# "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 16, 2002, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/137033 "2002-11-16T16:04:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/137033/21 "2002-11-18T14:22:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guinastasia \* > … when they brought up the bell from the ship and replaced it with one engraved with the names of the crew members. Does this mean that they made a new bell with the names engraved on it and actually put it on the sunken ship? ---
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/137033/22 "2002-11-18T16:13:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FlyingDragonFan \* > \*\*Does this mean that they made a new bell with the names engraved on it and actually put it on the sunken ship? \*\* Yep. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/137033/23 "2002-11-18T17:32:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CaptMurdock \* > \*\*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: > > * * * No reason to come up with new lyrics. I’ve seen the original song clear out an industrial-size party in less time than it takes to play all the way through. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/137033/24 "2002-11-18T17:37:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kunilou \* > \*\*No reason to come up with new lyrics. I’ve seen the original song clear out an industrial-size party in less time than it takes to play all the way through. \*\* Oh, I didn’t come up with the lyrics. Jeni just made up those lyrics in his act to quickly illustrate how depressing that song is. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/137033/25 "2002-11-18T17:50:24Z")
Beaver hunt? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/137033/26 "2002-11-18T18:02:43Z")
I read the main reason he wrote the song was he was angry that in the newspaper, they kept misspelling the name of the ship, and that angered him-they didn’t have enough respect for the victims of the tragedy. Or something. I’m doing a search. [http://www.ssefo.com/remembrances/song.htm](http://www.ssefo.com/remembrances/song.htm) > [@](#): > > Gordon Lightfoot usually is very protective of this song and the wishes of the family members and is in no way “for” exploiting the victims, or their family members. He also appeared at several 25th anniversary memorial services in support of the families and is in personal contact with many of them. Interviews with families… [http://www.ssefo.com/features/interviews/index.htm](http://www.ssefo.com/features/interviews/index.htm) > [@](#): > > Question: What are your feelings on Gordon Lightfoot’s song, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald? > > Answer: The song keeps the legend alive. It also tells the story. I have honestly hardly been able to listen to the song all the way through, though. Even 25 years later. Mr. Lightfoot really got to the heart of everything when he wrote that song. [http://www.ssefo.com/features/interviews/shills.htm](http://www.ssefo.com/features/interviews/shills.htm) [http://www.ssefo.com/features/interviews/bwilhelm.htm](http://www.ssefo.com/features/interviews/bwilhelm.htm) Someone else said: > [@](#): > > Question: What do you like least about all the hype surrounding the wreck? > Answer: Well, for one thing, we were all very upset when Gordon Lightfoot came out with his song. It was too soon, and he knew no more than the rest of us. Let it go. [http://www.ssefo.com/features/interviews/msoronen.htm](http://www.ssefo.com/features/interviews/msoronen.htm) > [@](#): > > Question: Do you like/appreciate the song by Gordon Lightfoot? > Answer: I love it. I think it is great, and I really appreciate it. > > Question: Have you ever met Gordon Lightfoot in person and discussed his ballad with him? > Answer: Yes, at Mariner’s Church in Detroit. I gave him a big hug and thanked him. [http://www.ssefo.com/features/interviews/jobrien.htm](http://www.ssefo.com/features/interviews/jobrien.htm) So it seems to be a mixed bag. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/137033/27 "2002-11-18T18:54:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by carnivorousplant \* > \*\*Beaver hunt? \*\* Humour. Interpret at will. But if I ever meet the person who managed to make the national animal a double entendre I will shake his hand-- and hand him a beer. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/137033/28 "2002-11-18T19:13:43Z")
Ah. Humor. A difficult concept. I cannot but praise a country that limits how many commercials may be shown on television. ---
**Author:** ![agentfroot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@agentfroot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/agentfroot)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/137033/29 "2002-11-18T20:56:37Z")
The funny thing about the Gordon Lightfoot song? You can sing the lyrics to almost any song to its tune. Whenever I was in my dad’s car in high school, I’d put on his CD and we’d sing random songs to the tune. Several Christmas carols go great to the tune. And for the record, I have no idea what the REAL lyrics are! Hah! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/137033/30 "2002-11-18T21:06:05Z")
Jingle bells Jingle Bells from the Chipawaw on down… Say what? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/137033/31 "2002-11-18T21:07:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Athena \* > \*\*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. \*\* I’m pretty sure it went down in Canadian waters. ---
**Author:** ![thermalribbon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@thermalribbon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thermalribbon)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/137033/32 "2002-11-18T21:26:20Z")
GEORGE: Gone. (Moves over to a chair in the living room. Kramer takes the carton of food to the table, and begins eating) The tenant association made me give it to this guy because he was an Andrea Doria survivor… ELAINE: Andrea Doria? Isn’t that the one they did the song about? JERRY: (Correcting her) Edmund Fitzgerald. ELIANE: I love Edmund Fitzgerald’s voice. JERRY: (Gives Elaine a look) No, Gordon Lightfoot was the singer. Edmund Fitzgerald was the ship. GEORGE: (Talking about his would-be apartment) You could fit 15 people in that bathroom… ELAINE: I think Gordon Lightfoot was the boat. JERRY: (Sarcastic) Yeah, and it was rammed by the Cat Stevens. ---
**Author:** ![Sgt.J](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sgt.J](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sgt.J)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/137033/33 "2002-11-18T21:37:35Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m pretty sure it went down in Canadian waters. “The Edmund Fitzgerald was lost with her entire crew of 29 men on Lake Superior November 10, 1975, 17 miles north-northwest of Whitefish Point, Michigan.” from [here.](http://www.shipwreckmuseum.com/edmundindex.html) If you look at [this big honkin map](http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/united_states/michigan_90.jpg) it looks close to the line, but even without a legend for scale I think it’s still in US waters. I’m from MI and eyeballed a few reasonably known (to me) distances. Even if it was 17 mi due north I think it’d be on the US side. ---
**Author:** ![chukhung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e79b87/32.png) [@chukhung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chukhung)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/137033/34 "2002-11-18T23:00:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sgt. J \* > **I think it’s still in US waters.** Well, the best answer to this question that I found online is this site, [http://main.blclinks.net/~sshort/shipwrecked/grtlakes/superior/whitefsh/fitzart5.htm](http://main.blclinks.net/~sshort/shipwrecked/grtlakes/superior/whitefsh/fitzart5.htm), which says > [@](#): > > Those interested in the wreck include documentary filmmaker Fred Shannon, who shot it last summer from a research submarine. Shannon sued unsuccessfully this spring to prevent retrieval of the bell. He argued that part of the wreckage is in American waters, so the project requires state approval. Lansing, Mich., Judge Lawrence Glazer said there was no proof of that: all charts indicate the Fitzgerald rests in Canadian waters. I haven’t found any transcript of this ruling (or any other direct reference to it) online. I think the above is legit, but I can’t prove it. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/137033/35 "2002-11-19T00:12:16Z")
Yes, but remember, the ship was the pride of the American side. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/137033/36 "2002-11-19T00:27:00Z")
And as the big freighters go, it _was_ bigger than most! ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/137033/37 "2002-11-19T01:14:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kunilou \* > \*\*No reason to come up with new lyrics. I’ve seen the original song clear out an industrial-size party in less time than it takes to play all the way through. \*\* I’ll stick with my old reliable, “Seasons in the Sun” by Terry Jacks. I have a tape that winds down Side B with Dear Prudence, Sundown, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, , Cats in the Cradle, and Seasons in the Sun. My wife calls it the “funkiller.” BTW, this will be in my head all week. I can already see me saying inapproproate things in meetings, like “Superior they said never gives up her dead when the gales of November come earr-LEEEE!!” ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/137033/38 "2002-11-19T02:42:04Z")
Add “Honey”, “Watching Scotty Grow”, and “MacArthur Park” to that, and that disc should be banned. Still, there’s something compelling about the song “Edmund Fitz”. I guess living on Lake Michigan all my life, and sitting watching the storms roll in contributes to my tolerance for the ballad. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/137033/39 "2002-11-19T02:46:53Z")
We could sell it on EBay; “This CD was banned in Sweden, which has the highest suicide rate in the world”. Cool. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/137033/40 "2002-11-19T03:00:14Z")
Add “Last Kiss”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/137033.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/137033.md?page=3)