to this song where it didn't bring a tear to my eye Gordon lightfoot is an absolute musical and lyrical genius and the world is privileged to have him...God rest those 29 brave men's souls.
Gordon's lyrical painting of the lakes and how each interact together is masterful. "Luke Huron rolls, Superior sings in the ruins of her ice water mansions", "And further below Lake Ontario, takes in what Lake Erie can send her"
It doesn’t give me goosebumps because I heard it a lot as a kid when my dad drove me home from school and it didn’t really hit me like that then. Now it really hits me but because I innocently heard it as a kid it doesn’t really hit me like that. Am I not human?
This song is so important to us Michiganders. The sinking of the Fitz is one of my earliest memories. We were at a gathering at my grandparents when the news broke. I was very young but I could tell something very bad happened. The looks on the faces, the shock, and the silence. I have heard this song hundreds of times and it always makes me tear up. Great reaction, my friend.
Important to all of us around Lake Superior💔🤍 Yes true true, they came to Sueprior WI, my hometown, to the taconite facility at BNSF. One of our family members parished that night, my dad was 10 when it sank….my dad worked for BN for 30 years, at that same taconite facility. They tore the dock that the Fitz loaded up. But the pictures and all are stunning. If it wasn’t for Lightfoot our, their story wouldn’t have been told. Aurthor Anderson still is constantly coming into port here in Superior, WI/Duluth MN (ship that was behind the Fitzgerald) I’ll always have so much love and respect for Lightfoot. He’s now apart of the crew, was 29….now 30💔
What I love about this song is what was left behind wasn’t just family but a song that pays tribute to the sailors even today. Once you have heard this song you don’t forget the sailors and their families.
In 2002 , My youngest son who was 13 at the time , told me I absolutely had to listen to this song . So he played it and from the third note I knew what it was . I told told him I knew this song and its a beautiful tribute to 29 men and their families. The boy had tears in his eyes and informed me every human should hear this song for all generations.
Nobody would’ve ever forgot Big Fitz that ever saw her. My family always says when she passed through the Detroit River, it was an unforgettable event every time. Losing her would’ve haunted maritime Michigan for decades regardless. But god bless him for the song anyway.
I was kind of thinking the same thing that his reactions are thoughtful you can see that he's feeling the music unlike some of the others who do this same thing. Long live Gordon Lightfoot.
I've been listening to this song on multiple reaction channels lately, (4 or 5 times this week already), and there is one line that instantly breaks me into tears: "And all that remains is the faces and the names of the wives and the sons and the daughters." It is tragic enough to think of the men who chose to work on the freighter being lost to the stormy sea, but to acknowledge the families that remain with that loss, without closure, without a body to bury, it just breaks me.
My grandfather (mom's dad) was one of the 29, she was the oldest of 6 kids. I was born 4 days after it went down, they didn't tell her until after because she was 9 months pregnant. It's good to know people still listen to this song.
I'm sorry about the loss of your grandfather, and thank you for sharing it. Lightfoot did something incredible - wrote a song to make sure your grandfather, you and the rest of your family, and others like you won't ever be forgotten by all of us, without the song being manipulative or exploitative.
Oh ya...lots of people listen to this song. All along the north of Lake Superior we’ve heard many play it, the Split Rock lighthouse does a tribute every year and personally we have visited the Great Lakes Museum in Paradise many times on our Lake Superior motorcycle ride just to pay our respects. We actually met a man who was on the ship following the Fitz that night...he is a volunteer at the museum. No worries...we never forget. Thx for sharing your story.
I recently watched a video on Ask a Mortician RUclips channel about lake Superior and the wreck. It's good to know that the wreck was declared a grave site and is controlled by the families and protected from divers exploring it. So sorry for your loss.
SuperBlackBoot Agreed. My mother was his biggest fan when I was a girl; his songs were the background to my childhood. So talented, an amazing storyteller!
@@lorrainehinchliffe5371 I was going to say, in the US, especially outside the lakes region, and outside North America I could see him being kind of unknown or at least not super famous. But here in Canada? Lightfoot is as famous as RUSH. He just, like the Hip, never really cared to make it as big outside Canada. Within the border though, a true musical icon. Even more so to other Canadian artists.
Watching this again now that Gordon Lightfoot has passed-away at the age of 84. Gordon Lightfoot wrote many great songs, but this was his absolute masterpiece. This is his "Stairway To Heaven." One of the all-time greatest songs ever written and recorded, and it came-out in 1976, when I was 9 years old. What an amazing era of music to live through. The whole 70s decade is riddled with masterpieces like this one and is my #1 favorite decade, with the 60s in a very close second. R.I.P. Gordon Lightfoot. 🔥
My late father fueled these ships in the 70's and 80's. He actually shared a meal with some of the crew on their final visit to Cleveland. The "Great Lakes" are not lakes in the way most people think of lakes. They're inland freshwater oceans. Huge in scale. Each one large enough that you cannot see land on the other side of the horizon. They're massive enough that they literally produce their own weather. Thank you for the awesome and respectful reaction video!
@@pilsplease7561No body of water is. The oceans, the seas, the lakes. Complacency can be a death sentence as well as just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Yes!! I get chills when I hear this now. When it came out I loved it but never realized it was actually true, I was very young. Five minutes into this video, I'm crying.
There is something about this song that cuts through the chaos of life and gets to the heart of being human. The melody is haunting. The lyrics are simple, truthful and respectful. You feel like you were there, with the wind and the wave. You realize how insignificant we seem in the face of nature, and yet how significant we are all to humanity. I cried tears for 29 men that I never met and I mourn with their families so many years later. If we treated all lives with the same respect that Gordon Lightfoot does with this song for those 29 men and that vessel, this world would be so much better.
I agree. Growling up in Michigan, the sinking of "The Fitz" was one of the worst to happen and I remember the news coverage of the search for any possible survivors and the wreckage washing up on the beach at White Fish Bay.
"Haunting" is the way I've described this. Perfect in every way... arrangement, instrumentation, tone, mood... you name it, Gordon nailed it. Still sends chills down the spine and brings a tear to the eye after hearing it a thousand times.
Gordon Lightfoot and Harry Chapin...my all time favorites. This song is a hauntingly beautiful tribute to those who lost their lives on the Edmund Fitzgerald. I've seen Gordon perform numerous times including in the recent years and he's in his 80's and still going strong. :)
I'm from Gary, Indiana. My grandfather worked at United States Steel, and he took me there to fish for Lake Perch a lot. I had met two sailors from the Edmund Fitzgerald that summer when we were going to fish. My grandfather knew them, and probably the rest of the crew, from working there. The SS Edmund Fitzgerald was launched in the summer of 1958, and carried iron ore to all of the mills. I had watched it sailing into or out of port many times. The SS Edmund Fitzgerald went down on 10NOV75. I was 6 1/2 years old then, and I'll never forget that day. It was all over the [three channels of] television news, and we watched daily on our black & white television as the story unfolded. I cried as a child at the tragic end those men came to. The next year, Gordon Lightfoot came out with this song, and tears have rolled down my cheeks every time I've heard it since then, including right now. This song, and pictures of that ship, always evoke a deeply-rooted sorrow in my heart. Now I'm a Navy vet, and I've been underway in typhoon season in the South China Sea. My ship, the USS Prairie (AD-15) was 530' long, and we had over 800 crew. We took water over the bridge for hours, and days. I was never too worried, but I was well aware of what we were facing. Whenever we were in heavy seas, this song drilled through my skull in memory of those good men. I'm glad you've had the good fortune of meeting those men through this song, and through the image of that proud vessel. I see the empathy in your face as you watch that video, I can see that this song touches your heart, and I have a deep respect for you because of it.
Dear Lemon, My deepest thanks to you for sharing your story and this additional background. I've dated some fine seamen, and worked for a short time with Admiral William James Crowe, Jr. when he served as Ambassador to the U.S. Embassy in London. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciated your post. I think of young people today who might never have the opportunity to serve alongside people they respected and could face any challenge with. I have worked overseas with heroic military and civilian people, and these relationships formed the strong fabric of my life. With gratitude, Lynn
I was in 1st grade, and remember it being on the news. Talked about in school. Grew up in the suburbs of Detroit. This was a moment, everyone alive will always remember.
Fun Fact: This song hit #1 roughly a year after the actual disaster (wreck was November 1975, song was released November 1976). Lightfoot is said to have agonized over penning this song, trying to avoid inaccuracies, until longtime friend/producer Larry Waronker told him to play to his artistic strengths and "just tell a story". Gord is also a passionate recreational sailor on the Great Lakes.
@@OldGriz708 Yes, the wreck was 1975. The song came out one year later, in 1976. I thought that it was clear in my original comment, but I see how that can be confusing. My apologies. I'll edit that real quick.
I also heard that Gordon changed the lyrics about the hatchway in 2010 after the deckhands families became upset about the implication that human error was the cause of the tragedy. A dive team supposedly found the hatches properly battened.
Jamel, you may not read this, as this video of yours has been out there for a year now, but your reaction to this song really helps me appreciate this song AND the story of the ship and men. This may be the first time you've heard it but I've known this song for years. Your love of music across genres and years, as well as your kind personality comes through very well! 😊 By hearing the song again and through your reaction I am not only glad to hear younger people appreciate good music from a time well before they were around, but it also helps me to appreciate it. I enjoyed your thoughts and observations on this and love your channel. God bless!
I have heard this song a thousand times, and it still hits me every time. Does anyone know where the love of god goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours. It paints such a picture in ones mind and the only things that remains is the faces and names of the wives and the sons and the daughters. Oh that one is a punch in the gut heart ache. Growing up in Wisconsin I was only 5 years old when this happened, perhaps it is one reason I have such strong reverence for keeping this story alive. A few years back "The Headstones" redid this song. A faster pace little more rock and roll, but still very good job. I like it a lot, but there is nothing like Gordon's voice as your said.
@TTCGamer Thats your opinion and there arent many who would agree with you. It just shows your ignorance of Gordons body of work and your own bias. If you werent following this channel I would bet you any money you had never heard of Gordon Lightfoot before now. But being ignorant of someones work does not diminish what they have accomplished even though people like you may try to. It rather highlights your own limited education of Musicians and music. I bet you're barely 21 if that and yet you think you know it all. Youth truly is wasted on the young
@TTCGamer Anyone disses Lightfoot...i'll kill em!! Anyway pretty sure you were referring to Stripes, but that's just my photographic memory at it again...?
There are ballads, and then there's "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." This was a work of heart, soul, and genius. This will be Gordon Lightfoot's legacy and I hope they play this every Sunday in the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral after he's gone.
Thank you Jamel for featuring a truly haunting beautiful tribute to the 29 souls that rest on piece on Superiors lake bed…Gordon made sure all the proceeds from this song went to the survivors…how many artists do that?🇨🇦🇺🇸
Crying as I’m watching this. My Dad would whistle this song while we’d be in our boat fishing. I’d laugh at him saying you’re going to jinx us into sinking. I knew that it would be one of the things I would miss about my Dad. I lost Dad just before last Christmas. It feels good and hurts to hear it! Love you miss you Dad
Life is hard, saying good bye to the people we love is even harder, and then come the reminders. My dad I eat pizza and watch our favorite football team together every Saturday throughout the football season. I'm not sure I'll be able to watch another football game after he is gone. I feel for you.
I learned this song from my mum listening to it when I was a little kid. Years later, when I did a few seasons on a Lake Freighter to help pay my way through school, she admitted that she couldn't get this song out of her mind seeing me wave goodbye from on deck. We've gone to see Gordon Lightfoot perform together since then, and he still sounds as good as he did back in the 70's! I may have seen some rough patches on the Lakes, but my mum's still my anchor.
@@88wildcat The guitar riff is not used but this song has been replicated by Christy Moore in the Provisional IRA song Back Home in Derry, which is also haunting and begs an inward solace.
It also has an eerie, spacey echo to it which gives it a sense of enormous size and emptiness, something that fits the line "In the rooms of her ice water mansions", implying something cold, empty and dark.
It's interesting to see a younger black guy's reaction to older white music. lol. He seems to be genuinely intrigued by this classic. BTW, I'm staying on DRY land.
When I was in the Navy we went thru a typhoon. I couldn't help but hear those words over and over and over in my head. because gods love was nowhere near us for four straight days.
When I watch reactions to this song and there is no reaction to the "does anyone know where the love of god goes" i immediately turn it off because, that is one of the best lines in a song of all time.
Legend. Absolutely one of the most powerful tunes. Lightfoot has the soul of a poet and storyteller. He is one of the best. Don’t you just feel the wind through the wires of the Big Fitz? I love listening to this artist. Such a soul. Thank you.
Saw him in concert years ago. When he sang " And all that remains are the faces and the names of the wives and the sons and the daughters" there were relatives of the crew there and they were recognized and stood up. Standing ovation from the crowd. Very powerful. When you see the people were effected it makes it more than a song. People tragically died. R.I.P. brave souls. Amazing song.
@@shannonmichelelawson8706 Yes. It is kinda strange...you hear that song on the radio and know it is a true story. But when you actually SEE the people that were effected by it. Gives the song a whole new perspective. People lost their loved ones in a tragic manner. Lots of them were pretty young.
And this song represent so many other ships and lives lost. It's mentioned several times. And the steel trade has dwindled but there are still many ships and or lives lost in the lakes, and elsewhere. The Fitzgerald is an excellent representation of a ship lost due to powerful forces we still don't completely understand.
In the entire history of music, there have only been maybe ten or twelve perfect songs. Truly perfect. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is high on that list.
Today (11/10/21) is the 46th anniversary of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. So far, over the past 2 years, I have found 6 of what I call Exceptional Reaction Videos for the song commemorating this tragedy. Thank you for being one of them. Here in Michigan I am marking the occasion by posting this comment on all 6 of your YT channels.
The cultural importance of this song cannot be over looked. It deeply affects anyone who was a sailor and anyone who knows tragic loss. It played a big part in me becoming a US Coast Guardsman.
Me too...I love ballads that tell a story; especially true stories like this legendary one. It has GOT to be so much more difficult to write!!! Also, this song is so jam packed with lyrics...doesn't feel too short. Marty Robbins is an another great, who wrote gunslinger ballads (so fun to listen to...).
Most sailors will have experienced storms and that line sums up the experience perfectly. This song is an incredible piece of work and listeners get some idea of the crew's last hours alive.
Thank you Jamal for not interrupting this song too many times. I could tell you were interested in FEELING it rather than making it about you. Great reaction.
When Gordon Lightfoot died at 83, the church bell in Detroit Mariners Cathedral rang 30 times. Gordon Lightfoot never took any money from this song. He donated it to the families of the 29 sailors.
The line that always does me in is "Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?" Don't think I've ever heard anything that embodies human desperation quite so eloquently.
They actually went down and brought up the Edmund Fitzgerald's bell. It's in a museum in Michigan. They ring it 29 times every tenth of November. They placed a new bell on the shipwreck with the names of the crew members.
Gordon Lightfoot’s voice takes you there, to the scene. He makes you feel it. One-of-a-kind song; Exceptional storytelling. They don’t write songs like this anymore.
“Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?” Just think about that - how long it must’ve felt for those guys who knew they were going to die and had to just wait for it to happen. That is probably the most powerful line in any song I’ve ever heard. Right there in the song is where the tears usually come for me.
Absolutly...one of the best lines ever committed to song. When I was a young man, I worked as a deckhand on a fish boat working in the north pacific off Canadas west coast. We got caught in a gale one nite, boats went down, lives were lost, i clearly recall the feeling that the storm would never end, and listening to other plead for help and we were unable to do anything because we were ourselves fighting to survive. I'm almost 60 now, and my eyes still fill with tears as recall that nite or hear this song....
I’ve been in that moment. I was 10ish. Drowning and being rolled over and over again by waves. At one very vivid moment, I told myself... breathe. I drew in a couple of breaths. There was enough oxegen , when being generated by the churning water. I took a breath. I breathed air though I was surrounded by water. I took that life-saving breath. The sea weed tumbled about and around me. It spun faster than I did. Physics. I had more mass, therefore a different reality. I needed oxygen. I took that breathe. It saved me. It gave me barely enough strength to indicate to the adults around me that I was a child, a baby in need of protection and santuatry I crawled upon the shore, once the waves , the undertow grasped me. I called out , please help me. No one heard my calls. I was 10 facing a force beyond my comprehension. But the mother, Gaia?, saved me. I called on the ocean, she kept me alive.
An iconic song from a Canadian Icon... he is one of our greatest musical treasures. So glad you did this one.... you truly are a wonderful person. Love your channel.
The wreck occurred in Nov 1975. All the Great Lakes are known for their storms, but Lake Superior (the largest and deepest) is incredibly violent. All were lost. The water is so ice cold in Nov that one won't live but a minute or two. The wreck was found in Spring 75. Your emotional reaction to this story is truthful and heartfelt.
I have heard that, to this day, whenever a US military ship passes the location of the wreck, all crew members are called on deck and salute the deceased as the military ship blasts its horn 29x.
@@roberthudson1959 Iwould say you are both correct. The Navy use to send Frigates through the great lakes every year but no longer does on a regular basis. I believe the USGC has one cutter permanently stationed there but it is predominantly an Ice Breaker. All USN personnel go through basic at Great Lakes but I believe it is mostly land based training.
My younger friends always laugh at me when they see this on my playlist....they don’t understand it’s classic storytelling...a modern day vocal history being passed down thru the generations. One of the best tributes to those lost at sea ever....
@@windwoman3549 Grew up on Lake Huron myself. Was where I learned to swim, boat, fish, ice fishing... they're a huge part of life up in the midwest, from the pastimes to the sports to affecting the weather itself!
Good storytelling music is priceless. Hearing them on vinyl just a little bit of heaven. Gordon Lightfoot, Jim Croce and my favorite Harry Chapin. I just found you and I subscribed and liked this video. Finding someone you vibe with the lyrics and the music is priceless. Peace ✌ and love🎶
I was 14 years old when this happened and it is etched in my memory. We prayed every night that they would find them, glued to the news with hope. It's been 47 years, when I hear this song, and the 29 bells, I still tear up thinking of the sons, the fathers and the brothers that were lost. Many were so young.
I love this song. In fact, every time I hear it, my eyes tear up listening to the story Gord tells of the brave men of the Edmund Fitzgerald. It's a beautiful piece of music with lyrics that are deep and haunting. And yes, Jamel, Gordon LIghtfoot's voice is absolutely perfect to sing those lyrics.
Lived less than a mile from Lake Michigan all my life and I can assure you the Great Lakes are no joke. Especially when you see what they do to weather and storms.
I grew up in Michigan. Haven't been back since 1980. Old fart. Lol. The wrecks that are on the bottom of the Great Lakes, all have stories. Was living in Eaton Rapids when the Edmund Fitzgerald went down went down. Then dealt with the blizzard of 1970-1980. Took 3 weeks to unbury everything. Welcome to the upper Midwest. Lol.
When you live around the Great Lakes and when November rolls round and you get a night with the cold blowing nasty wind, you remember “the gales of November” and this song comes right to your mind. I remember when it happened. Such shock!
Canadian music bends toward story telling. Gordon Lighfoot is a classic ! Neil Young, Leonard Cohen and Joannie Mitchell fall into the same genre of greatness. 🇨🇦
He had another ship disaster song, the Yarmouth Castle, sunk with a fire with cruise passengers, 90 lives lost in 1965. Also a haunting and memorable song. ruclips.net/video/I4cAnMZc79U/видео.html
In 1976 I was driving around the north shore of Lake Superior on my way from Victoria to grad school in Toronto. This song was haunting me the entire way.
That's what makes some of his music so great. I prefer Canadian Railroad Trilogy but it's the same kind of the hard Canadian truths sung somehow both honestly and beautifully
"Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?" That's one of the most impactful, dramatic, and poetic verses I've ever heard. In fact, I can't think of one better. That's only part of the brilliance Mr. Lightfoot gave the world.
Thank you for your empathy and genuine reaction to the song and the tragedy of the Edmund Fitzgerald. It is a good tribute to the 29 souls lost on November 10, 1975. This happened a few months before I was born. But as a little kid I remember hearing this song and it always haunting me with it's sad story. So beautifully told and even today at 45 years old it still makes me cry. Thank you again for this video!!
"Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?" That line, for me, is the most powerful line in the entire song. I mean, the imagery that line brings is chillingly haunting. And to come up with that line, To write that is brilliant and shows how Lightfoot could hang with Dylan as far as a songwriter.
patgeta2678-So true,I read somewhere that even Bob Dylan said Gordon Lightfoot was a one of a kind songwriter.Nobody can tell a story in a song better then Gordon Lightfoot.
I think Dylan had a fair bit of respect for Lightfoot, , I actually never quite got into a lot of Dylan . This seemed an odd omission when I found more folk and folk rock but
patgeta2678 Agreed. It is one of the few lines in music that makes me tear up every time I hear it without fail. It’s simply an amazing line that works deep on so many levels and connects with every person, no matter who you are.
Being from Michigan this really hits close to home, I was 18 years old when this happened, I remember it like it was yesterday! Awesome reaction to this heartbreaking song! Gordon Lightfoot is one of the best storytellers there ever was. It's great to have fun, I'm right there with you, but on occasion we need to look at the more serious side of life! Thank you very much for viewing this and reacting to it!
Heard and saw Gordon sing this song earlier this month at the CNE Bandshell in Toronto. He'll be 84 in a few weeks and is fading a bit but still puts on a great show. So glad I finally managed to get to a concert by this national treasure.
The first time I heard this on the radio I was 7 years old. I absolutely sobbed in the back seat of the car. My mom pulled into a parking lot, got in the back seat and held me as I cried. To this day it still makes me cry.
Yes ,I've heard this song 1000 times before,but now with your replay and comments and myself really listening to the words,thank you for being diverse in you song selected ,great song touches you
Just like to add they rang the bell 30 times at the Mariner's Cathedral in Detroit when Gordon Lightfoot passed away. Once for each sailor on the Edmund Fitzgerald and once for Gordon. Beautiful song.
Gordon Lightfoot never took any money for this song, he donated all proceeds to the families of the crew.
Class act. They are as much a part of the story as the crew.
I didn't know that-- I'm glad
lol it helped him sell albums
@@mam362 That's not the kind of guy Gordon Lightfoot is, from what I've heard, at least...
he has sung and written some of the most haunting sons i have ever heard , but all fantastic songs, P.S. the bell from the Edmund Fitzgerald still stands as a monument
I live on Lake Michigan and have most of my life. The Great Lakes are amazing in so many ways. In 1970 I graduated from high school and one of my classmate from high school and neighbor wasTom Bentsen. He was an oiler on the Edmund Fitzgerald and was one of the 29. Tom was 24 years old and was so happy to be doing what he wanted. The first time I heard this song I was driving back from Los Angeles to Michigan, I was in Utah. I remember it vividly. Gordon's song was so strong and so sad and so beautiful at the same time. I couldn't drive and had to pull over. I'm so glad you played this and shared your reaction. You are correct - your site is so much fun and happy and greatly appreciated. But, your compassion for this was beautiful. Thank you. Tom was such a happy guy and I'm sure he's smiling down on you for sharing this. Peace brother.
I agree. It was a heartfelt reaction from Jamal. I have seen Gordon Lightfoot, back when he was battling his illness and looking gaunt yet he put on an incredible performance. Love him and his music.May all of these sailors be resting in Heavenly peace.
Thank you David Knight for sharing that story.
I’m sorry for the loss of your friend. A woman in my church also lost her son in this accident. She joined aft the accident, so I never knew him.
I just raised my glass to your friend Tom Bentsen, and the other 28.
Gone but not forgotten.
So very sorry for the loss of your friend. :( Did you know they did a documentary and found out what happened? It's on RUclips if you search for it.
Every time I listen to this song, Gordon Lightfoots voice actually sounds like the Northern winds telling the story. No one else could have performed this song. Haunting.
Absolutely! He is wonderful to listen to.
Even more so in person 😢
The voice of Canada, singing about Canada, as I grew up. I will never forget him
Perfect illumination
The acoustics are like the winds
Watching this 2 days after Gordon's passing (2023). I just watched a tribute to Gordon from a guy named Rick Beato who said that this song was recorded in one take. I was 15 when this tragedy happened. I just watched another video where on Tuesday May 2nd, 2023 at the Mariner's Church cathedral in Detroit, they rang the bell 30 times - 29 for the crew and one from Gordon. This is a timeless song - as it should be.
I'd just turned 6 when she went down. And my dad made me come watch the news, footage. He wanted me to know, you never know when your time will come!!
I was 15 years to come still when this went down but we listened to it in school in madison wisconsin and it always and stills rings deep. What a song.
Mr. Lightfoot did a beautiful job of telling the story. He had to change just a couple of facts to make it work but not much. They were actually headed for Detroit and not Cleveland. It’s a truly fascinating story. They still are not absolutely sure of exactly what happened to “Big Fitz”. They say that the bodies of the crew, because of the extreme cold of the lake, are still in tact and It’s actually illegal to try to dive to the wreck…..
Yes true true, they came to Sueprior WI, my hometown, to the taconite facility at BNSF. One of our family members parished that night, my dad was 10 when it sank….my dad worked for BN for 30 years, at that same taconite facility. They tore the dock that the Fitz loaded up. But the pictures and all are stunning. If it wasn’t for Lightfoot our, their story wouldn’t have been told. Aurthor Anderson still is constantly coming into port here in Superior, WI/Duluth MN (ship that was behind the Fitzgerald) I’ll always have so much love and respect for Lightfoot. He’s now apart of the crew, was 29….now 30💔
Nobody survived this wreck, the families decided to leave the dead down with the ship, to this day every ship that passes the wreck site rings their ship bell 29 times.
The depth and temperature of the water prevented any recovery operations. The same factors also preserve the bodies. There is very little decay, and since it is the decay that produces the gases that cause bodies to float, they remain submerged.
This wreck is closed for diving, and that includes, I believe (I could be wrong) remotely operated vessels (ROV's) as well.
@@dstone1701 they did do a singular research/recovery dive to recover the Fitz's ships bell. Prior to the recovery, the bell founder struck a new casting with the crewmembers names engraved on it. So they memorialized the crew with the new bell, and the original bell now sits in the Whitefish point lighthouse museum
😞 so sad this happened
@@sludge4125 *Lightfoot dumbass
Now, about that source...Every ship rings its bell 29 times every time it sails past the sink site? You mericans are *so* funny!
This is one of the greatest songs ever written. It's a eulogy, a funeral service. It's a tale of warning. It's a tale of loss, of sadness. The camaraderie of the people on that ship facing this terrible thing together. The people in Detroit grieving for them. The relationship of Canada and the US, our trade and how the communities on both sides of the border mourned this loss. It's about the geography of the region, the environment/weather of the region, the harshness that the people that live and work there can experience. It calls to the heritage/language of a place that has long existed. It explores the technicalities of the tragedy. And it does all this in a hauntingly beautiful real way. This is one of the greatest songs ever written.
Exactly...... I love this song 🎶 🎶 🎶 & I turned my Son on to it & he loves it too & has shared it w/his friends. I was young when this happened. 😢😢😢
Amen family!!
This has to be one of the best RUclips comments I have ever read. Beautifully stated!
Beautiful. Well said brother
Best description ever!
RIP Gordon. The Mariners' Church of Detroit rang the bells 29 times plus one the day after Gordon Lightfoot's death.
Ultimate REPECT all the way around.
RIP Gordon Lightfoot!
❤ real tears now...
hell yes
thank you
i was life guard at 14, scuba diver ar16 marine 17 know how be good person
As a Michigander, who is old enough to remember when the Edmund Fitzgerald sank, this song always makes me cry, even after 49 years since it came out. He told the story of the ship so well and the music is so haunting. Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes, the deepest and the coldest since it it the farthest north. The winter gales coming out of Canada starting in November can be vicious with winds 50-100 m/h creating huge waves and freezing rain, sleet and snow. The water is so cold that bodies don't bloat and float to the surface from decomposition, they stay down in the depths. Which is why they say that Lake Superior never gives up her dead.
Wow interesting comment. Thank you for sharing. RIP Gordon the golden voice.
The lake is also actually an inland sea, and inland seas are worse in storms than open seas since the waves have nowhere to go to release the energy from the force of the winds. The water that hits the land and bounces back out into the waters causes the force of the waves to increase with each slap into the shoreline. This also causes the waves to be higher, more dangerous on Lake Superior.
I was at a karaoke bar in Kewanee, Illinois close to ten years ago and sang this song. When I was done a man came up to me and shook my hand and thanked me for singing it he considered it a tribute and was touched. His Uncle was Third Mate on the Edmund Fitzgerald the night it wrecked!
Omg
I can't even imagine how that had to have affected him, not sure how old the man you were talking about was, but I'm guessing he was kinda young when The Fitz went down, hearing that his uncle was a member of the crew..
Wow
Wow, that is really moving Jim.
What a gift to both of you
Jim Piper Wow! That’s Sad!!! Cool,. Still sad! Thanks for sharing!!! Where’s kewanee? I live about 30 minutes from Shawneetown!
My uncle was second mate on this ship, his name was James Pratt.
Sympathy to you and yours.
Oh my, sorry for your loss.
Salute
Yes! My sons 6th grade teacher was Mr. Pratt! And he was related to that gentleman! Mr. Pratt taught at PineRidge Elementary in Magalia CA.
I believe he lived in the Bay Area b4 moving to the North State.
looked him up....you are so right ....r.i.p. to your uncle
“Does anyone know where the love of God goes when waves turn minutes into hours” , is by far the strongest verse ever !!
True😢
Very true
yeah, I was almost accepting of death(as an end point), then I though about that lyric...
*fear re-established*
yup
The love of God is eternal and perfect but He also brings trouble and disaster on us that we might turn to Him.
That someone of your generation takes time to listen to these very heartfelt story-telling songs of the past, speaks so much about the depth of your heart and soul!!
Seems legit.....
you can usually tell when someone's full of shit and someone's real, not always but most of the time.... This seems to be one of those instances, right from the heart
A.M.E.N.
@@pagejustin5572 yes, but I'm sad to see there are plenty of the other kind.
Oh come on :) Great art is timeless and can be discovered any time
Couldn’t agree with you more.
“Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours” is probably the most somber lyric ever written.
Straight masterpiece!
Agreed!
the lyric is so deep it could apply to all tragic human experience "does anyone know where the love of God goes when......."
This line always gives me chills, along with Al Stewart’s lyrics from “Roads to Moscow.”
Two broken Tigers on fire in the night
Flicker their souls to the wind
@@NH2112 Great great song
The people that disliked this should be ashamed. This isn’t just a song. It’s the true story where men lost there lives. And it took many years for there families to get closer when they finally found the ship. And figured out why this tragedy happened. If you don’t like song fine but how’s about a like for the the men and there families lives which would never be the same.
Love the song,so very sad. The story needed to be told
Agreed sir!
If they dont like it they dont like it. Does not matter if it's a song about a true story of tragedy. If they dont like the tune they dont like the tune...end of story. That said I like the song even though it's a story about real a tragedy. Am I allowed to sing along with it or would that be disrespectful to your sensitivities??? 🙄🙄
No one should be a shame because they dislike a song. People are entitled to their opinions and it’s fascist to vilify them on aesthetic taste no matter how noble a song’s sentiment.
@@simianinc True but I think the dislikes directly affect Jamel more than the song imho
Update, in the song Gordon sings they rang the bell in the Maritime Chapel 29 times for each crewman. On May 2, 2023 they rang the bell 30 times signifying Gordon, who died on May 1st, has joined the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Awesome fact, thanks for sharing! Gordon will keep the memory of this tragedy alive forever, thanks to this classic song.
When the bell was raised from the Fitzgerald and the ceremony was in motion they rang it 30 times right then. The extra ring was for all the thousands of sailors that call the Great Lakes their eternal resting spot.
Yes true true, they came to Sueprior WI, my hometown, to the taconite facility at BNSF. One of our family members parished that night, my dad was 10 when it sank….my dad worked for BN for 30 years, at that same taconite facility. They tore the dock that the Fitz loaded up. But the pictures and all are stunning. If it wasn’t for Lightfoot our, their story wouldn’t have been told. Aurthor Anderson still is constantly coming into port here in Superior, WI/Duluth MN (ship that was behind the Fitzgerald) I’ll always have so much love and respect for Lightfoot. He’s now apart of the crew, was 29….now 30💔
As a 14 year old, I remember being in my folks tavern when this song came on the jukebox just after it was released, soon after this incident. The barroom chatter would just grind to a murmur during the playing of the song, as if in reverence to the lives lost. It was powerful back then, and as the years go by.....gets more powerful every year.
THIS song came out in 1976
@@theodoreritola7641And?....
@theo, so you can't be 14 years old in 1976??
They still play this song and there is quiet in Northwoods Wisconsin
@@insidedesign1000- He was 14 years old when this song came out in the radio. He isn’t 14 years old right now.
Bob Dylan once said, "The thing about a Gordon Lightfoot song is that you never want it to end."
Bob Dylan's wrong. I'm autistic and even I find this song emotionally exhausting.
This one ended. I was living in Duluth at the western end of Lake Superior.
And Gord Downie.
Or start?
A kid from my elementary school is Gordon’s grandson
My Great Uncle Frederick Beetcher was a Porter on the Fitz and was one of the 29 men who were lost. Love this song and the tribute it pays to the sailors, not just on the Fitz, but to all the Great Lakes sailors.
I am so sorry you lost your great uncle in this tragedy. I am glad the 29 are not forgotten and thanks to this song never will be.
As a child I loved this song but as a sailor in the United States Navy later on, I have a new appreciation for it. May your uncle and all who perished never be forgotten!
Thank you for sharing that, John. I’m so sorry for you family’s loss.
God bless you and your family John, as well as all the loved ones for those who perished, an eerie yet beautiful song paying tribute to such a sad event, I love his reaction and ability to appreciate the song as well as the event. Thank you for sharing John.
John torguson mayhe rest in peace. ❤️
"The church bell chimed, 'til it rang 29 times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald."
I cry so many times. This is DEEP.
@Debbie Phillips I didn't know. How fitting. Thank you.
I didn’t know it at the time, but I once got to sing this at a karaoke night (edit: for the son of one of the crew). It was a request by a trucker after I sang some Hank Williams. Songs a bit of a downer, my friends always give me the business for singing it but I used to break it out every so often. So having a request, I thought why not.
Afterward the man bought me a beer and told me a story about waiting. Waiting while his mother cried, waiting alongside dozens of families. Waiting for the horrible words everyone knew where coming but too afraid to speak. He told me about the smell of the cathedral. Of the way it broke his heart when they drug that bell from the water years later.
Then he thanked for singing for his dad, for helping to keep the search going. Then he left. I didn’t really know what to say. It dawning on my slightly tipsy mind who he likely was. I just nodded, wished him safe travels and he left.
One of friends came up later and after talking, we realized it was the anniversary of the day they called off the search.
I don’t think I ever truly appreciated all that singers and song writers like Lightfoot truly do for the world. I’m from an old iron port in Michigan. We know these songs, we grow up on these stories. No one else would ever even know the names of these tales if not for men like Lightfoot. So my hat’s off to the legend.
Thanks for the reaction. These men are immortal so long as we never forget the stories,
The guitar cries in this song.
I do, too. ❤️
I know I do.
It sure does. It creates a very haunting affect
@@wavetranquility4243 My comment too.
as a former sailor I can assure you the line
"does any one know where the love of god goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours"
is very accurate
Backwoods S,B & B: Amen, brother. Amen.
Yes in deed!!
so true so true. have a 33 foot raider sailboat and at 3 am in the dark with the winds singing in the rigging in a blow will bring a chill to any ones heart. been there done that HATED IT!
As a sailor, I get it.
There's no better way to describe an angry sea.
Hold fast
People would be surprised to know how dangerous shallow water and high winds are to making waves so intense. Worked as a shrimper for years and the most dangerous waves was always high winds in shallow water. You can't describe that feeling of heeling over and wondering if she coming back or that feeling when she doesn't. God Bless the Coast Guard.
Rest In Peace to one of the great songwriters. This haunting song is very dear to everyone from the Michigan area. Your reactions are always sincere, it’s very difficult to not feel moved by hearing this song.
RIP Gordon Lightfoot who left us today for a better world at the age of 84, such a Canadian Icon and fantastic singer-songwriter who inspired the likes of Bob Dylan, Jim Croce and so many others.
To this day, every freighter that passes the Fitz rings their bell 29 times.
As a Sailor that is so respectful and proper.
I came out of the lock into whitefish bay into 10' seas in a 55' tug once. As I passed whitefish point I looked off to my starboard and said to my crew who were all in the wheelhouse with me "Boys, I hope Gordon Lightfoot doesn't have to write a song about us after this"
I doubt it.
@@alukuhito its respect for the dead. Its a thing in sailors.
@@Cherokeelion Especially in the area as lethal as Lake Superior. You respect and fear the waters, and respect those that have passed before you, for you never know if or when you may join them in their frozen rest.
Gordon Lightfoot, master story teller, a true Canadian treasure.
Amen to that.
Not a big fan of cover song for the most part but this may be the best cover version of a song ever made ruclips.net/video/SpiXS62EwyI/видео.html
Absolutely true 💯
🇨🇦
We Canadians have been so lucky with two storytellers named Gord. Mr Lightfoot and Mr Canada. The fact that Gord Downie has covered this is amazing.
I don't believe I've ever listened to this song where it didn't bring a tear to my eye Gordon lightfoot is an absolute musical and lyrical genius and the world is privileged to have him...God rest those 29 brave men's souls.
So true Larry...I mist up too..😥
Neil from Oz
And the wives and the sons and the daughters...
It rips me to pieces very time, straight to the bone.
And sadly r.i.p. Gordon Lightfoot.
Gordon's lyrical painting of the lakes and how each interact together is masterful. "Luke Huron rolls, Superior sings in the ruins of her ice water mansions", "And further below Lake Ontario, takes in what Lake Erie can send her"
That's how I learned the order of the Great Lakes when I was a kid.
"Old Michigan streams like a young man's dream, Her islands and bays are for sportsmen."
If this song doesn’t give you goosebumps then you’re probably not human
It doesn’t give me goosebumps because I heard it a lot as a kid when my dad drove me home from school and it didn’t really hit me like that then. Now it really hits me but because I innocently heard it as a kid it doesn’t really hit me like that. Am I not human?
@@markzenith1441 Youre human. A guarded human.
Is that bad ?
No
You're right. If you don't get goosebumps you are definitely not human.
That riff is so haunting 🎸
Every damned time for decades. I love his reaction and comments
If anyone can hear this song and not be moved, I don't want to be with them.
Joel Monka completely agree, my heart still aches, every time
No shit! Soulless.
If you can't feel this you have no soul.
Amen 🙏
I grew up hearing this song and 40 years later don't mind telling you that there are tears running down my cheeks right now.
This song is so important to us Michiganders. The sinking of the Fitz is one of my earliest memories. We were at a gathering at my grandparents when the news broke. I was very young but I could tell something very bad happened. The looks on the faces, the shock, and the silence. I have heard this song hundreds of times and it always makes me tear up.
Great reaction, my friend.
Important to all of us around Lake Superior💔🤍 Yes true true, they came to Sueprior WI, my hometown, to the taconite facility at BNSF. One of our family members parished that night, my dad was 10 when it sank….my dad worked for BN for 30 years, at that same taconite facility. They tore the dock that the Fitz loaded up. But the pictures and all are stunning. If it wasn’t for Lightfoot our, their story wouldn’t have been told. Aurthor Anderson still is constantly coming into port here in Superior, WI/Duluth MN (ship that was behind the Fitzgerald) I’ll always have so much love and respect for Lightfoot. He’s now apart of the crew, was 29….now 30💔
@@claire33ist I love that the Anderson is still steaming.
What I love about this song is what was left behind wasn’t just family but a song that pays tribute to the sailors even today. Once you have heard this song you don’t forget the sailors and their families.
If it wasn't for Gordon, this would have just been another wreck that would mostly be forgotten except in that area.
Haha no. This was big news everywhere. We never forgot.
Sorry no
In 2002 , My youngest son who was 13 at the time , told me I absolutely had to listen to this song . So he played it and from the third note I knew what it was . I told told him I knew this song and its a beautiful tribute to 29 men and their families. The boy had tears in his eyes and informed me every human should hear this song for all generations.
I live about 20 mins from whitefish bay. I try to make it up to whitefish point on the anniversary
Nobody would’ve ever forgot Big Fitz that ever saw her. My family always says when she passed through the Detroit River, it was an unforgettable event every time. Losing her would’ve haunted maritime Michigan for decades regardless. But god bless him for the song anyway.
This man Jamal seems to be such a sweet sensitive soul.
I was kind of thinking the same thing that his reactions are thoughtful you can see that he's feeling the music unlike some of the others who do this same thing. Long live Gordon Lightfoot.
Yeah, he's a good soul
Go d bless you and yours every time i hear it is sad
@Biggiebaby Your projection of your own faults.
@Biggiebaby How so? He's from California, he can't know everything, what is important is the way he reacts.
I've been listening to this song on multiple reaction channels lately, (4 or 5 times this week already), and there is one line that instantly breaks me into tears: "And all that remains is the faces and the names of the wives and the sons and the daughters." It is tragic enough to think of the men who chose to work on the freighter being lost to the stormy sea, but to acknowledge the families that remain with that loss, without closure, without a body to bury, it just breaks me.
That was “sad, but beautifully well done.” By none other than our Canadian pride, Mr. Gordon Lightfoot. And, thank you for the lovely tribute. 💕🇨🇦
My grandfather (mom's dad) was one of the 29, she was the oldest of 6 kids. I was born 4 days after it went down, they didn't tell her until after because she was 9 months pregnant. It's good to know people still listen to this song.
I'm sorry about the loss of your grandfather, and thank you for sharing it. Lightfoot did something incredible - wrote a song to make sure your grandfather, you and the rest of your family, and others like you won't ever be forgotten by all of us, without the song being manipulative or exploitative.
Oh ya...lots of people listen to this song. All along the north of Lake Superior we’ve heard many play it, the Split Rock lighthouse does a tribute every year and personally we have visited the Great Lakes Museum in Paradise many times on our Lake Superior motorcycle ride just to pay our respects. We actually met a man who was on the ship following the Fitz that night...he is a volunteer at the museum. No worries...we never forget. Thx for sharing your story.
Until you both meet again...
Damn! Powerful comment.
Sotty for your loss. God bless.
I recently watched a video on Ask a Mortician RUclips channel about lake Superior and the wreck. It's good to know that the wreck was declared a grave site and is controlled by the families and protected from divers exploring it. So sorry for your loss.
I think Gordon Lightfoot is underappreciated.
SuperBlackBoot Agreed. My mother was his biggest fan when I was a girl; his songs were the background to my childhood. So talented, an amazing storyteller!
Hes appreciated here. 👍
Only by people with horrible taste in music. His voice and music are amazing!
Not in Canada, he’s an icon.
@@lorrainehinchliffe5371 I was going to say, in the US, especially outside the lakes region, and outside North America I could see him being kind of unknown or at least not super famous.
But here in Canada? Lightfoot is as famous as RUSH. He just, like the Hip, never really cared to make it as big outside Canada. Within the border though, a true musical icon. Even more so to other Canadian artists.
Watching this again now that Gordon Lightfoot has passed-away at the age of 84. Gordon Lightfoot wrote many great songs, but this was his absolute masterpiece. This is his "Stairway To Heaven." One of the all-time greatest songs ever written and recorded, and it came-out in 1976, when I was 9 years old.
What an amazing era of music to live through. The whole 70s decade is riddled with masterpieces like this one and is my #1 favorite decade, with the 60s in a very close second.
R.I.P. Gordon Lightfoot. 🔥
My late father fueled these ships in the 70's and 80's. He actually shared a meal with some of the crew on their final visit to Cleveland.
The "Great Lakes" are not lakes in the way most people think of lakes. They're inland freshwater oceans. Huge in scale. Each one large enough that you cannot see land on the other side of the horizon.
They're massive enough that they literally produce their own weather.
Thank you for the awesome and respectful reaction video!
Great lakes are not to be taken lightly they will chew you up and kill you in 2 seconds if you become complacent.
I almost drowned in Lake Erie, I was drunk and fell of a part boat, good times
@@pilsplease7561No body of water is. The oceans, the seas, the lakes. Complacency can be a death sentence as well as just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
This song is practically a church hymn, without the church, in Michigan, Ontario, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
Very much so. Cheers from Windsor.
The Great Lakes are churches.
@@cletusbeauregard1972 Amen to that.
See you in Tower and Ely in July.
Along with my little sliver of Pennsylvania.
Gordon's haunting tribute to this tragedy is truly a masterpiece.
Very well said, and absolutely true.
Yes!! I get chills when I hear this now. When it came out I loved it but never realized it was actually true, I was very young. Five minutes into this video, I'm crying.
“Masterpiece” is an overused word. But not here....You are spot-on.
John Allen I agree 👍
My absolute fav!
I love that you listened to this amazing, beautiful, and haunting ballad.
*R.I.P. all who perished* 😔
There is something about this song that cuts through the chaos of life and gets to the heart of being human. The melody is haunting. The lyrics are simple, truthful and respectful. You feel like you were there, with the wind and the wave. You realize how insignificant we seem in the face of nature, and yet how significant we are all to humanity. I cried tears for 29 men that I never met and I mourn with their families so many years later. If we treated all lives with the same respect that Gordon Lightfoot does with this song for those 29 men and that vessel, this world would be so much better.
One of the most haunting songs ever written. A great tribute to the lost souls of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
I was going to like your comment but I thought I would leave it at 29.
Absolutely!! It's so sad but truly a work of art too.
I agree. Growling up in Michigan, the sinking of "The Fitz" was one of the worst to happen and I remember the news coverage of the search for any possible survivors and the wreckage washing up on the beach at White Fish Bay.
"Haunting" is the way I've described this. Perfect in every way... arrangement, instrumentation, tone, mood... you name it, Gordon nailed it. Still sends chills down the spine and brings a tear to the eye after hearing it a thousand times.
Gordon Lightfoot and Harry Chapin...my all time favorites. This song is a hauntingly beautiful tribute to
those who lost their lives on the Edmund Fitzgerald. I've seen Gordon perform numerous times including in the recent years and he's in his 80's and still going strong. :)
I'm from Gary, Indiana. My grandfather worked at United States Steel, and he took me there to fish for Lake Perch a lot. I had met two sailors from the Edmund Fitzgerald that summer when we were going to fish. My grandfather knew them, and probably the rest of the crew, from working there.
The SS Edmund Fitzgerald was launched in the summer of 1958, and carried iron ore to all of the mills. I had watched it sailing into or out of port many times.
The SS Edmund Fitzgerald went down on 10NOV75. I was 6 1/2 years old then, and I'll never forget that day. It was all over the [three channels of] television news, and we watched daily on our black & white television as the story unfolded. I cried as a child at the tragic end those men came to.
The next year, Gordon Lightfoot came out with this song, and tears have rolled down my cheeks every time I've heard it since then, including right now. This song, and pictures of that ship, always evoke a deeply-rooted sorrow in my heart.
Now I'm a Navy vet, and I've been underway in typhoon season in the South China Sea. My ship, the USS Prairie (AD-15) was 530' long, and we had over 800 crew. We took water over the bridge for hours, and days. I was never too worried, but I was well aware of what we were facing.
Whenever we were in heavy seas, this song drilled through my skull in memory of those good men.
I'm glad you've had the good fortune of meeting those men through this song, and through the image of that proud vessel. I see the empathy in your face as you watch that video, I can see that this song touches your heart, and I have a deep respect for you because of it.
Dear Lemon, My deepest thanks to you for sharing your story and this additional background. I've dated some fine seamen, and worked for a short time with Admiral William James Crowe, Jr. when he served as Ambassador to the U.S. Embassy in London. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciated your post. I think of young people today who might never have the opportunity to serve alongside people they respected and could face any challenge with. I have worked overseas with heroic military and civilian people, and these relationships formed the strong fabric of my life. With gratitude, Lynn
@@dos-fslady3140
That was a lovely comment, Miss Lynn. Thank you.
still cryin' so many years later.
I was in 1st grade, and remember it being on the news. Talked about in school. Grew up in the suburbs of Detroit. This was a moment, everyone alive will always remember.
Thank you for your story
Proud to be Canadian. Gordon is a super star singer. Great to see you were moved buy this song. Awesome tribute to the crew and their families.
this is a HAUNTING song, specially now that he's gone. gone but not forgotten
Fun Fact: This song hit #1 roughly a year after the actual disaster (wreck was November 1975, song was released November 1976). Lightfoot is said to have agonized over penning this song, trying to avoid inaccuracies, until longtime friend/producer Larry Waronker told him to play to his artistic strengths and "just tell a story". Gord is also a passionate recreational sailor on the Great Lakes.
It was 1975
@@OldGriz708 Yes, the wreck was 1975. The song came out one year later, in 1976. I thought that it was clear in my original comment, but I see how that can be confusing. My apologies. I'll edit that real quick.
I also heard that Gordon changed the lyrics about the hatchway in 2010 after the deckhands families became upset about the implication that human error was the cause of the tragedy. A dive team supposedly found the hatches properly battened.
@@brianmorton4270 Wikipedia says Gordo has changed some lyrics around for live performances, but overall the original lyrics have remained.
According to Barry Keane, the drummer, this was recorded in one take.
No matter how many hundred times I've heard that song, I always get the chills.
I'm 50 years old. I have been listening to the song since the day it came out. Chills, every time. Without fail.
Same here.
Definitely 😥
As soon as it started, the hairs on the back of my head stood up. This always has that effect on me.
Maybe I'm a pussy but for me it the saddest song ever and I cry every time. First heard it as a young boy. I'm 53 now
Jamel, you may not read this, as this video of yours has been out there for a year now, but your reaction to this song really helps me appreciate this song AND the story of the ship and men. This may be the first time you've heard it but I've known this song for years. Your love of music across genres and years, as well as your kind personality comes through very well! 😊
By hearing the song again and through your reaction I am not only glad to hear younger people appreciate good music from a time well before they were around, but it also helps me to appreciate it.
I enjoyed your thoughts and observations on this and love your channel.
God bless!
I have heard this song a thousand times, and it still hits me every time. Does anyone know where the love of god goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours. It paints such a picture in ones mind and the only things that remains is the faces and names of the wives and the sons and the daughters. Oh that one is a punch in the gut heart ache. Growing up in Wisconsin I was only 5 years old when this happened, perhaps it is one reason I have such strong reverence for keeping this story alive. A few years back "The Headstones" redid this song. A faster pace little more rock and roll, but still very good job. I like it a lot, but there is nothing like Gordon's voice as your said.
It's after hearing a song like this that you understand why Bob Dylan said that Gordon Lightfoot is the best songwriter of his generation
Indeed. 👍
He absolutely is!!!
@TTCGamer Thats your opinion and there arent many who would agree with you. It just shows your ignorance of Gordons body of work and your own bias. If you werent following this channel I would bet you any money you had never heard of Gordon Lightfoot before now. But being ignorant of someones work does not diminish what they have accomplished even though people like you may try to. It rather highlights your own limited education of Musicians and music. I bet you're barely 21 if that and yet you think you know it all. Youth truly is wasted on the young
@@TheCanuck1962 hes no Robert Hunter but he wrote some great songs.
@TTCGamer Anyone disses Lightfoot...i'll kill em!! Anyway pretty sure you were referring to Stripes, but that's just my photographic memory at it again...?
There are ballads, and then there's "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." This was a work of heart, soul, and genius. This will be Gordon Lightfoot's legacy and I hope they play this every Sunday in the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral after he's gone.
Thank you Jamel for featuring a truly haunting beautiful tribute to the 29 souls that rest on piece on Superiors lake bed…Gordon made sure all the proceeds from this song went to the survivors…how many artists do that?🇨🇦🇺🇸
This song is so haunting. If I hear the guitar, I'm there instantly, feeling the sorrow. Beautiful work Mr. Lightfoot. There's no song so emotional.
Crying as I’m watching this. My Dad would whistle this song while we’d be in our boat fishing. I’d laugh at him saying you’re going to jinx us into sinking. I knew that it would be one of the things I would miss about my Dad. I lost Dad just before last Christmas. It feels good and hurts to hear it! Love you miss you Dad
This reminds me of my parents also❤
I sailed in the navy for ten years . Whistling is bad juju on a ship , as is ringing a bell unless it's officially authorized.
Dam😢
Life is hard, saying good bye to the people we love is even harder, and then come the reminders. My dad I eat pizza and watch our favorite football team together every Saturday throughout the football season. I'm not sure I'll be able to watch another football game after he is gone. I feel for you.
I learned this song from my mum listening to it when I was a little kid. Years later, when I did a few seasons on a Lake Freighter to help pay my way through school, she admitted that she couldn't get this song out of her mind seeing me wave goodbye from on deck. We've gone to see Gordon Lightfoot perform together since then, and he still sounds as good as he did back in the 70's! I may have seen some rough patches on the Lakes, but my mum's still my anchor.
This song has one of the most haunting guitar riffs ever.
If it was used in any other song it would annoy the hell out of me but you can't imagine this song without it.
All-time top 10 guitar lead line for sure.
@@88wildcat The guitar riff is not used but this song has been replicated by Christy Moore in the Provisional IRA song Back Home in Derry, which is also haunting and begs an inward solace.
It also has an eerie, spacey echo to it which gives it a sense of enormous size and emptiness, something that fits the line "In the rooms of her ice water mansions", implying something cold, empty and dark.
That guitar riff makes me feel that there's something Native American about it.
I never get thru this song without tearing up. He did a wonderful job immortalizing the incident.
It's interesting to see a younger black guy's reaction to older white music. lol. He seems to be genuinely intrigued by this classic. BTW, I'm staying on DRY land.
He is just a guy reacting to another guys music. Why is black or white even important?
@@CodeineRadickLook at his pfp, what do you expect?
"Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?" Absolutely breathtaking.
Yes.
This song gives me goosebumps when I hear it. The phrasing is powerful.
When I was in the Navy we went thru a typhoon. I couldn't help but hear those words over and over and over in my head. because gods love was nowhere near us for four straight days.
When I watch reactions to this song and there is no reaction to the "does anyone know where the love of god goes" i immediately turn it off because, that is one of the best lines in a song of all time.
Lightfoot is a poetic genius. His song is a historical tribute to those 29.
He's a master.
Living in everyone's memory that has ever heard this song
Legend. Absolutely one of the most powerful tunes. Lightfoot has the soul of a poet and storyteller. He is one of the best. Don’t you just feel the wind through the wires of the Big Fitz? I love listening to this artist. Such a soul. Thank you.
Note of interest, Gordon Lightfoot recently passed and they rang the bell in the Detroit Maritime museum again and included an extra ring for him.
Saw him in concert years ago. When he sang " And all that remains are the faces and the names of the wives and the sons and the daughters" there were relatives of the crew there and they were recognized and stood up. Standing ovation from the crowd. Very powerful. When you see the people were effected it makes it more than a song. People tragically died. R.I.P. brave souls. Amazing song.
He just sang the the heart and history of every sailor and their family
WOW!! I bet that was so humbling
@@shannonmichelelawson8706 Yes. It is kinda strange...you hear that song on the radio and know it is a true story. But when you actually SEE the people that were effected by it. Gives the song a whole new perspective. People lost their loved ones in a tragic manner. Lots of them were pretty young.
And this song represent so many other ships and lives lost. It's mentioned several times. And the steel trade has dwindled but there are still many ships and or lives lost in the lakes, and elsewhere. The Fitzgerald is an excellent representation of a ship lost due to powerful forces we still don't completely understand.
@@CrowT I bet you were in such awe...
Such respect restores faith in humanity
In the entire history of music, there have only been maybe ten or twelve perfect songs.
Truly perfect.
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is high on that list.
Thinking #1
itotally agree i would include blind willie johnson dark wwas the night if you haven't heard it
@@brucegame1458 That song is on the Voyager Gold Record!
I was just a kid when this happened & remember it well. Even today, at 55 yrs old. I still cry every time I hear this song.
I have always loved hard rock but this song surpasses everything, it is a masterpiece.
Today (11/10/21) is the 46th anniversary of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. So far, over the past 2 years, I have found 6 of what I call Exceptional Reaction Videos for the song commemorating this tragedy. Thank you for being one of them. Here in Michigan I am marking the occasion by posting this comment on all 6 of your YT channels.
The cultural importance of this song cannot be over looked. It deeply affects anyone who was a sailor and anyone who knows tragic loss. It played a big part in me becoming a US Coast Guardsman.
This song never fails to send shivers down my spine.
Me too...I love ballads that tell a story; especially true stories like this legendary one. It has GOT to be so much more difficult to write!!! Also, this song is so jam packed with lyrics...doesn't feel too short.
Marty Robbins is an another great, who wrote gunslinger ballads (so fun to listen to...).
And tears
@Tracy D The man has a gift for sure.
I was coming to comment about how this song always gives me chills and goosebumps. Amazing haunting tune.
Absolutely! I love this song and I love to play it on guitar. This song give me goosebumps every time I hear it and play it.
“Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours “. That line still gets to me
Most sailors will have experienced storms and that line sums up the experience perfectly. This song is an incredible piece of work and listeners get some idea of the crew's last hours alive.
god was never there because god doesn't exist
Yes
@@spaghetti9845 apparently you've never faced death.
Me too. Gives me chills.
Thank you Jamal for not interrupting this song too many times. I could tell you were interested in FEELING it rather than making it about you. Great reaction.
When Gordon Lightfoot died at 83, the church bell in Detroit Mariners Cathedral rang 30 times. Gordon Lightfoot never took any money from this song. He donated it to the families of the 29 sailors.
I lose it every time at the cook’s line, “fellas, it’s been good to know ya.”
Alan Andrews Me too.
Mine is the "wives and the sons and the daughters"
The line that always does me in is "Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?" Don't think I've ever heard anything that embodies human desperation quite so eloquently.
@@gaelicwarrior5064 agreed.
@@gaelicwarrior5064 That line gets me every time.
LIghtfoot wrote that song - I've probably heard it a thousand times and it gets me every time.
Same
rajah that - song always gets me
Amen to THAT!
Ditto - every time!
So moving Everytime i hear this i get emotional Its hauntingly beautiful
They actually went down and brought up the Edmund Fitzgerald's bell. It's in a museum in Michigan. They ring it 29 times every tenth of November. They placed a new bell on the shipwreck with the names of the crew members.
Decades later, this song still sends chills down my spine.
Gordon Lightfoot’s voice takes you there, to the scene. He makes you feel it.
One-of-a-kind song; Exceptional storytelling.
They don’t write songs like this anymore.
Jamal is a good dude with a ❤️ 🤟🏼💕
Allan Tidgwell “The Mary Ellen Carter” by Stan Rogers!
Stan Rogers’ song “First Christmas” deserves to be a classic!
A gem waiting to be rediscovered!
Allan Tidgwell Barrett’s Privateers
Sonny’s Dream
Song for the Mira
Working Man
Don’t get me started with the folk music
“Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?” Just think about that - how long it must’ve felt for those guys who knew they were going to die and had to just wait for it to happen.
That is probably the most powerful line in any song I’ve ever heard. Right there in the song is where the tears usually come for me.
Absolutly...one of the best lines ever committed to song. When I was a young man, I worked as a deckhand on a fish boat working in the north pacific off Canadas west coast. We got caught in a gale one nite, boats went down, lives were lost, i clearly recall the feeling that the storm would never end, and listening to other plead for help and we were unable to do anything because we were ourselves fighting to survive. I'm almost 60 now, and my eyes still fill with tears as recall that nite or hear this song....
I’ve been in that moment. I was 10ish. Drowning and being rolled over and over again by waves. At one very vivid moment, I told myself... breathe. I drew in a couple of breaths. There was enough oxegen , when being generated by the churning water. I took a breath. I breathed air though I was surrounded by water. I took that life-saving breath. The sea weed tumbled about and around me. It spun faster than I did. Physics. I had more mass, therefore a different reality. I needed oxygen. I took that breathe. It saved me. It gave me barely enough strength to indicate to the adults around me that I was a child, a baby in need of protection and santuatry I crawled upon the shore, once the waves , the undertow grasped me. I called out , please help me. No one heard my calls. I was 10 facing a force beyond my comprehension. But the mother, Gaia?, saved me. I called on the ocean, she kept me alive.
God's love acceptance and healing doesn't have a time limit. Get out from wherever you are now!
My biggest fear is drowning, that line sends me and ends me. Having almost drown before that’s exactly how it feels. Minutes turns to hours.
It is searching your Soul time...
An iconic song from a Canadian Icon... he is one of our greatest musical treasures. So glad you did this one.... you truly are a wonderful person. Love your channel.
The wreck occurred in Nov 1975. All the Great Lakes are known for their storms, but Lake Superior (the largest and deepest) is incredibly violent. All were lost. The water is so ice cold in Nov that one won't live but a minute or two. The wreck was found in Spring 75. Your emotional reaction to this story is truthful and heartfelt.
I have heard that, to this day, whenever a US military ship passes the location of the wreck, all crew members are called on deck and salute the deceased as the military ship blasts its horn 29x.
@Scrap cash There most certainly are US military vessels on the Lake. The US Coast Guard is there permanently, and the USN visits.
@@roberthudson1959 Iwould say you are both correct. The Navy use to send Frigates through the great lakes every year but no longer does on a regular basis. I believe the USGC has one cutter permanently stationed there but it is predominantly an Ice Breaker. All USN personnel go through basic at Great Lakes but I believe it is mostly land based training.
I don't think anyone respects their dead more deeply than sailors, and bikers.
Navy Pier Chicago. The US Navy has had a presence in the Great Lakes since the War of 1812 .
@Scrap cash I attended US Navy basic training at Naval Recruit Training Command Great Lakes in 1985. I beieve it is located at Waukeegan , Illinois .
My younger friends always laugh at me when they see this on my playlist....they don’t understand it’s classic storytelling...a modern day vocal history being passed down thru the generations. One of the best tributes to those lost at sea ever....
It's a MUST for anyone who grew up on the Great Lakes.
@@wardenm
Yup, as I did on the shores of Lake Michigan.
@@windwoman3549 Grew up on Lake Huron myself. Was where I learned to swim, boat, fish, ice fishing... they're a huge part of life up in the midwest, from the pastimes to the sports to affecting the weather itself!
Good storytelling music is priceless. Hearing them on vinyl just a little bit of heaven. Gordon Lightfoot, Jim Croce and my favorite Harry Chapin. I just found you and I subscribed and liked this video. Finding someone you vibe with the lyrics and the music is priceless. Peace ✌ and love🎶
Agreed!
I was 14 years old when this happened and it is etched in my memory. We prayed every night that they would find them, glued to the news with hope. It's been 47 years, when I hear this song, and the 29 bells, I still tear up thinking of the sons, the fathers and the brothers that were lost. Many were so young.
I love this song. In fact, every time I hear it, my eyes tear up listening to the story Gord tells of the brave men of the Edmund Fitzgerald. It's a beautiful piece of music with lyrics that are deep and haunting. And yes, Jamel, Gordon LIghtfoot's voice is absolutely perfect to sing those lyrics.
The line " And all that remains is the faces and names of the wives and the sons and the daughters" always gets me in the feels.
@matt becham Boo, sir. Boo.
@matt becham LOL Yes that is me, A big old softy
My cousins dad went down on this ship. His name was James Pratt.
Me too. That's deep. When someone says, "You look just like your daddy". But he's no longer living. You are the closest thing to who he was.
AMEN! This and the Titanic get me alot
I’m from Michigan, some people said “how could a big ship sink in a lake!” They can’t fathom the GREAT LAKES!
the 5 Great Lakes in combination contain 25% of the entire world's fresh water......
You got that right. Posted earlier, a WW2 merchant captain said that the Great Lakes storms were worse than than the storms on the North Atlantic.
Lived less than a mile from Lake Michigan all my life and I can assure you the Great Lakes are no joke. Especially when you see what they do to weather and storms.
I grew up in Michigan. Haven't been back since 1980. Old fart. Lol. The wrecks that are on the bottom of the Great Lakes, all have stories. Was living in Eaton Rapids when the Edmund Fitzgerald went down went down. Then dealt with the blizzard of 1970-1980. Took 3 weeks to unbury everything. Welcome to the upper Midwest. Lol.
It’s a mistake that’s cost a lot of lives. Another great song is Stan Rogers “White Squall”
When you live around the Great Lakes and when November rolls round and you get a night with the cold blowing nasty wind, you remember “the gales of November” and this song comes right to your mind. I remember when it happened. Such shock!
Canadian music bends toward story telling. Gordon Lighfoot is a classic ! Neil Young, Leonard Cohen and Joannie Mitchell fall into the same genre of greatness. 🇨🇦
This song is a history lesson. The sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald happened in 1975.
He had another ship disaster song, the Yarmouth Castle, sunk with a fire with cruise passengers, 90 lives lost in 1965.
Also a haunting and memorable song.
ruclips.net/video/I4cAnMZc79U/видео.html
In 1976 I was driving around the north shore of Lake Superior on my way from Victoria to grad school in Toronto. This song was haunting me the entire way.
Didn't know that. Very cool to do that
This song was the first thing that ever made me question mortality and somewhat gave me some fear of death....
It's not just a tribute to the Edmund fitzgerald, but every single man that has lost their lives on the lakes, may god rest everyone's soul 🙏
That's what makes some of his music so great.
I prefer Canadian Railroad Trilogy but it's the same kind of the hard Canadian truths sung somehow both honestly and beautifully
And every sailor lost to the depths.
"Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?"
That's one of the most impactful, dramatic, and poetic verses I've ever heard. In fact, I can't think of one better.
That's only part of the brilliance Mr. Lightfoot gave the world.
Thank you for your empathy and genuine reaction to the song and the tragedy of the Edmund Fitzgerald. It is a good tribute to the 29 souls lost on November 10, 1975. This happened a few months before I was born. But as a little kid I remember hearing this song and it always haunting me with it's sad story. So beautifully told and even today at 45 years old it still makes me cry. Thank you again for this video!!
Gordon Lightfoot wrote this song and the year this recording was released, he won the Grammy for the Best Male Vocal Performance. Well deserved!
"Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?" That line, for me, is the most powerful line in the entire song. I mean, the imagery that line brings is chillingly haunting. And to come up with that line, To write that is brilliant and shows how Lightfoot could hang with Dylan as far as a songwriter.
patgeta2678-So true,I read somewhere that even Bob Dylan said Gordon Lightfoot was a one of a kind songwriter.Nobody can tell a story in a song better then Gordon Lightfoot.
I think Dylan had a fair bit of respect for Lightfoot, , I actually never quite got into a lot of Dylan . This seemed an odd omission when I found more folk and folk rock but
Nah, Brother Lightfoot and Dylan knew where each was coming from. It was respect, from one master to another.
patgeta2678
Agreed. It is one of the few lines in music that makes me tear up every time I hear it without fail. It’s simply an amazing line that works deep on so many levels and connects with every person, no matter who you are.
Agreed, that verse gets me every time.
Being from Michigan this really hits close to home, I was 18 years old when this happened, I remember it like it was yesterday! Awesome reaction to this heartbreaking song! Gordon Lightfoot is one of the best storytellers there ever was. It's great to have fun, I'm right there with you, but on occasion we need to look at the more serious side of life! Thank you very much for viewing this and reacting to it!
Heard and saw Gordon sing this song earlier this month at the CNE Bandshell in Toronto. He'll be 84 in a few weeks and is fading a bit but still puts on a great show. So glad I finally managed to get to a concert by this national treasure.
How fortunate you were able to see him before his recent passing.
The first time I heard this on the radio I was 7 years old. I absolutely sobbed in the back seat of the car. My mom pulled into a parking lot, got in the back seat and held me as I cried. To this day it still makes me cry.
Yes. This ballad always brings tears to my eyes and I'm over 60. He makes you live the tragedy.
I was 7 as well. It's one of those tunes that never leaves you.
Jamal your reaction to the ‘bell chimed 29 times’ line is such a visual representation of who you are as a human. A genuine, compassionate, good soul.
You are exactly right. I wish I could just hang with this dude and both his brothers and just shoot the shit. Beautiful people...
Yes ,I've heard this song 1000 times before,but now with your replay and comments and myself really listening to the words,thank you for being diverse in you song selected ,great song touches you
It's somber and gut wrenching standing in front of the bell from this ship. Knowing what it seen. It's sitting in a museum at whitefish point Michigan
This song will just grab your heart’s strings.
I love how open minded he is to all kinds of music. His good nature shines through in a of his videos
Just like to add they rang the bell 30 times at the Mariner's Cathedral in Detroit when Gordon Lightfoot passed away. Once for each sailor on the Edmund Fitzgerald and once for Gordon. Beautiful song.
This is undoubtedly one of the greatest, saddest, most haunting songs ever recorded! It always gives me chills…An all-time great! 👏🏼😎