Gordon Lightfoot - The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald [REACTION]

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  • Опубліковано 28 сер 2021
  • #GordonLightfoot #Wreck #EdmundFitzgerald
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 1,7 тис.

  • @murtheblur
    @murtheblur 2 роки тому +1298

    Gordan donated the proceeds of this song to the sailors families. One of the best written songs ever recorded.

    • @patriciamoore6492
      @patriciamoore6492 2 роки тому +22

      I didn't know that! Wow.

    • @fredostrow1787
      @fredostrow1787 2 роки тому +2

      The absolute worst song ever recorded

    • @rihamy2nd
      @rihamy2nd 2 роки тому +48

      @Ray M avoid giving the troll the attention they’re so desperate for.

    • @Orpilorp
      @Orpilorp 2 роки тому +20

      I heard that before as well. That was so kind of him.

    • @George39280
      @George39280 2 роки тому +28

      I agree 100%. Best song ever written, and recorded.

  • @originaldcjensen
    @originaldcjensen Рік тому +50

    RIP Gordon Lightfoot. "At 3 p.m. Tuesday (5/2/23), the bell at Mariners’ Church rang out again - now chiming 30 times to honor those perished sailors along with the artist who famously memorialized them in song”

  • @AlbertaGeek
    @AlbertaGeek 2 роки тому +156

    "Does anyone know where the love of God goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours" is, IMO, one of the most powerful lyrics ever sung.

  • @studavies2572
    @studavies2572 4 місяці тому +13

    When Gordon Lightfoot passed away the Mariners Church in Detroit rang the bells 29 times, then rang it one more time.

  • @donschaum
    @donschaum 2 роки тому +435

    I'm an old sailor and the line "Where does the love of God go when the waves turn the minutes to hours" says it all to me.

    • @bryanglassglass8971
      @bryanglassglass8971 2 роки тому +5

      God was mia

    • @Holdfast1812
      @Holdfast1812 2 роки тому +13

      So true. That point in time when you're hooked on in the cockpit at the wheel and looking up at the waves barreling towards you with the spume running down their face and you absolutely marvel at the power and danger of Mother nature when she's pissed and wondering it you're going to make it through.

    • @dullahan7677
      @dullahan7677 2 роки тому +15

      The most acute description of human desperation I've ever heard.

    • @geraldburke5147
      @geraldburke5147 2 роки тому +9

      That line haunts me as well. Not sure why but it does...

    • @kikionthebeach6863
      @kikionthebeach6863 2 роки тому +9

      I am from a family of fishermen and it kills me when I hear that line

  • @emersongates8425
    @emersongates8425 2 роки тому +448

    16 years in the Navy and time in the Merchant Marine. I have listened to this song a thousand times, still brings tears to my eyes.

    • @1719456
      @1719456 2 роки тому +10

      Amen Brother!

    • @haroldashley1544
      @haroldashley1544 2 роки тому +17

      Im former NAVY also and we knew when we went out there was no guarantee of returning.

    • @icky_mack
      @icky_mack 2 роки тому +23

      Twenty two years in the RCN. No guarantees when in Neptune's relm.

    • @David-ng7cr
      @David-ng7cr 2 роки тому +15

      Over 20 years fishing and I'm still going out. You have to respect the ocean. Seen some scary weather that puts the fear into you.

    • @emersongates8425
      @emersongates8425 2 роки тому +20

      @@David-ng7cr My first ship in the Navy was the USS Nimitz, went through the North Atlantic in Dec 77, gale force 10. We had white water breaking on the deck numbers. I was on the worlds largest warship and was scared shitless!!!

  • @dcaseng
    @dcaseng 2 роки тому +88

    "Fellas, it's been good to know ya" is a powerful line.
    It perfectly describes the reality of the situation, and the acceptance of one's fate.

    • @jackspeer2127
      @jackspeer2127 10 місяців тому +3

      Powerful, telling, real.

    • @Heegaherger
      @Heegaherger 4 місяці тому +4

      When the old cook says that, it's time to make you peace with God because you are about to called home.

  • @CDO1113
    @CDO1113 2 роки тому +201

    I grew up in MI and we all learned this song in elementary school…we learned to respect the beauty, power and danger of the Great Lakes from an early age. Such a profoundly sad story and Gordon Lightfoot’s tribute is a masterpiece.

    • @jakej4194
      @jakej4194 Рік тому +7

      I grew up in southern Lapeer County. I remember in one of the music books we had when I was in elementary school had this song in it and that was the first time I heard this song.

    • @SW-bs2jz
      @SW-bs2jz Рік тому +6

      @@jakej4194 He's a legend for us.

    • @robertlarson7224
      @robertlarson7224 Рік тому +4

      I learned about it in 4th grade, here in Milwaukee

    • @blackbob3358
      @blackbob3358 Рік тому +1

      Aye1113, did they mention the almighty power of capitalism, and all it's sins ? Then as now.

    • @richardh8811
      @richardh8811 Рік тому +1

      Replying to Bob the d bag....

  • @kdbadk
    @kdbadk 2 роки тому +464

    "Does anyone know where the love of God goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?"

    • @mvintrigue-trawlerdiy1101
      @mvintrigue-trawlerdiy1101 2 роки тому +50

      A seventeen word sentence that contains so much to think about and reflect upon. One of the most dense sentences I can recall from any medium.

    • @musicandmoviefan9217
      @musicandmoviefan9217 2 роки тому +28

      such a haunting sentence!

    • @robert-ef8qv
      @robert-ef8qv 2 роки тому +17

      Cry when I hear these lyrics.❤️🙏😢R.I.P. to the 29 , prayers & condolences go out to the family.

    • @rickwelch8464
      @rickwelch8464 2 роки тому +20

      IMO best line ever written in any song I have ever heard.

    • @tragicdeyz2641
      @tragicdeyz2641 2 роки тому +18

      @@rickwelch8464 It's of course all subjective but for me: "And then one day you wake to find 10 years have got behind you,
      no one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun."

  • @SRG1966
    @SRG1966 2 роки тому +48

    The water in Superior is so cold that the bodies are preserved at the bottom. She truly does not give up her dead

    • @Fubar2024
      @Fubar2024 2 місяці тому +1

      She's even hard to drive past in winter for all the ice she sprays on highways. The Trans Canada Highway near Sault St. Marie is often closed because of her frozen wave action and fierceness. Everyone should visit and worship her at least once in their life.

  • @testodude
    @testodude 2 роки тому +64

    The part where it goes from terrifying to tragic:
    When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin'
    "Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya."
    At seven PM, a main hatchway caved in, he said
    "Fellas, it's been good to know ya."

  • @brentlund2272
    @brentlund2272 Рік тому +6

    I STILL GET CHILLS ..............BEAUTIFUL !

  • @doughaviland1729
    @doughaviland1729 2 роки тому +61

    "Does anyone know where the love of God goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours ?"
    One of the most poetic lines of a song ever written...

  • @OldHead71
    @OldHead71 2 роки тому +235

    “All that remain are the faces and the names of the wives and the sons and the daughters” always hits me deep …the sadness of those families whose fathers never came home.

    • @andrewhoran7088
      @andrewhoran7088 2 роки тому +7

      So so sad

    • @OttoByOgraffey
      @OttoByOgraffey 2 роки тому +6

      Fathers, sons, brothers, uncles, nephews, grandchildren, cousins. So many lives affected.

    • @johndeeregreen4592
      @johndeeregreen4592 2 роки тому +9

      Being from Michigan and having family in shipping, that line is like a punch in the guts.

    • @josephclark4999
      @josephclark4999 Рік тому +6

      I was always saddened by "In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed in the Maritime Sailor's Cathedral. The church bell chimed till it rang twenty nine times for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald" So sad.

    • @09penny1
      @09penny1 Рік тому +6

      ​@@josephclark4999 on May 2, 2023 they rang that church bell one additional time for Gordon Lightfoot. ❤

  • @infinitygirlak
    @infinitygirlak 2 роки тому +6

    I know exactly how they felt. Been in seas so high that the foc’sle gets buried in a wave so immense that the bridge wings get washed over.

  • @jenwanner4911
    @jenwanner4911 Рік тому +82

    I'm from Michigan and that song is like an anthem to all Michiganders. I've seen the lakes that angry, it's incredible and scary all at once. I'm glad you listened to it with your heart.

    • @michaelkneringer3194
      @michaelkneringer3194 4 місяці тому +1

      This happened in Lake Superior, not Michigan. But understand your sentiment.

    • @judywein3282
      @judywein3282 4 місяці тому

      ​@michaelkneringer3194 Lake Superior borders MICHIGAN also.

    • @judywein3282
      @judywein3282 4 місяці тому

      Yes it is. (Michigan here also)

    • @savinghistory642
      @savinghistory642 3 місяці тому

      it is to everyone who puts to sea. theirs is the same enemy.

    • @richarddykhouse2080
      @richarddykhouse2080 2 місяці тому

      I have to my boss father met and talk to the crew Sault Ste. Marie

  • @southernbella6535
    @southernbella6535 2 роки тому +198

    The wreck is listed as a grave site, when ships pass they ring their bells 29 times in honor of the dead. They did not recover the bodies . This music touches me , Gordon is a great artist and I love all his songs. This one makes me tear up and thats ok by me :)

    • @trl2828
      @trl2828 2 роки тому +3

      @Joe Dick Never been on a real ship have you? You need that many because on a ship you need 24 hours. So shifts. No going home at the end of your shift when on a ship, doing shipping. See how many people working on a cruise ship.

    • @underthetrees4780
      @underthetrees4780 2 роки тому +18

      "Superior they said never gives up her dead".
      It's so cold and so deep, the bodies don't really decompose, so with no decomp there is no off gassing to float them up. They're forever entombed at the bottom.

    • @Dragon_Werks
      @Dragon_Werks Рік тому +3

      @@underthetrees4780 accounts from divers say that yes, they're still down there. Undisturbed nearly 50 years later.

    • @ArashiAiko
      @ArashiAiko Рік тому +3

      30 times now since Gordon Lightfoot passed

    • @johnthorne4093
      @johnthorne4093 Рік тому +3

      @@underthetrees4780 At the same time, that's a comforting thought and a chilling thought. The crew of the Fitz, as the crews of so many other ships, don't forget, are down there together, in a very expansive cemetery.

  • @Psalm136HisMercyEnduresForever
    @Psalm136HisMercyEnduresForever 2 роки тому +250

    Gordon Lightfoot is great. "If You Could Read My Mind" is highly recommended.

    • @joannevincent2035
      @joannevincent2035 2 роки тому +10

      Yes - "If You Could Read My Mind" is timeless.

    • @Orpilorp
      @Orpilorp 2 роки тому +1

      He also wrote a song for his father called "The Leader of the Band".

    • @ChicagoDB
      @ChicagoDB 2 роки тому +6

      @@Orpilorp - incorrect…that is Dan Fogelberg

    • @ChicagoDB
      @ChicagoDB 2 роки тому +1

      Personally, I’d say it’s his best…of his many fantastic songs.

    • @johnandleighs.9193
      @johnandleighs.9193 2 роки тому +11

      Sundown is a good song

  • @jimroberts9873
    @jimroberts9873 2 місяці тому +5

    "Does anyone know where the love of God goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours " my favorite line. How true.

  • @mr.toobigformypants8145
    @mr.toobigformypants8145 3 місяці тому +4

    My father was a nut for big freighters. In 1969 there were a few ships in Duluth with the Edmund Fitzgerald being the biggest attraction. We spent a few hours touring big ship. A few years later she sank and this song hit the airwaves. I bought a copy for Dad, he cried.

  • @robb9395
    @robb9395 2 роки тому +217

    I grew up on the Great Lakes, my Grandfather was a merchant mariner from Ireland who said the storms on the Great Lakes scared him more than the North Atlantic. I remember this shipwreck, too. The song...is...there's nothing like it. 30 year Navy man myself, but I grew up sailing the Great Lakes. The Edmund Fitzgerald was one of the largest "lakers" on the Great Lakes. This song always makes me cry. Thanks for doing it.

    • @Shuggles56
      @Shuggles56 2 роки тому +3

      Try The Wreck of the Carlos Rey by Los Lobos.

    • @dustinmoritz6634
      @dustinmoritz6634 2 роки тому +4

      Thank you sir!

    • @patmurphy2072
      @patmurphy2072 Рік тому

      My father was in the navy from 56-58 and rode out a hurricane on an aircraft carrier. He and myself have been on Lake Huron in rough seas. He said he was more scared then.

  • @jamesfoster2238
    @jamesfoster2238 2 роки тому +46

    This is the best memorial to those men that could ever be.

  • @kimcurtis423
    @kimcurtis423 2 роки тому +111

    Gordon is a hell of a storyteller! He also is a great guitarist and his meldody is haunting and the words are hypnotic!

    • @anthonyj5097
      @anthonyj5097 Рік тому +9

      Might be the best story telling musician Canada has ever produced. Some of his songs or so powerful.

  •  2 роки тому +58

    One can’t help but get emotional listening to this song. It is beautifully done. The story is haunting but not shocking. We can visualize what was happening without receiving a narrative of the deaths of the sailors. This type of storytelling is a lost art in music. Mr Lightfoot delivered the song as if he was an old sailor.

  • @KevinRCarr
    @KevinRCarr 2 роки тому +284

    I was a senior in high school in northern MN, sitting in my bedroom doing homework and reading, while listening to an am radio station out of Duluth, MN (the next door city to Superior, WI where the Fitz sailed from). A couple of times per hour, the radio station reported news releases by the Coast Guard about the ship's progress and the troubles she was experiencing with weather and equipment. When I went to bed, the ship that was a few miles out in front of her reported that the Fitz had lost long range communications but was able to communicate ship to ship.
    The next morning while I was showering before school the station announced that all contact with the Fitz had been lost in the night.
    I've long felt a connection with the ship and the song, and I always stop what I'm doing and listen along when it plays or I see it come up during UA-cam surfing.

    • @susannahkreher7270
      @susannahkreher7270 2 роки тому +12

      Wow…peace be with you man😔🙏🏼❤️

    • @frame3139
      @frame3139 2 роки тому +20

      I’m 57 from Duluth I remember it well

    • @stanbannmusic8334
      @stanbannmusic8334 2 роки тому +19

      From MSP. I spent and still spend a lot of summers in Duluth, Two Harbors, Silver Bay, and Grand Marais. Friends and family kept me in the loop at the time while I was attending school in Boston. One friend told me the girl sitting across from her lost her dad on the Fitz. Powerful memories. Powerful song.

    • @garyzink1927
      @garyzink1927 2 роки тому +14

      Wow that's crazy. I visited the valley camp museum in the soo Michigan 3 days ago and saw many articles about the tragedy, I'm your age and lived in middle of Michigan then and felt the horrible tragedy too. At the museum is a bent twisted life boat from the Fitzgerald, it made me cry as I stood by it 4 a pic.

    • @johnandleighs.9193
      @johnandleighs.9193 2 роки тому +7

      Yea me too.

  • @j20tower
    @j20tower 2 роки тому +201

    One of the great story tellers. Hard to believe he’s over 80 now. I’m not ashamed to say I tear up whenever I hear this song. A tragedy but a beautiful song. Good bless them all.

    • @ronv6637
      @ronv6637 2 роки тому +2

      Had the honor of sailing with his niece(she was 70+ and doing a around the world voyage),she related that not only was he a great musician but was also a canadian special forces commando in WWll(canadians were some of the best trained fighters in WWll)

    • @j20tower
      @j20tower 2 роки тому +1

      @@ronv6637 wow, awesome.

    • @folkmusic99
      @folkmusic99 Рік тому +1

      Gordon Lightfoot, born in 1938, was six years old when World War II ended in August 1945.

  • @mestopholies
    @mestopholies 2 роки тому +8

    I was 9 when she sank i lost my dad a year later. He told me the story of this tragedy. At 56 every november we remember that day on Nov 10th we pray for the families

  • @virginiawaters955
    @virginiawaters955 2 роки тому +155

    My father was a merchant seaman in the 30s and early 40s. When the Fitzgerald went down, he talked about it for months. He died in 2016 at age 95.

    • @jasonsimpkins7777
      @jasonsimpkins7777 2 роки тому +5

      I wish you peace and love. I miss my dad every day and he was born just a little later than yours.

    • @danpatterson6937
      @danpatterson6937 2 роки тому +6

      Bless your father, his memory, and the mates he sailed with.
      My mom's oldest brother left the mountains of NC for the merchant marine in 1944. 17 years old. Tough boys

    • @girlfromthebronxbywayofelb7288
      @girlfromthebronxbywayofelb7288 2 роки тому +6

      Your dads must have seen intense events. Shipping in the 1940s was dangerous, wasn't it? Merchant vessels headed for Europe were targeted by Nazi u boats? Thanks for this story.

    • @jamesdude4220
      @jamesdude4220 2 роки тому +4

      Rip

    • @objectiveobserver4278
      @objectiveobserver4278 2 роки тому +7

      The ship sunk on November 10, 1975. I was in junior high school and lived in a subburb of Detroit. The storm was predicted but crossed paths with another storm. It happened fast. This was a huge news item. They still ring 29 bells on November 10th for these men.

  • @badbiker666
    @badbiker666 2 роки тому +116

    I have heard this song thousands of times. I am from Detroit, and I have been to the Maritime Sailors Cathedral. But no matter how many times I hear it, I cannot help myself but to cry when the line about the "wives and the sons and the daughters" plays. Every time. Including just now.

    • @anthonyj5097
      @anthonyj5097 Рік тому +8

      Yup.That line gets me every time

    • @scotts4920
      @scotts4920 Рік тому +10

      Same here, working downtown in the D, I pass the church every morning going to work. Born in Wisconsin and raised in metro Detroit it hits me in a way no other song does.

    • @odysseusthesojourner4401
      @odysseusthesojourner4401 Рік тому +9

      Similar impact on me, especially in November. Born and raised in Detroit, I remember hearing this on CKLW.

    • @brianlane9534
      @brianlane9534 Рік тому +5

      not ashamed to say me too.

    • @badbiker666
      @badbiker666 Рік тому +7

      @@brianlane9534 By now you're aware that Gordon passed away May 1, 2023 at age 84. The light of the world is dimmed by his absence.

  • @Blues444
    @Blues444 2 роки тому +31

    "Does any one know where the love of God goes
    When the waves turn the minutes to hours?"
    - The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
    Gordon Lightfoot
    Recorded in December of 1975

  • @vladtepes97
    @vladtepes97 Рік тому +6

    your favourite singer-songwriter's favourite singer-songwriter, may he rest in peace.

  • @MyRofaith
    @MyRofaith 2 роки тому +5

    One of my favorites, I lived on the American side of Lake Ontario in November 1975….will never forget the news of the loss… still brings tears…

  • @larrywt656
    @larrywt656 2 роки тому +37

    One of the great masterpieces of all time. The "where does the love of God go" is one of the most brilliant lyrics ever. Gordon Lightfoot is a musical genius, and he's still going strong today.

  • @deborahbryan3639
    @deborahbryan3639 2 роки тому +67

    I feel transported to an Irish pub where the fishermen are waiting for the crew to come back when they get the horrible news. Gordon Lightfoot did the sad occasion the justice it deserved. May all the 29 crew members of this ship find the eternal peace that they deserve. How awful it must have been for the families to receive the tragic news. My heart goes out to them all!

  • @brianlamarca462
    @brianlamarca462 Рік тому +5

    This song makes me weep sometimes. I am a midwestern Great Lake American and it means so much to the maritime workers and all the men who go out and risk their lives to feed their families. Perhaps one of the greatest tributes to an event I have ever known.

  • @jamesmccullough1395
    @jamesmccullough1395 3 місяці тому +5

    R.I.P. My Canadian brother this song and others. You were one of the best storytellers ever!

  • @danielkelleher2419
    @danielkelleher2419 2 роки тому +156

    Lightfoot is one of the great storytellers of his time! Another great Canadian singer song writer ! Try If You Could Read May Mind, a great song about a broken relationship!

    • @crankyyankee7290
      @crankyyankee7290 2 роки тому +1

      Another of your greats is Loreena Mckennitt

    • @shootermav11
      @shootermav11 2 роки тому +1

      Canadian version of Johnny Cash.

    • @donalddingler1263
      @donalddingler1263 2 роки тому

      They did retrieve the bell later on in 80's.

    • @billysmith1797
      @billysmith1797 Рік тому

      @@donalddingler1263 And that pissed a LOT of people off. Items were taken off the wreck without the proper paperwork, most likely one of the reasons Canada listed it as a grave site and you can only dive on it after a lot of questions as to why. It's also monitored by the coast guard, get too close to the wreck and they come out looking at why.

  • @Booby2251
    @Booby2251 2 роки тому +18

    What a haunting song. Gordon lightfoot captured the mood they must have felt.

  • @sfbayareagirl
    @sfbayareagirl 2 роки тому +52

    This song still brings tears to my eyes. Epic and beautiful. Gordon Lightfoot is a treasure we’ve borrowed from Canada. He’s in his 80s now, was still performing a cpl years ago.

    • @colleenross8752
      @colleenross8752 Рік тому +3

      Sadly, Gordon passed away a few days ago.

    • @thomaskelley3029
      @thomaskelley3029 9 місяців тому +2

      ​@@colleenross8752
      From what I've read when Gordon Lightfoot die they rang the bell 30 times. 29 for the crew and 1for Mr Lightfoot.

    • @davemacmurchie6982
      @davemacmurchie6982 6 місяців тому

      @@thomaskelley3029
      That's true, and pure class.

  • @nancym7844
    @nancym7844 2 роки тому +34

    I've loved this song since I was a kid and I'm 55 now. By the way, Lake Superior never gives up her dead. The lake is too cold for bacteria to survive so bodies don't fill with gas and rise to the surface.

  • @Pyro10B
    @Pyro10B 2 роки тому +23

    A few years ago I went to see my friends band in a club near Cleveland. At on point during the show my friend introduced a man in the audience that was the Brother of the Captain of the Edmund Fitzgerald. The band went on to play an emotional version of this song. It was an unforgettable night.

    • @patrickv391
      @patrickv391 2 роки тому +2

      What is the name of the band?

    • @Pyro10B
      @Pyro10B 2 роки тому +4

      @@patrickv391 Colin Dussault's Blues Project

  • @leisastalnaker3790
    @leisastalnaker3790 2 роки тому +35

    “Does anyone knows, where the love Of God goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours “. Haunting lyrics

  • @SundaysChild1966
    @SundaysChild1966 Рік тому +3

    May he Rest In Peace .. you were loved and greatly appreciated, you will be missed.

  • @mikeat2637
    @mikeat2637 2 роки тому +36

    I remember doing this song at a kareoke bar when it first started up and no one had ever heard the song before. There was absolute silence at the end.

    • @mikeat2637
      @mikeat2637 2 роки тому +11

      I still get all choked up with this song even 40 years later.

    • @dvango7090
      @dvango7090 2 роки тому +7

      Hahaha im sure that wasn’t the vibe they were looking for

    • @robruss62
      @robruss62 5 днів тому

      Ballad of Yarmouth Castle would have been another stunner

  • @JeffreyTheTaylor
    @JeffreyTheTaylor 2 роки тому +65

    I grew up outside Cleveland and was about 10 when this happened. It was an unbelievably huge story. I remember utterly disbelief that this giant ship was gone. Then when the song came out. It was played non-stop. I cannot think of another song that conveys confusion and sadness like this one does.

  • @keymack2477
    @keymack2477 2 роки тому +34

    Great reaction, Rogue! Gordon is a Canadian Treasure who has donated every cent he has ever earned from this song to the 29 families! Keep up the great work on your channel!

  • @sixpoint812
    @sixpoint812 10 місяців тому +2

    Fifty years later the song still resonates for those of us who lived along Lake Superior and waited up all night hoping and praying for their rescue.

  • @rogerwelsh2335
    @rogerwelsh2335 2 роки тому +39

    Might be the most touching song ever written. I have listened to this song thousands of times and it touches me every single time

  • @jdizzlebigsexy2210
    @jdizzlebigsexy2210 2 роки тому +71

    I'm very familiar with this storey growing up in Canada and living on the Great lakes and Gordon Lightfoot is pretty much national treasure

  • @dr.burtgummerfan439
    @dr.burtgummerfan439 2 роки тому +33

    You can listen to this song in Miami, in August, outside, and feel chills. He makes you feel like you were there.

  • @Pookiepup1
    @Pookiepup1 2 роки тому +20

    One of the most perfect songs ever written and recorded. That guitar makes you feel the icy wind!

  • @myrany8407
    @myrany8407 2 роки тому +24

    I was a kid in Detroit when the wreck happened. It was a very surreal and disturbing time when no one knew what really happened and the news was constant. When the song came out I always felt that it was a very beautiful eulogy to the lives lost in such a horrible event. Even so to this day when I am an old lady the song gives me chills.

    • @jonstefanik9400
      @jonstefanik9400 Рік тому

      It was headed for Detroit

    • @justgoodstuffj.g.s.1992
      @justgoodstuffj.g.s.1992 Рік тому +1

      @@jonstefanik9400 it was headed for cleveland loaded in michigan 26ooo tons of iron ore .

    • @jonstefanik9400
      @jonstefanik9400 Рік тому

      @@justgoodstuffj.g.s.1992 So that means Detroit was a stop?

  • @TracyD2
    @TracyD2 2 роки тому +25

    I remember when this happened. This song is hauntingly beautiful. It holds up over the decades.

  • @johnandleighs.9193
    @johnandleighs.9193 2 роки тому +32

    I was a child when this happened.
    Every part of this song is true.
    I was with my mother downtown Detroit and herd the bells ring 29 times for the men on that ship.
    My wife and I lived on the shore of Lake Superior 50 miles out from were she sank.
    John S.

    • @cosmickid1794
      @cosmickid1794 2 роки тому +3

      I'm from Windsor, I've heard the bell ring also

  • @pleasehelp2446
    @pleasehelp2446 2 роки тому +117

    The Canadian government has deemed the site of the wreck a protected cemetery so that the sailors may rest in peace without being disturbed by divers. It is also traditional for ships passing by the wreck to have the crew observe a moment of silence as a bell is rung 29 times

    • @David-ng7cr
      @David-ng7cr Рік тому +4

      Wow. Didn't know that. Thank you

    • @garrymoore2161
      @garrymoore2161 Рік тому +6

      I did not realize the Canadians afforded such honor to the American ship and crew. They have been America's closest friends for centuries
      I am not surprised at the pause and ring your ship bell 29 times tradition as they all remember the dangers and power of the lake.

    • @kennethcook9406
      @kennethcook9406 Рік тому +6

      The US has done the same, and a memorial bell was placed in the great lakes mariners cathedral

    • @swampghost8256
      @swampghost8256 Рік тому +9

      The Fitzgerald bell was raised from the wreck 20 years after she went down and replaced with a memorial bell with the names of all the crew on it. The actual bell from the Fitz is the center piece of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical society museum in Whitefish point, Michigan. Every November 10th the bell is rung 29 times !

    • @justgoodstuffj.g.s.1992
      @justgoodstuffj.g.s.1992 Рік тому +2

      @@swampghost8256 now it's 30 times now that Mr. Lightfoot died.

  • @hutch1111111
    @hutch1111111 5 місяців тому +2

    On a fishing trip i met up with Mr Lightfoot and let me tell you, he was a gentleman and a very unique character.

  • @jamielandis4308
    @jamielandis4308 2 роки тому +124

    The eerie sound of the guitar sticks with you, unforgettable.

    • @phila3884
      @phila3884 2 роки тому +13

      It just dawned on me that the guitars sound like the howling of the wind in a storm.

    • @willbeez60
      @willbeez60 2 роки тому +6

      @@phila3884 And the Moog synth underneath suggests the depths of the water.

    • @northof4912
      @northof4912 2 роки тому +4

      That truly makes the song…..

    • @terminallumbago6465
      @terminallumbago6465 2 роки тому +4

      The music gives it a rocking feeling imo. Like a boat going up and down on the waves.

    • @glendirienzo1365
      @glendirienzo1365 2 роки тому

      I think its Earl Slick on guitar?

  • @AFmedic
    @AFmedic 2 роки тому +50

    The reason they say, "Superior Never Gives Up Her Dead" is because at depth the water is so cold that decomposition gasses do not form and therefore bodies do not float to the surface.
    As a young teen growing up in Manitowoc, WI many times I've see both the Fitzgerald and the Arthur M. Anderson (the last ship to be in contact with the Fitzgerald and the first rescue ship on the scene to look for any survivors).

  • @jamesgiroux7619
    @jamesgiroux7619 2 роки тому +29

    Always brings tears to my eyes I've heard a million times and I've cried a million times

    • @bart7552
      @bart7552 3 місяці тому

      me too. I was five when it happened, and I remember where I was when my mother told me.

  • @karolyn8644
    @karolyn8644 2 роки тому +13

    Such a heart-wrenching song & story. Gordon Lightfoot is a national treasure for Canada, a great singer/songwriter/storyteller. I grew up in Minnesota and have visited the Edmund Fitzgerald Museum on the shore of Lake Superior. They have the old yellowed newspapers on display reporting the story of the event. Lightfoot's lyrics are right off the pages of those papers. He tells the truth of it. the Great Lakes, though inland seas, can be just as treacherous as any saltwater ocean. I think that probably every navigable lake & river on the continent has its shipwreck story, but none is as famous as this one, because of Gordon Lightfoot.

  • @davidpost428
    @davidpost428 2 роки тому +11

    Gordon Lightfoot is a great Canadian singer/songwriter/storytelling poet with his songs. This song carries a wailing sound all the way through that chills the hearts of those of us who lived in the Midwest.

  • @HawksVox
    @HawksVox 2 роки тому +24

    As a very young teenager (maybe not even that) I had the immense good fortune to be allowed to sail with my father on the Fitz's sister ship, then called The Armco, as it made it's way from Duluth to Toledo with a load of taconite (raw iron ore). The Armco was the same ship in all respects including size, color, and crew. It was an amazing and hugely educational week-long voyage. Then I learned of the tragedy Gordon Lightfoot sings about here and I was absolutely devastated. The images of the captain, cook and crew were fresh in my mind. I had played quoits with one of them on one of the giant hatchway covers... I still get teary and I'm sixty-six now but it still haunts.

    • @jayjensen3241
      @jayjensen3241 2 роки тому +1

      The Armco isn't the sister, the SS Arthur B. Homer is.

  • @mikecobalt7005
    @mikecobalt7005 2 роки тому +5

    This Ballad is a classic; it get's people every time.

  • @madelinemaize9786
    @madelinemaize9786 2 роки тому +10

    I can't listen to this song without the tears flowing.
    Every time. It's haunting.

  • @stevep5819
    @stevep5819 2 роки тому +18

    One of my favorites. No guitar has even sounded more appropriate to a song, that haunting mournful quality chills my blood every time. Having sailed in stormy seas I have a tiny inkling of what they may have felt. The line you mentioned, "does anyone know where the love of god goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours" really strikes a chord.

  • @carldevries9108
    @carldevries9108 2 роки тому +11

    Some of the most powerful lyrics ever written.

  • @michelleslutpuppy4355
    @michelleslutpuppy4355 10 місяців тому +3

    It's brings me to tears when I hear the song almost everytime

  • @steplee6869
    @steplee6869 11 місяців тому +2

    The anguish in his voice and words and the haunting music ironically bring this tragedy to life in our minds . The power of the music is incredible. This is one song that definitely brings a chill to my skin and a tear to my eyes. RIP Gordon Lightfoot

  • @jimmythetout109
    @jimmythetout109 2 роки тому +41

    Saw Lightfoot decades ago in a small venue outside Philly , actually 1 decade BEFORE the Fitzgerald went down ... Loved him as a storyteller ...even then .

  • @thomascanfield9165
    @thomascanfield9165 2 роки тому +31

    After being a fan of Gordon for many years, I was amazed to see his actual writing desk in the documentary on AP. He used to sit in that little room for countless hours, crafting those great songs on music sheets, like an architect designs buildings. A really disciplined, hard working artist who put in the time.

  • @moonpie2866
    @moonpie2866 Рік тому +2

    This song means so much to those of us in Northern Wisconsin, on Lake Superior. Crying, weeping, flat -out bawling. It's hard to listen to, especially if you have a personal connection to it... and so many of us do.

  • @qdav5
    @qdav5 Рік тому +5

    Gordon was such a great poet. A wordsmith. The lyrics are beautifully crafted, and the haunting, dirge-like music brings it all together perfectly.

  • @maryhall4756
    @maryhall4756 2 роки тому +7

    Mariners Cathedral in Detroit is still there. One of the few and does a memorial every year on the day.

  • @jonathanmol4489
    @jonathanmol4489 2 роки тому +5

    I listen to these reaction stories often. This is a Great song by a Canadian artist. I always cry when I hear this song because I have compassion! If you have no emotions for a maritime disaster that took the lives of 29 shipmates, you are not human.

  • @charlesperez9976
    @charlesperez9976 Рік тому +14

    Hello,lovely friend.
    Those of us who live on the shores of the Great Lakes,which are actually inland seas,know and remember this song,and this event.
    The Edmund Fitzgerald was bound for Cleveland Ohio,to deliver Bauxite,iron ore,for the steel mill.
    Yes,the most heartbreaking moment in the song describes that moment of doubt about God.
    ‘Does anyone know
    Where the love of God goes?
    When the waves turn the minutes to hours?’
    This is the moment when that crew began to realize what was about to happen.
    It’s heartbreaking.

    • @charlesperez9976
      @charlesperez9976 Рік тому +2

      I live in Cleveland.
      This was their destination.

    • @judywein3282
      @judywein3282 4 місяці тому

      Michigan, here. THANK YOU for calling them inland seas!! That is what they are.

    • @charlesperez9976
      @charlesperez9976 4 місяці тому +1

      Thank you,you understand!
      Anyone who has witnessed one of these seas rage understands!
      You are from Michigan,where winter is one continuous lake effect snow event!!

    • @judywein3282
      @judywein3282 4 місяці тому

      ​@charlesperez9976 Yes! You also understand. People don't realize how Superior especially can rage unforgivingly. Take care!!

    • @bart7552
      @bart7552 3 місяці тому

      it was iron ore called taconite from the Mesabi range in Minnesota. Bauxite is aluminum ore and not found in the Great Lakes area.

  • @barbaramiller2279
    @barbaramiller2279 2 роки тому +7

    I get tears and goosebumps every single time I hear this song. Remember the event clearly as well.

  • @davidblake5603
    @davidblake5603 2 роки тому +10

    Great song! As an ex-sailor, I'm glad she appreciates the situation when you are in a big storm. "Does anyone know where the love of God goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?"

  • @victorbradshaw7359
    @victorbradshaw7359 2 роки тому +16

    Great reaction loved your honest response great job

  • @cosmickid1794
    @cosmickid1794 2 роки тому +7

    Greetings from Canada, eh!! I see you've met one of our national treasures, Gordon Lightfoot. A true "balladeer" whose catalogue deserves a deep dive, think you would love "Sundown". As a boy growing up in Windsor Ontario, border city of Detroit, I spent many a summer day on the banks of the Detroit River with my comics and pop watching the parade of majestic ships flowing each way on the river. The "FItz" I do remember seeing a few times, it was magnificent steaming along the river, you almost felt like you could reach out and touch it!! Mariners Church, mentioned in the song, is clearly visible from Windsor, in fact, when taking the Detroit/Windsor tunnel from Detroit to Windsor, you have to drive past it, which I have done it seems thousands of times. I've spent many a wonderful night in the great city of Detroit!! They salvaged the ships bell and it's at Mariner's Church. I'm not sure if they still do it, but on the anniversary of the sinking, they ring that bell 29 times. I've seen it bring people to tears. Glad you covered this song, I subscribed, found you reacting to Bruce Springsteen's 41 Shots, I was drawn in by Living Colours version, but as a 50 year, 30 plus concert going Springsteen fan, you can imagine where my heart lies, but, still a quality cover version. Looking forward to more reaction videos, and anything E Street, I'm your man!! Rock On!!!

  • @devmcg3237
    @devmcg3237 2 роки тому +2

    I was born in the same city as Gordon, Orillia Ontario.
    Everyone loves him in Canada, he's a legend.

    • @glen6945
      @glen6945 2 роки тому

      true love orillia canada

  • @kayh7982
    @kayh7982 2 роки тому +10

    I grew up in Michigan as well. My father was Commadoor of the Coast Guard Auxiliary. The Captain of the Fitzgerald was a music lover as well. Nicknamed Captain DJ as he used ships pa system to play loud music when coming into port. Jazz in St. Louis, Motown in Detroit and Rock and Roll in Cleveland.

  • @scooter196439
    @scooter196439 2 роки тому +14

    You can never go wrong with a Gordon Lightfoot song, he's part of the 60's/70's great singer song writers era. He usually plays a 12 string acostic guitar. You should listen to "If You Could Read My Mind"

  • @sheldorleconcher8870
    @sheldorleconcher8870 2 роки тому +2

    Always sends a shiver up and down my spine and makes the hair on my arms stand up!

  • @danaroy8596
    @danaroy8596 Рік тому +1

    Gordon had and incredible talent for music and lyrics. His ability to combine them to tell stories was amazing. You feel his music. Keep listening. Every song is worth experiencing.

  • @rhwinner
    @rhwinner 2 роки тому +26

    Although none of the bodies were ever recovered (Superior never gives up her dead), the sunken ship was quickly located: it had split in two pieces like the titanic...

    • @Holdfast1812
      @Holdfast1812 2 роки тому +3

      Precisely, just as Lightfoot offered, she "broke deep and took water." It is believed that in the large steep waves and shallow water, her bow hit bottom and broke her back. At that point, she would have gone down in minutes if not seconds.

    • @jamiegagnon6390
      @jamiegagnon6390 2 роки тому +1

      @@Holdfast1812 She may have been caught with bow and stern on high waves and her midships unsupported. This can be fatal to any ship but particularly to long narrow ships like the Great Lakes freighters.

    • @Holdfast1812
      @Holdfast1812 2 роки тому +3

      @@jamiegagnon6390 Not really, or at least not at her age. Waves, even large ones are a fact of life for ships. And while they all "work" in those waves in various ways from expansion joints to others, if any were so lightly built that they couldn't take those waves, they would never pass Lloyds, Bureau Veritas, or any other building inspection standards and therefor never get off the drawings. And even if someone wanted to go ahead and built them without those approvals, you would never be able to afford the insurance without it and therefore never be able to use the ship. What you describe CAN happen but it happens in old ships that have been heavily used for years and the metal has fatigued to the point where it factures - that wasn't the case with the Fitz. When they found here and inspected the way she broken up, and as the other Captain had surmised, in shallow water her stern was lifted by one wave and her bow went down to hit the bottom which broke her back. At that point, she would have gone down in minutes if not seconds - one of the reasons there was not even time to get a mayday off.

  • @rossmacintosh5652
    @rossmacintosh5652 2 роки тому +39

    I watched another reaction to this yesterday. Each time I listen the emotions get stronger and the waterworks flow with less resistance. Such an emotional song! Gordon is a master songwriter! Most of his songs pluck my heartstrings. Rxyce, I encourage you to explore more Gordon Lightfoot tunes! It is often said he is one of Canada's greatest song writers but that is wrong - he is one of *humanity's* greatest song writers.

    • @rossmacintosh5652
      @rossmacintosh5652 2 роки тому +4

      "And all that remains is the faces & names of the sons. the wives, and the daughters". Has ever a more poignant lyric been written? Those faces and names thankfully will live on. (I was able to track one lineage of my family back to the year 1049 AD. Most of the many generations are almost forgotten but I continue the name and likely some of the face to this day. We are part of a continuum.)

  • @celeste5873
    @celeste5873 Рік тому +1

    I was 21 when this song came out and it made me weep uncontrollably... . I'm 67 now and it just happened again... 😭

  • @michaelbettisworth8938
    @michaelbettisworth8938 2 роки тому +5

    It never gets old seeing people discover this song. It still brings me to tears hearing it twenty years after my first time. Great content

  • @happymethehappyone8300
    @happymethehappyone8300 2 роки тому +6

    GORDON LIGHTFOOT "IF YOU COULD READ MY MIND" & "SUNDOWN"

  • @ruthevers8558
    @ruthevers8558 2 роки тому +9

    Gordon Lightfoot is a treasure to humanity, and oh, he is a story teller.

  • @NRP1991
    @NRP1991 2 роки тому +7

    I absolutely love that I stumbled on this reaction video. I just actually discovered the song about a year ago. Totally became obsessed with the entire story. It’s a gorgeous song 🎶

  • @claire33ist
    @claire33ist Місяць тому +1

    I’m from Superior WI, lost my gramps, never met him. My dad was 10 years old…years later that same Taconite facility of BNSF, my dad worked for for 30 years….many MANY unseen pictures! She’s terrifying, gorgeous, always respect her! The bell rang 30 times last November, it’ll always ring 30 times now🩷

  • @SKOOKM
    @SKOOKM 2 роки тому +67

    I like his line about it being "the Witch of November come stealin'". Gives you the sense that the storm is alive and purposely seeking to harm you, rather than some happenstance of nature.

    • @jsbcody
      @jsbcody 2 роки тому +10

      It is alive. For some reason when the gales of November hit (imagine a hurricane with snow and ice, and they are really bad when they hit early), almost all the time when ships are lost, none of the crew are ever recovered, dead or alive. "The Witch of November" comes stealing for more lives and souls.

    • @bungholeshagnasty1724
      @bungholeshagnasty1724 2 роки тому +1

      It is powerful imagery.

    • @colleenross8752
      @colleenross8752 2 роки тому

      Do you mean the 'bitch' of November?

  • @sowellca6
    @sowellca6 2 роки тому +7

    An incredible song and story. Also, one of the saddest songs I've ever heard in my life...and I've heard it almost all my life, getting chills each and ever time it plays. The Tears can't help but flow.

  • @lorivandermotten4565
    @lorivandermotten4565 2 роки тому +1

    I lived in Green Bay and watched all those guys working on the ship.i was close enough to see their faces and wave at them ( the bridge was up, so I watched them quite a while). A few days later the ship was on the front page of the paper and I just cried. I think of that day every time I hear this song.

  • @kennethkauzlaric8948
    @kennethkauzlaric8948 2 роки тому +34

    The Great Lakes are some of the most dangerous lakes in the world. Lake Michigan and Lake Superior are the deadliest in terms of the number of shipwrecks and human toll, going as far back as the 18th century.

    • @badguy1481
      @badguy1481 2 роки тому +5

      The Eastland - 800+ Dead 1919 (Chicago River, Lake Michigan)
      The Lady Elgin - 300+ Dead 1860 (Northern Illinois, Lake Michigan)
      The Phoenix - 245 Dead 1847 (Sheboygan, WI, Lake Michigan)

    • @scottcarter6623
      @scottcarter6623 2 роки тому +5

      6000 Ships and 30,000 men and women. As estimate by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum

    • @MC-fv4vv
      @MC-fv4vv 2 роки тому

      @@scottcarter6623 Wow!

    • @johnyourek8887
      @johnyourek8887 2 роки тому

      I've seen some nasty storms on lake Michigan no comparison to waves from a hurricane in Florida

    • @JudithJongewaard
      @JudithJongewaard 2 роки тому

      @@scottcarter6623 Tears still come easily, their lives do not 😭

  • @Thyrwyn
    @Thyrwyn 2 роки тому +30

    He’s such a poetic lyricist. I’ve been a fan of his since teenage me discovered him in the 70’s. I finally got to see him live a few years ago. He’s still got it.
    Sundown, The Canadian Railroad Trilogy, If you could read my mind, … so many great songs.

  • @sanquis
    @sanquis 2 роки тому +2

    Length: 728′
    Construction started: August 7, 1957
    Launched: June 7, 1958
    Crew: 29
    Depth: 39 ft (12 m) (moulded)
    Captain: Captain Ernest McSorley

    • @MrBojangles110
      @MrBojangles110 2 роки тому +1

      You're right about who the Captain was when it went down. Peter Pulcer was the "DJ Captain" that Rogue referred to in her comments on the video, and he captained it for 17 years prior. Ernest McSorley was the one who went down with it. Spent much of my childhood on Lake Erie and heard many tales about the SS Edmund Fitzgerald but I'm still learning new things to this day. Also heard Gordon Lightfoot was irked Newsweek misspelled it "Edmond" which started him on his journey of honoring it. Gives me goosebumps every single time I listen.

  • @2Cambourne
    @2Cambourne Рік тому +1

    In the State of Florida, in the United States. Hurricane season starts from June till November. In the Great Lakes region of the United States those Hurricane winds start in November. And on November 10th, 1975, the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in the greatest lake of them all "Lake Superior." Twenty-nine men lost their lives within minutes before reaching whitefish bay. Canada's greatest singer/songwriter the late great Gordon Lighfoot died on May 1st, 2023. May he rest in peace. You left us all a great musical legacy. Thank you, Gordon Lightfoot. You will be missed.

  • @happymethehappyone8300
    @happymethehappyone8300 2 роки тому +15

    AN ABSOLUTE CLASSIC WITH A POWERFUL MESSAGE FOR US ALL,, RALPH MCTELL "STREETS OF LONDON"