Newsweek, November 24, 1975

[dad2mak]

Is there a link anyone knows of to the Newsweek article from which GL wrote "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"?

[johnfowles]

Is there a link anyone knows of to the Newsweek article from which GL wrote "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"?
The nearest Mr Google could get was on:-
http://www.oceantreasures.org/videos,gordon-lightfoot-the-wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald-21885.html
as copied verbatim on:-
http://cedarcreekvoice.wordpress.com/2008/11/16/the-wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/
""According to a legend of the Chippewa tribe, the lake they once called Gitche Gumee 'never gives up her dead.'" -- Great Lakes: The Cruelest Month, James R. Gaines with Jon Lowell in Detroit, ©1975 Newsweek Magazine
Thus began the Newsweek article in the issue of November 24, 1975. That lead and the news magazine's dry story inspired Gordon Lightfoot to write one of the greatest "story songs" ever."
those two web pages go on to say
"On November 10, 1975, an ore carrier – the Edmund Fitzgerald – sank in Lake Superior during a November storm, taking the lives of all 29 crew members. Later that month, Gordon Lightfoot, inspired by that article in Newsweek Magazine, wrote what is probably his most famous song: “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”"

Actually recently Gord has not only changed his lyrics but in a recent telephone interview and in his latest concert introduction instead of giving credit just to the Newsweek article as he has for years he has changed his story about the inspiration for the song and has been saying that he started work on the lyrics a mere 3 1/2 hours later when he saw the news report on television. Now considering that the Fitz sank on November 10th if he had started writing on the10th the fact that he probably could not have read the Newsweek article in the issue dated the 24th until two weeks later (both the 10th and 24th in 1975 were on a Monday see http://www.kernow/notlong.com) might only mean that it provided details to help Gord construct the chronologically correctly structured and factually rich story that he has often crowed about
Err Umm I take that back about Mr Google
I have just found
http://backissues.com/issue/Newsweek-November-24-1975
BUT that won't do anybody much good because
at the moment
"Unfortunately, this item is currently out of stock"

[johnfowles]

While we are on this subject as well as saying that he saw the television news 3 1/2 hours after the Fitz sank Gord has been saying the tune he used was an "old Irish dirge".
As in an article that Char recently highlighted at:-
http://www.irishcentral.com/IrishAmerica/The-Sinking-of-the-SS-Edmund-Fitzgerald-103052314.html
"The song proved so evocative that Irish singer-songwriter Christy Moore used Lightfoot’s melody when he recorded the song “Back Home in Derry"
I suspect that this has been displayed here before but here is Christy Moore singing this particularly evocative "dirge"
YouTube - christy moore-back home in derry, glasgow barrowland 6.4.07

[jj]

"The song proved so evocative that Irish singer-songwriter Christy Moore used Lightfoot’s melody when he recorded the song “Back Home in Derry"
I suspect that this has been displayed here

john, you may enjoy another live link from 02-21-2009 post...if not, please do

http://www.corfid.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=19354

[229Mick]

I saw this:

http://www.4shared.com/get/UbbNRoHJ/The_Cruelest_Month_-_Edmund_Fi.html

[johnfowles]

I saw this:

http://www.4shared.com/get/UbbNRoHJ/The_Cruelest_Month_-_Edmund_Fi.html
Nice one Mick (why 229 is that your lucky number??) and welcome to the forums it is a fairly large pdf file but you can see the inspiration behind the lyrics straight away;-
the lake they (the Chippewa) once called Gitche Gumee "never gives up her dead"
amd "a minister offered prayers... tolled the church bell 29 times