Songs can come from anywhere. Most songwriters look inward for their lyrical content, but some songwriters like to take inspiration from the world around them. In 1976, Gordon Lightfoot wrote one of the most iconic songs about a historical event, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” Fifty years after the namesake wreck, let’s take a look back at the meaning behind this folk rock staple.
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[RELATED: 5 Cool Gordon Lightfoot Covers in Commemoration of the Late Canadian Folk Legend]
Behind the Meaning of Gordon Lightfoot’s “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”
Most songs about historical events are written many years after the events themselves. It takes a while to know what events will be consequential and which ones will fade from memory. The Edmund Fitzgerald’s wreck was instantly marked as an event worth writing about from Lightfoot’s perspective. Shortly after the wreck itself, Lightfoot penned this ballad.
Lightfoot himself spent time on the Great Lakes, knowing the story of the wreck intimately. Hoping to bring a little more light to this maritime tragedy, the artist wrote this song in commemoration of the 29 people who died aboard the namesake ship.
The Composition
The melody in “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” borrows heavily from traditional Irish music. This gives the song a haunting and mystifying appeal. Layered over the basic refrain are narrative-style lyrics that outline the wreck itself.
Lightfoot drew inspiration for the lyrics from a Newsweek article titled, The Cruelest Month. The article memorialized the event, but Lightfoot felt he could do more.
The line The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead / When the skies of November turn gloomy, lays the groundwork for this cinematic story. Like any good folk tale, this song layers on the mystique and atmosphere. The ship fell victim to a storm on the Great Lakes, which is fodder for a song about fate and mortality.
The captain wired in he had water comin’ in / And the good ship and crew was in peril / And later that night when his lights went outta sight / Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, the lyrics read.
Lightfoot considered this song one of his greatest achievements as a songwriter, and we have to agree. It takes a particular writer to be able to sum up such a monumental event so succinctly.
Lightfoot went even further than writing this eulogy in honor of the fallen crew members. As new information came to light, Lightfoot was known to change lines to reflect the event better. This speaks to the duty Lightfoot felt he had in immortalizing this wreck. Revisit “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” below.
(Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
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