[Sydney Steve]

The "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald " was obviously a major tragedy but there is one thing that does not improve it.
Having to apologise to the not very humble Baronet.
Some time ago he referred on this forum to the "dirge" (he was writing of the TWOTEF) . I took some level of umbrage in a reply as the term in most common useage. in Aus. is (pretty much purely) derogatory and would imply that it was a funeralesque sounding tune .
The quote from above : " He wrote it to the tune of an Irish dirge he heard when he was 3 ". I was not aware that this was a descriptor that was not necessarily derogatory.

Apologies John. It seems in hindsight you had done your research rather than were passing a personal judgement on the merits of the sound of the song.
I would be interested (if it existed anywhere on the net ) to hear the basis of " the dirge” in it's old pure form circa 1945 ish . Now there’s a challenge.