first, I was wondering who EF was & why they named a ship after him- I didn’t find much but enough to satisfy me for a while, but then I realized something…
I thought the Wreck occurred back in the 1950’s- but nope, the ship was built then- it occurred in 1975- only a YEAR before Gordon Lightfoot wrote the song!
So what was the reaction of the surviving family members of the
departed crew to that song?
There’s an interesting book about the wreck, but I can’t remember the title of it. I have an idea it’s Gales of November. Anyway, the reaction of the surviving family members was pretty much what you’d expect – they hated it. When the song became popular, it was like reopening an old wound every time it came on the radio.
CJ
The ship was owned by Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company of Milwaukee and named for its president and chairman of the board.
nt
Here are 3 threads about the old E. Fitz, with a ton of links which should answer most questions.
I would just like to state - and this is totally a drive by post- that the infamous song is one of Mr. Ujest’s favorites
One assumes the song wouldn’t have been as popular if the company chairman had the relatively unharmonious name of Stanley K. Cantanawicz.
From what I’ve read on various Fitz sites, Lightfoot was very popular among the crew’s families, and he tends to be very protective of the song. He was also very involved in the cause of the families and was present when they brought up the bell from the ship and replaced it with one engraved with the names of the crew members.
If anyone wants to get a first hand look at some of these freighters, there’s a little hotel in Thorold, Ontario near Niagara Falls which is on Lock 7 of the Welland Canal where you can sit on your balcony or on the grass outside your hotel room and watch the boats got through the lock. I’ve done it a few times, and it’s a really impressive sight! Some of the boats look to be only about a foot or so narrower and shorter than the lock, and, if you look up the statistics, that’s not far off.
CJ
A lot of the wreckage from the ship is in a museum in Northern Michigan (Sault Ste. Marie, if I recall). At least it was twelve years or so ago when I was there.
Dr. J
Actually, the only wreckage from the ship is the ship’s bell, which is at the museum at Whitefish Point, north of Paradise, Michigan. The bell was salvaged, and replaced with an engraved memorial.
Did that include donating any or all of the proceeds from the single to them?
On a not entirely unrelated note, the line where the cook tells them that “it’s too rough to feed you.” and then later, “it’s been good to know you.” cannot have happened, even figuratively, because the cook was at home with the flu the night his ship went down.
Keep this bit of useless knowledge in mind when you’re searching for a phone-a-friend.
Since this thread’s already here, I’d like to wish Gordon Lightfoot a happy birthday!
(Easy to remember since it’s also RuPaul’s, Danny DeVito’s, Martin Scorsese’s and Bob Scene’s birthday.)
Happy Birthday **Bob Scene **
And **Doctor J ** I would like to say you are totally correct.
I was at White Fish Point about six weeks ago. All the EF memorablia you could ever wish for is located at the museum.
You were in the UP and didn’t stop by and say hi? Tsk, tsk, Shirley!
(ok, ok, White Fish Point is a good 3 hours from where I live… but still!)
Anyway, I watch the ore boats go in and out all the time. Them’re big boats. BIG boats. I always watch 'em and wonder how my nice, pretty lake got big enough to break one of them in half. Then again, it’s November, and the wind off the lake is starting to get cold. VERY cold. I nearly froze my butt off running on the bike path next to the lake this afternoon!
Richard Jeni (the standup comedian) had a funny bit about this song. If you have a party and want to get rid of your guests, this song will supposedly clear out your house in five minutes:
“And a wave hit the boat, and they all died like rats,
As they lay there, and their lungs filled with water!”
[nasal version of the guitar riff]
“And on the shore, the wives had no insurance,
And the children turned to drugs and prostitution!”
I’m just running in to mention— that I’m Canadian, and I have never ever heard this song in my life, I know nothing about the ship called the Edmund Fitzgerald, and I plan to remain this way until I go to my grave. Even though we’re all legally required to know the lyrics and sing it at group demonstrations supporting the annual beaver hunt.
I’m also doing pretty good on my vow not to learn how to knot a tie until I’m at least 30.
d&r
er… last I heard the Edmund Fitzgerald was an American ship that sank in American waters. I’m not getting the Canadian link here at all.
Gordon Lightfoot.