The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot | College Students' FIRST TIME REACTION!
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He donated every last dime that he got for Royalties to the families of the Crew of the Fitz!! What a class act.
Indeed.
I didn’t know that. Part of me hates when people capitalize on the hardships of others and was just thinking about Gordon a few months ago and got a dirty feeling about millions he made of their deaths, but your post here, brings a huge smile to my face. Gordon shows top class doing that. A real man.
He also changed the lyric regarding the possibility that a hatch was left open when he sings it live when heard that loved ones say that they would never have made that mistake.
When they finally found the wreck years later, the family members went out to dedicate a bell with the names of the crew, and they invited Lightfoot, who attended.
@@mumbles215 further proof of Gordon's class was that he changed the lyrics for live performances in 2010 and on due to new evidence that there was no crew error involved in the sinking.
Gordon wanted nothing more than to honour the lost souls on that tragic night!
Gord is a class act, for sure.
“Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours” Gets me every damn time😭
yep.
Although I'm not the least bit religious, I admit that even I start bawling like a baby. 😭
I spent twenty years in the Navy, those words couldn't be more descriptive..... "when the waves turn the minutes to hours"!
It's the cook's "... fella's it's been good to know ya" that get's me.
The whole song is like a detailed newscast to me. He makes you see and feel what those men went through, right up until the end, and it has always brought a tear to my eyes.
Everything's subjective, but to me the "monotony" of the song is deliberate. It evokes the relentlessness of the incoming waves, and with that, the impending doom. The crew knew exactly what was happening, and there wasn't a damn thing to do about it. Resignation, rather than panic.
“Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?” is one of the most haunting lines ever written imo
Beautifully said. The pacing is deliberate and evocative.
I also thought it was meant to evoke a sea shanty because those tend to just stick to a rhythm and melody (since they're meant to get the crew working in sync with one another).
I've sailed Superior in November in a storm back when I was 10... Those were my dad's crazier days. 🙄 (Also, NO SALT!).
[Edit: back in 1992]
"there wasn't a damn thing to do about it."
Thus the captain saying, "fellas it's been nice to knowya"
In my opinion, this is the greatest "story telling" song ever recorded.
I am with you there 100 percent!
This a great song. I think Roads To Moscow is just as good, if not slightly better.
@@nellgwenn Can't argue as my comment below.
Slick Rick's children's story is also a really good storytelling rap song.
Canadian Railway Trilogy by him is right up there too.
You can’t vote or rate this song. Not a song like that. It’s a memorial and all memorials are A+.
Thank you, Pablo.
Cheers.
@@mumbles215 well said m8
Well said Pablo
Pablo, I agree totally. In like manner, The Ballad of Yarmouth Castle.
This song "literally" hit home for our family. For three days after the event, our family thought my great uncle Jack (Grandpa's brother) was onboard the EFG and perished along with the other 29 men because that was the ship he worked on. It was huge news in 75 and I remember as a 13 yr old, watching the broadcasts thinking about Uncle Jack. Then on the 3rd day after the sinking, Uncle Jack called my grandpa asking him, "did you hear about the Edmund Fitzgerald?". Grandpa tore him a new one! Uncle Jack was single and a tad socially inept and never thought his entire family beleived he had died. Turns out... he was on shore-leave for that journey, but he was dear friends with everyone on board. The song always gives me chills and always brings a tear to my eye.
Wow he was lucky and unlucky at the same time, must have haunted him for a long time.
Reading your story brought a tear to my eye as well. Very impactful. I always loved this song and sense the dread the crew must have been feeling every time I hear it.
Man, amazing ur family has that historical connection to this very song. Blessings 🙏🏼
@@ramonaalvarez7559 amazing, yes. However, some families were not as lucky as ours. I still feel for them. Thank you.
@@MLar80 Oh yes .. of course, that's why I said blessings .. meant for all loved ones connected to this tragedy. I just love history AND music .. this is both. Have a great afternoon ✌🏼
I'm a veteran of the US Navy who grew up less than a mile south of Lake Ontario in western NY. The Great Lakes demand respect, I've seen waves comparable to storms of the Atlantic and Pacific. Gordon Lightfoot is an incredible storyteller I grew up listening to his music on Canadian radio stations. He is a Canadian National Treasure .
I am also a veteran of the US Navy and was aboard the USS Enterprise in '69 when a fire on board killed 30 men. This is a powerful song. It is a man's song. And it's a story about a ship you would not have wanted to have been on. This song makes me feel their fear and how cold that water would have been.
Any large body of water can make even the biggest ships feel small when the weather is bad or the ocean decides to teach people a lesson as to who you have to respect.
My dad was in the Navy beginning his service in 1950. He was in the north Atlantic in '60 on the USS Bonn Home Richard. He told me there were 20 foot swells and the ship's expansion joints were banging back and forth. He told me that he and a buddy had to go from one part of the ship to another and the only way to do so was to venture outside to a catwalk. He told me he was hanging on to the railing for dear life when caught something in he peripheral vision. It was a Destroyer that was completely out of the water, he could see the keel, the screws turning and the rudder flapping. He said it hit a wave and went under water like a submarine. He told me he didn't think he had it so bad after that...
"The thing about a Gordon Lightfoot song is that you never want it to end." - Bob Dylan. Lightfoot himself considers this his finest work.
I do too,he is a fantastic artist!!
Gordon Lightfoot .."If you could Read My mind...excellent
Oh yes very good song 👍
Yes! Hope they'll do it!
Love that one. About surviving a divorce.
Most beautiful song ever!
His best song
“Does anyone know where the love of God goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?” I don’t know how you paint a better picture of the fear and desperation those men must have felt. Chilling.
That is the most haunting line I have ever heard in a song.
My favorite line in a song with many well written lines.
That's always been my favorite line from this song.
FACTS .. my favorite line in the entire song .. may be in any song for me anyway. Gordon Lightfoot was a extremely talented lyricists!! Seems always to give you food for thought ✌🏼
That's the line that always brings me to tears.
Read the comments, guys. Those of us who remember, we're all choking up every time we hear it.
So true
As a kid I was thrilled to hear my nearby Great Lakes put into a song. It was also my first experience with a song about loss and death.
Hard to hear it all the way through without getting choked up.
Yes! I remember when the news came across the news here in Minnesota. Everyone knows about the Fitz
Indeed
My Mother was a ship to shore marine operator. She was in communication with the ship that fateful night. RIP to the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald 😥
Wow. Incredible.
Prayers of comfort for your momma.
Wow their radio was out all that day and the only one they were able to get in contact with was the Arthur M Anderson and that was just moments before they went down..
Wow!!
I been at the shore of Lake Superior. A cold dark lake. You step off the shore thinking it’s shallow and you immediately are in a drop off.
This is an "S". This is music for grown ups. Real men doing real dangerous work plunged to their real deaths and left real loved ones to weep real tears. A real man who writes songs memorialized it all in lyrics and music that honored those men. Repetitive? A few million people spent good money buying that "repetitive" song in order to hear it over and over again, crying real tears for men they never knew because of a songwriter who knew men who died and how important it was to write this song. A "B"?
Well said! Context is always an issue with these ""younger people reacting to older music" type videos, but it really hits hard with this song. This song will always be hallowed ground for those that were around at the time.
To be fair, they really should be given that context before they listen to and review a song like this. That way they can appreciate this in a different way. Truth be told, I am gaining in appreciation for this song by reading all the comments here - including some from a few who were directly impacted by this tragedy.
Settle down. This was a fine discussion with lots of astute observations about the song and its context--including a recognition of the impact of the disaster on people.
To be fair, it is repetitive. And if you watch their stuff, you could kind of predict what rating they would give it. They rate songs on how much they like it, not how skillfully it’s made.
Note: I also think it’s an S tier song.
@@shaun374 I think we can appreciate songs in different ways. I respect this song a lot, but for me personally, my S tier would be songs that when they come on the radio (back when I used to listen to regular radio) I instantly “feel”, start singing along with, and wouldn’t DREAM of changing to another station. Much respect for the history of this song and what it meant when it came out, but as a piece of music, it doesn’t have the grip on me that my S tier choices do. I like the comment from Alex that it’s like poetry - I think he nailed it with that. This is all about the lyrics describing that tragic event.
This is one of those songs I don't turn off when needing to get out the car... I feel a duty to hear it to it's end.
I've always loved this song. Repetitive, on purpose, to the point of relentlessness. Relentless as the waves and the winds, so that the song carries the narrative. Haunting, and worthy of the sentiment it offers in memory of the precious lives lost.
Excellent description. It may not be for everybody, but I'm wiping away tears everytime I hear it.
The one line that absolutely tells it all is, “does anyone know where the love of God goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours”. That says it all.
I remember being particularly haunted by that line when the song first came out. Still speaks volumes.
One of the best lyrics in human history
This song turned a page three story into a timeless tragedy and serves as an ode to all lost mariners.
It wasn't a page three story in Michigan.
And the song was released nine months after the disaster.
Yes! For those of us in Michigan, it could have been anyone’s family and for some, it was. These guys don’t understand the history in this song. Every phrase means something. These guys need to do some actual research. I remember it. I heard the bells toll at Mariner’s church. These children need an education.
A page three story that couldn’t even be bothered to spell the ship’s name right. That’s why Gordon wrote the song. He was appalled at how carelessly the sinking was reported and how little attention it got.
"Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?"
One of the most chilling lines ever recorded.
The Red Sea has nothing on the Great Lakes.
Get goosebumps every time. And cry.
Yep.
My favorite is the line,
When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck
Sayin', "Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya"
At 7 p.m. a main hatchway caved in
He said, "Fellas, it's been good to know ya"
My thoughts are, "Oh hell. The cook knows we're going to die."
It's an ode and a dirge. You can't rightfully rate it. Great drums and a crying guitar. Gordon treated this event with dignity and paid homage to the power of the Great Lakes Lakes!
Ode. Dirge. Dignity. Yes, that’s it.
and so haunting.
@@LQOTW I remember this song being really big in the 70's and hearing it during the month of September. It was dreary outside. Every time I hear this song, it takes me back to that time and I can feel the cold wind and the dreary atmosphere. I love this song and it just makes me angry that these two weren't really moved by this song at all.
Oh guys, I hate to disagree, but his voice expresses an even sadness, and the sound effects of the music capture the storm from the wind in the wires to the struggle of the ship in a storm. Not a calm, sailing song. For storytelling, it is a great song...a tribute song. I was 15 and remember this story on the news and the search efforts.
Andy’s right. When this was on the radio in the 70’s it was S tier to us.
Now that they have a little background they should listen again along with the lyrics. Andy kind of got it but Alex and his B rating completely missed the overall brilliance of this song. S-tier all the way.
IT STILL IS
Brett L I loved it back then - I still love it. Always turned up the car radio when those opening guitar 'wails' were heard.
@@theodoreritola9758 - EXACTLY 💯
I was in highschool then and the song was on the radio a lot. I wonder if it was big outside Canada because I thought Canadian content rules meant it would be played a lot, much like other songs by Canadian groups. For example, were the Stampeders, Chilliwack or Trooper known outside Canada? A song like 'We're Here for a Good Time (Not a long Time)' was big across Canada back in the day, but did it get any airplay south of the border? 🤔
"Lightfoot became a mentor for a long time. I think he probably still is to this day." - Bob Dylan
“I can't think of any Gordon Lightfoot song I don't like. Everytime I hear a song of his, it's like I wish it would last forever. " - Bob Dylan
Nuff said?
I think Bob even gave the speech for Gordon into some “Hall” of sorts in Canada. Dylan doesn’t do that for anybody, you know. He didn’t even want to give a speech at Princeton for himself when the honored him with a doctorate in 1970 I believe. He wrote “day of the locusts” about that day as 1970 was on the 17 year swing of that rotation. Funny thing is there’s this paleontologist geezer I work with who was at Princeton that day doing studies, and he remembers that day. Said there was Locusts everywhere lol
High praise
"The only bad part of a Gordon Lightfoot song is when it's over"
The thing that sticks in my mind about the Fitzgerald's sinking was how quickly it happened. It took longer for you to react to the song than it did for the ship to sink. Think about that. The last radio transmission from the Edmund Fitzgerald's captain was "We are holding our own." Ten minutes later, she was gone. Lake Superior is one of the most treacherous bodies of water in the world, even for an experienced mariner like Captain McSorley. The situation can be under control, until very suddenly, its not.
And it was crazy how it just disappeared - so terrible for the families.
My jaw just dropped.... it happened THAT quick??
OMG!!??
@@gr33n3ggs4 For those 29 men, it would have been over before they even had a chance to feel it.
That is something that is known about Superior. Everything is fine, until it isn’t. It turns on a dime. And if you go in, you won’t be coming out.
All of the great lakes are not to be played with when they get mean I have seen 10 to 15 foot waves on Lake Ontario.
The song is in 3/4 timing so it rolls like the waves on the ocean. I haven't heard this song since the 70s but I was able to remember every word. This made Gordon Lightfoot a household name. Haunting genius song.
Yes, and in those days we heard it on the radio. It always stood out from the rest of music, and the story hooked you in every time. It was longer than most but you couldn’t turn it off before it was done. This was true whether you knew it was a true story based on a newspaper report or not: it seemed real.
Yes, ocean waves roll but so do large lakes. The Edmund Fitzgerald is at the bottom of Lake Superior not an ocean.
This isn't just a song by Gordon Lightfoot, it's a story, with detailed description of what/how this easily could have happened, set to music. Maybe because I'm old, but this coaxes a tear from my eye every time I hear it, and I've heard it hundreds of times over the years.
I agree with you. I live in Michigan and I’ve been to White Fish Bay and it’s beautiful there but it’s very sad. You look out over the water from the beach that looks like the ocean and it’s exactly where the ship went down and if only it could have made it 15 more miles into shore the crew would have lived. There is a beautiful, huge house right on the bay that is a museum filled with history of the ship and the crew members and a display case with a model of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Exactly Gary, I mean I was 5 at the time, and 51 now, but my experience duplicates your description. I was also from PA, and this got a lot of airplay from my local station as a kid. I’ve moved to my wife’s Michigan and the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum that includes a bunch of material on the Edmund Fitzgerald its at Whitefish Point, the gateway to Whitefish Bay mentioned in those lyrics - we included the visit to there in our Upper Peninsula honeymoon nearly two decades ago.
Its not because your "old", it's because you have a big heart.
@@lisamorrison2149 , 🙏
Gary Rogers Saw /Lightfoot in concert about 20 years ago, near Cleveland Ohio, in a small show hall. At the end of the show we all called for it and he played Fitzgerald as an encore.... Everyone in that theater left with tears on our cheeks! :'(
"The lake never gives up her dead" comes from the fact that the water is too cold for most bacteria to survive. Since the bacteria can't start the decomposition process, the bodies never bloat with gas and rise back to the surface. It wasn't until 1994 that divers found one of the crew's bodies.
interesting fact Wolfie
Same is true for Lake Tahoe. Miners were tricked into crossing the lake to receive their pay. They’re still there in the middle of the lake.
Sad...
wow....
@@theplanetruth I've seen stories on Lake Tahoe..it can really get bad as well!
Not only is the song haunting and beautiful, the repetition is purposeful. Each listen brings context. I swear I've heard this song 200 times and each time I pick up something different. It's one of my favorites of all time, gives me goosebumps always.
“The wind in the wires made a tattletale sound” damn
The lyrics "Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours" and "And all that remains is the faces and the names of the wives and the sons and the daughters" are absolutely bone chilling and get me every time I hear this song
Me too.
I sometimes turn off the radio when it starts. A little too much to take sometimes.
@@loosilu I agree... Sometimes I need to hear it, and sometimes I really, really don't.
Also, who writes of the 'icy water mansion?' Kids, today, just don't get it.
Same.
You have to rate this differently, its not an entertainment song as much as its a powerful memorial with powerful lyrics for those lost on the ship. Gordon Lightfoot donated 100% of the royalties to the crews families, what a class act.
It's an odd song to request a reaction to by two guys who critique musical aspects of songs above all else. I see many songs requested for reactions that seriously baffle me as choices and this was one of those.
@@andreaschmall5560 People want to hear everyone's thoughts, regardless if they agree with those thoughts or not.
@@MrJJandJim Why does that have to so with what I said?
@@andreaschmall5560 You said you were baffled by people requesting this song to be critiqued by A&A. People just want to know what think. You seem unhappy with how the song was talked about, so I just wanted to add my 2 cents, lol.
@@MrJJandJim Unhappy? No, not over this.
The language he chose to use really makes the song such a stand out. Phrases like "the ship was a bone to be chewed", "the wind and the lines made a tattle tale sound" and "Does anyone know where they love of GOD goes when the waves turn minutes to hours" all create such deep emotions in the listener, making you feel like you are there as events unfold.
This is a folk gem - a masterpiece of lyricism. What a memorial to the crew.
A true tragic shipwreck tale. Gordon has that voice that digs deep and pulls at your heartstrings. Next, "If You Could Read My Mind". Thanks A&A.🇨🇦💛
Ooh! I asked for no more of his songs but I forgot all about this one. That IS a good one! Always loved it! ~🌸~
I remember this song when I was about 11. I had always though that the song was about an event that had to be 100 years before, the writing was that good. Years later I found out it was actually a 1970's event, I little let down. But hey, does an 11 year old really follow the news that closely. Sort of like when I found out as that Scotland Yard wasn't some elite police force. In the movies and on tv they always say the are from Scotland Yard and it seems impressive. Sad to find out it was just a building. Anyway the song is a testament to the story telling of Gordon Lightfoot.
AGREE!! Great song!
"If you Could Read my Mind" got me through some serious breakups. Good choice.
Have to do “If You Could Read My Mind”! Also, really like “Carefree Highway” a lot.
Everything about this song is haunting. From the guitar tones, to his voice, to the rhythm section. and of course the lyrics.
One of the most beautifully haunting songs ever.
4:14--"He said fellas it's been good to know ya"....Gives me chills me every time.
The crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald are still down there, frozen in time.
And they’re still real men. Dying to feed and protect their family. Nothing more honorable.
Yes. The line about Superior never giving up its dead is more than a poetic flourish. It's deep and cold. Bodies on the bottom stay there.
Probably saponified.
SS Kamloops has a body there since 1927, called Old Whitey since he was saponified
I believe they found the wreck and brought up her bell.
I knew you'd trash the song. The fact that it didn't have a chorus was definitely going to annoy you
You forget, sometimes, what the purpose of music is, if it does have a purpose.
For me, great music makes one contemplate what the story is about. This song perfectly portrays that idea.
When we were laying on the beach and this song came on, the story captivated us. It didn't need a big production, in order to make us feel what it must have been like for the crew of the ship.
It transported us to the ship. It took us to a time when songs like this were being sung in fishing villages along the east coast.
It made us mourn for people we never knew and feel sorry for those who were left behind.
It is too bad that the art of telling a story through music has been lost.
Sorry, for me, this is an absolute A+ song, and I enjoy it, still, even after having heard it a thousand times.
I agree with everything you said, absolutely.
They’re basically kids. They’re barely millennials
@@mumbles215 I understand that. They are, however, very intelligent and are musicians in their own right.
@@mumbles215 I was over 10 years younger than they were when it happened and when this song came out, I felt it. Was haunted by it. There's almost a group "desensitization" in the younger generation these days. God, I sound old, but the fact that they can be so unmoved by this tells me a lot about how crappy and crude our education and pop culture is.
Very well said. They are missing the whole reason for this type of song. I was 16 when the Fitzgerald went down. I’ve heard this song hundreds of times and cry EVERY single time. Maybe they are too young or too hardened to tragedy.
This is a dirge for Edmund Fitzgerald, a telling of their story.
Dirge is a forgotten form. I don't remember where I first heard the word, but I knew, in my teens, that this song was a modern representation of the form.
It’s not a dirge………
One of the greatest songs about a real event I've ever heard, people who never will ever even see the Great lakes know this song and remember. And that makes the crew truly immortal.
"And all that remains are the faces and the names of the wives and the sons and the daughters." Gets me every time 😢
Yeah indeed, me too. The part about the cook sayin it was to rough to feed ya, and then the main hatchway gave in and says boys its been good to know ya.... Always tripped me out. I thought i heard this a lot as kid in early 70s drivin with my Mom to granparents house in Seattle listening to all kinds of am.. Shit i was almost out of high school when this came out. Weird, cuz it was very popular and got tons of radio time
‘The rooms of their ice water mansion’ is a line that always gives me a chill.
"S" tier song. I was 10 when this happened, and I tear up listening to this song. Life is more fragile than you realize.
My mom died when I was 6; she was buried with her copy of Gord's Gold.
This one was tough to get through without losing it.
Remember the tragedy well; I was 15 when it happened. It was on the news, in the papers, and talked about in school. And when the song was released the next Summer it was still rather fresh in our memories. First time I heard the song I cried. It was the biggest song of the 1976-77 school year. I still get misty-eyed when I hear it sung by Gordon. I've heard other covers of the song and none do it any justice.
He's telling a story - that's what he does. The instrumentation is what provides the emotions.
Gordon captured the story of the wreck so perfect in his music...he sets the power of it so eerily.
This is one of my all time fave songs, it’s so sad and haunting but a beautiful tribute to the families of the lost sailors
A favorite song among us Michiganders who have spent a lot of time on or along the great lakes.
I was in my late high school years when this sinking occurred. This song nearly always brings some tears.
A timeless piece. It'll still bring tears 100 years from now.
A weird/spooky thing to think about was there was another ship, the Anderson, that was taking the same route as the Fitzgerald and was sailing just behind them. The Anderson not only had radio communications with the Fitzgerald, but they were close enough they could see the Fitzgerald’s lights.
Imagine being in the Anderson looking at the Fitzgerald’s light off in the distance, a wave passes by, and then all of a sudden the Fitzgerald’s light are just straight up *gone* .
No lights, no radar. One second it was there, the next second, nothing.
Even crazier the Arthur M Anderson’s Captain was the last to speak to the Captain of the Fitzgerald. After they survived and made it to shore the Anderson went back into the storm, to look for survivors. Now THAT is crazy.
@@ravenzyblack It's pretty common for ships and rescuers to go out into the most wicked storms to try and find survivors. When the Carl D. Bradley split up and sank on Lake Michigan the coast guard was out in under 1hr. The storm that night was so strong that 36ft cutters couldn't even make any headway and were ordered to turn back. Another ship took four hours to cover 1.5miles, that's how bad the storm was.
This, guys, is a dirge… it’s not meant to be musically innovative or change a lot… just a musical background to lay the sad story on.
Lightfoot’s recordings are always beautifully produced. “If You Could Read My Mind” is my favorite of his... and achingly beautiful. It may end up being your favorite too.
"The Circle is Small" not really a hit - but still great (esp the later version IMO)
"If You Could Read My Mind" is the first GL I ever knew, from the radio. Beautiful, sad song. But my favorite is Don Quixote.
My favorite also , the The wreck of Edmund Fitzherald is second , November 10th 1975 , ironically the night of my first date with my future wife .
@@MikeCoggan so glad you said that.. it's such a great song and I think under appreciated
This song would stop me dead in my tracks every time I heard it back in the '70s. It would (and still does) instantly connect me to the ship and the crew. The drums and guitars send shivers down my spine. My sister lived in Duluth, MN for many years (which is across the harbor from Superior, WI) and visiting always meant spending time at the lift bridge and watching the lake freighters. Seeing those ships head out (and return) on that vast, icy lake is an emotional experience. Lightfoot's tribute is nothing short of a masterpiece. Every verse is lovely in its own way and not the least repetitive. (You guys might be a little too young to fully appreciate a song like this.)
I live along the south Shore of Lake Superior. If you had experienced the ferocity of the storms here during November, you would understand how perfectly Gordon Lightfoot captured essence, power, and mood of the Lake. He wrote a perfect song.
Guys, I really enjoy listening to your take on old music, but this is one time your youth failed you. This Song is iconic for a generation. It was not meant to be a banger. Instead, it was meant as a memorial. Whatever you or anyone else thinks it should or should not do stylistically, it serves its purpose PERFECTLY. As you mentioned, it is indeed like the songs of medieval bards who used their songs to broadcast the news of important events. The slide guitars dripping wet with reverb evoke the ghostly memories of those lost to the bottom of the lake. It is a meditation on a tragedy and it's steady beat and dynamics is a funeral dirge in honor of the fallen. Your cup of tea or not, this song is S tier in EVERY sense. You missed it on this one, but keep up the good work, I look forward to every video you release and will continue to do so!
Yeah, Andy & Alex really shit the bed on this one. As a native Michigander, I was really pissed. Hopefully, it was a lesson learned for them.
Yeah, it's repetitive. It's supposed to be like a sea shanty, which are supposed to be repetitive call and response - and many of them are about shipwrecks. Did you miss the viral sea shanty craze of 2020?
🤣
Funny you should mention that because I did miss it and my son just educated me this past Sunday on the craze.
I was thinking the same thing, but went searching for a comment like that. You made all my points.
It’s not fair to criticize a work for doing what it intended to do.
@@pigmeatmarkham898 Andy and Alex need to learn that some music is supposed to be repetitive. Sea shanties are specifically intended to pass the time.
@@loosilu Hey Girl .. You are on point today .. sizzling 😁😊
It's a solemn song. Gordon Lightfoot's emphasis of solemnity while telling the story makes sense for what the story is.
You boys missed the boat on this one. Downright embarrassing. Seen it reacted to by a wide range of reactors and not one has failed to comprehend the gravity of Lightfoot's words and be moved to contemplate the brevity and fragility of life. You guys might as well have been reacting to a corporate training film for all the humanity and gravitas you displayed.
Yeah, Andy & Alex really shit the bed on this one. As a native Michigander, I was really pissed. Hopefully, it was a lesson learned for them.
@@2199SPUDMAN give them a break, they're just kids reacting to a dirge. They're never seen the lakes or these iron boats and their music exposure is quite narrow. Let them grow. 10 years from now their take will likely be different
@@theccpisaparasite8813 Nope. My original criticism still stands. Alex has a very bad habit of being too flippant and interjecting smartass comments that add nothing to their reactions. From the very first notes, you can tell this song isn't a "banger"...that should have been a clue to listen and pay attention if not respect. Their review was totally disrespectful shit and they got called out for it.
@@theccpisaparasite8813 A lot of people don’t even know this is based on a true story, especially as we get further away from the sinking itself (coming up on 47 years). I feel like that knowledge is necessary to really get the full impact of the song.
I got the same impression. Boys, how about connecting with the history of this tragic event before listening to this song. Give yourself some perspective before diving into the song. The song can never capture all of the intricacies of the event, it is meant to evoke a deep feeling of that tragedy. If you know the history you know how emotional this song is. The fact that it was written a month after the sinking and dropped 6 months later, at that time really drove the tragedy home.
You guys missed the boat on this one! Mostly I love watching young people reacting to my music, but on this one I think you really need to be a grown up. My favourite song. At 65 and having listened to music all my life, I have to say this is one of the most emotional songs I’ve ever heard! It never fails to reach me, even though I’ve heard it well over 100 times! The older I get the more it gets to me. At 17 a nineteen year old dying is just another death, at 65 it’s a tragedy. I love this song! Does anyone know where the love of God goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours, What a line.
The repetition of the song echoes the repetition of the waves as they hit the ship. This is an A-tier song with S-tier goosebumps at various points. And the music has a totally maritime feel. Fantastic! Next Gordon Lightfoot song has to be If You Could Read My Mind.
now you're telling them to react to another Gordon Lightfoot song. When they have no appreciation for his songwriting art and they were disrespectful to the memories of the 29 people died in the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Brilliant response - I never put that together, but your post is right on target.
@@heyrobwest3908 Yeah, Andy & Alex really shit the bed on this one. As a native Michigander, I was really pissed. Hopefully, it was a lesson learned for them.
Everyone kind of misses this point in this song. There is a reason why he has the line in there about the cook not being able to feed them. They all died without a last meal. Even a man on death roll gets a last meal.
In a situation like that I don't think I would have much appetite anyway. Great line though.
If everyone died on the ship how does he know what the cook said?
@@brianhardy612 it could be artistic license, but they had ship to shore wire service. "The captain wired in he had water comin' in..."
I got that and posted earlier about it. That line and the one after about “good to know ya” are the ones that get me. Couldn’t even get their last meal. How sad.
I’m not a seaman but I think it’s implied when the seas are that heavy, one can’t cook. Maybe some sailor can confirm that.
It's a "sea shanty". A totally haunting arrangement - the great lead guitar work, the echo of the instrumentalists. This is a true classic. It's long, but when it's over, it still feels like it should go on longer. This is a great song!
Folk legend Gordon Lightfoot died yesterday at 84. RIP on that Carefree Highway!
Gordon Lightfoot is enormously talented and a truly decent human being. He can make a twelve string guitar sing right along with his beautiful vocals. “If You Could Read My Mind” is a must listen. Love your videos. ✌️
And he’s still at it.
I recently saw his “Canada Day “ video. Voice is a little shaky now, but at 82 YEARS OLD, ....
Still excellent.
📻🙂
The sinking sent shockwaves throughout the Great Lakes region; the lake freighters are a big part of the north coast culture. Gordon's song brought healing to many people... still does.
GL is such a vastly underrated song writer. Paints stories with his words. Huge fan. Glad you covered this guys.
Underrated? He’s renowned as a legendary songwriter. Admired by Bob Dylan, a national treasure in Canada. Underrated by who?
There have been over 6000 shipwrecks on the great lakes . And as many or more than 30,000 lives lost. This is a homage to not only the Fitzgerald, but every other ship that went down leaving loved-ones mourning 😢
Remember it like it was yesterday. Big news here in the Midwest - Chicago being on the shores of Lake Michigan. You can definitely see and feel what those Autumn squalls do to the lake. Scary stuff to imagine being out in it. So when the song came out it received heavy airplay here. Some songs sit outside of your ratings system, gentlemen. This might be one of them. It is what it is.
I'm a little surprised at how emotionally untouched they are by this song.
Maybe it's an age thing. Death seems so remote when you're in your 20s. Life hasn't beat you down too much yet. Some reactors really get affected by this song, some don't. Maybe it's a life experience type of thing.
@@amyz2837
I think it's part that, and part that they don't actually listen to the song. They tend to listen to the production and the like. When they are commenting on the drum sounds you know that the meaning of the song is lost o n them.
@@Matt-fv2qb Agree. You make a great point. Their loss, don't you think? Music is supposed to make you FEEL something and if you only concentrate on production or guitar solos, you miss the deeper meaning that's going to touch you.
It's an event that is outside their age groups collective memory. Like he said he thought it was in the 1800s, not recent. If he knew it was a little closer to home up front he may have reacted differently. Plus, as others have said, they are listening more to the way the songs are put together.
Yes, I was a bit disturbed by how emotionally distant they are to the event. Whether it happened 50 years ago or 150 years ago, it was still a national tragedy. It seems that there is a large gap in sensibilities towards one's country and one's people in the younger generation. I was a tween when this happened, and I still remember how sorrowful we were. The song and what happened haunted me.
The best line ever written in any song imo: "Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?"
In my mind this is S-tier song. His story telling is so superb that it makes it almost like a personal account of the event itself. Drums were so tasty and added depth as well as more emotional impact.
The Story-Song done to perfection by one of the great songwriters. There is actually a rather sizable sub-genre in Folk music comprised of songs about The Great Lakes. This song was a big hit on Top 40 radio one year after the 1975 accident and made it all the way to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
“And all that remains is the faces and the names of the wives and the sons and the daughters”. Gets me every time. Story telling at its finest.
Dude, a B????? Wrong!!!! It evokes the chill of the horror of it, like how the cook came on deck and said "fellas, it's been good to know ya"
You guys should pay more attention to lyrics. There's nothing repetitive about the lyrics at all, except the first verse is also the last. It's a sprawling ballad that connects the ancient lore of the Great Lakes to modern events. Gives you shivers if you've ever been on the lakes.
Grew up listening to Gordon Lightfoot. You couldn’t avoid him on Canadian radio. This one makes me tear up to this day. He writes a variety of songs, some historical, some about relationships. He is an artist you guys should explore further. My favourites are the Canadian Railroad Trilogy, Sundown, Black Day in July, and for a not so happy Christmas song Circle of Steel. Thanks for listening to him.
For the winter holidays, Song For a Winter's Night.
Me too, every time I listen to this song I go down the Lightfoot rabbit hole. I was 14 when this happened and I remember it being in the news. Sad
I was young at the time too. And Dad being in the military made me start to think he might not come home from things the military sent him on too. It’s when I started to think more like an adult.
My favorite story telling artist is Jim Croce. If You Could Read My mind is my favorite Lightfoot song
Yes, Croce should be added to your list.
Yep. Croce is good stuff. "Operator" is amazing, though I always wonder how it will translate for kids who've never used a payphone and maybe don't even know what an operator is.
@@AdamMcGahan I heard that song just a couple of weeks ago. I had to laugh when I heard the line "You can keep the dime" - not even a quarter, but a dime, and I thought, there aren't very many out there any more who would even get that reference.
Yes! Croce, Lightfoot, and Harry Chapin----all great musical storytellers. We were blessed with a bunch of them.
As a Canadian, I can say that he is a folk hero and a Canadian Singer/Songwriter extraordinaire. This song is eerie and he sings it like a bard.
"Does anyone know, where the love of God goes, when the waves turn minutes to hours".
I have always considered that to be one of the most poignant lines of poetry ever written.
Andy nailed it. The cultural significance of the song for the people that were alive when the shit went down. Ohio is exactly the same. Great comparison. For me, turning 57 in two months, it's an S. I can understand that younger people wouldn't dig it as much. It wouldn't have the same impact on you. Musically, there's not much that stands out about the song. But us old folks are ok with that. Gordo was a singer/ songwriter and the lyrics carry the most value in that genre.
I always thought this song was very distinctive in its sound. Like a lament at times.
What is this S?
@@BobbyGeneric145 A&A rate songs based on the scholastic grading system at their college. Don't know if it's widespread in college or exclusive to their school, but apparently you can score above an A+. They call it S-tier. I guess it's kinda like getting extra credit for spelling your name right in kindergarten. Anyway, it's a rating reserved for the best of the best.
I think that depends on your reactor. I listen to Rob Squad Reactions and they are 20-somethings and they reacted to this and truly appreciated it. They got it. It's not age. It's indifference. These two really didn't care nor respect the story.
@laurellane1721 I watch them too. Amber provides great insight and perspective that many reactors don't, or can't. Once she joined the channel and got comfortable in front of the camera, their channel improved 1000% and their subs show it.
The lyric, "Where does the love of God go when the waves turn the minutes to hours", is one of the greatest lyrics ever written.
"the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral The church bell chimed 'til it rang 29 times For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald" The church is downtown Detroit on Jefferson Ave. There is a plaque posted there that gives tribute to the Edmond Fitzgerald. The church is still there.
And just this past week they rang the bell 30 times, one chime extra in memory of Gordon Lightfoot.
The whole, "Well, I guess you had to be there" line of reasoning surprises me. I thought it was a beautiful, dark and haunting song throughout my childhood. I didn't know it was a true story until maybe 15-20 years ago.
You were moved by it because you have empathy.
The storytelling is beyond compare. Conveys the feeling of imminent doom.
Some stories need to be told and Gordon Lightfoot was the right man to tell it through song. Incredible songwriting.
I think the relentlessness of his voice and the music, was meant to represent the relentlessness of the waves & water that the crew went through.
Storytelling songs on the radio were big in the 70’s. “Ode to Billy Joe” by Bobbie Gentry is a Must!
I grew up on the shores of lake superior, this song was a HUGE deal. This was the biggest ore boat on the lakes and shipwrecks like this were only a memory until that night. When superior gets pissed, it might as well be an ocean! Also, this is just one of his shipwreck songs of his. The ballad of the Yarmouth Castle is fantastic too!
Ontario, Wisconsin, Minnesota or the UP?
Same. Grew up outside of germfask and spent a lot of time on Michigan and superior.
@@normanleroy1874 Duluth, MN is my hometown. Im now in central ohio. I miss the water badly, but not the winters. Busiest Port on the great lakes and the furthest inland port which ocean going vessels can dock
I was there just west of the Sault that evening. I could have seen Whitefish Bay if the rain and wind wasn't blinding. You are so right. When Superior get riled up, there is no hope but to pray for protection and deliverance from the peril. May God have mercy on those that sail the inland seas.
@@brandonlbartlett I always thought Duluth looks so beautiful. Aren't parts of the city on high cliffs or hills overlooking the lake? A very special place.
You guys were talking during the best line of the song! LOL
Haunting. It's the perfect word to describe this song.
I'll add my vote for "If You Could Read My Mind" as the next Lightfoot song you review.
Gordon and this song mean a lot to us Michiganders 💙 Thank you for this one. Love seeing all the facts people are posting, you all really know your stuff :) 👍🏼
The Edmund Fitzgerald was a 729', 13,600 ton lake freighter.
She sank on Nov 10, 1975. She is the largest vessel to be lost on the great lakes.
Am I back in school? Just the facts.😎
@@jeffschielka7845 No. you couldn't be in school, they don't use hammer and chisel to take notes anymore. 🤣
@@chriso6719 Smartass!😎
@@jeffschielka7845 😛😎
@@chriso6719 😎
The thing that hits me about this song is that it feels very medieval. It's in the tradition of bards reciting history, which we don't do anymore, and even the key is an update of a medieval mode that is neither major nor minor (and hence spooky.)
To those of us alive at the time, this never fails to make us feel the tragedy again. Ship captains today still ring their bell when they pass the spot.
This is an S song for those of us that were around then. It hits home and the emotion just let's loose. "And all that remains are the faces and the names of the wives, the sons and the daughters." So powerful.
As storytellers go this is the creme de la creme, utter class.
You talked over the best line, "does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours".
good thing they talked over it becaus.... disrespectful ******** crap about it.
Yeah, Andy & Alex really shit the bed on this one. As a native Michigander, I was really pissed. Hopefully, it was a lesson learned for them.
The news story was well-known and the song quickly became a top 40 hit. I was a jaded teenager of 14, but I remember crying when I heard it played on the radio.
This song is on the same level as Dylan’s Hurricane. It is a great example of how to tell a story through song. Folk tradition.