The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is remarkable because of the whole impression that it gives. Initially, if I were told that an artist was going to write a song about such a catastrophic event, and the brave people who make their living day in and day out in perilous situations, as Merchant Mariners do, I would dismiss it as trite. I would have considered the topic too sacred to be turned into pop music. However, somehow Gordon was able to write with his characteristic brilliance about the heroic efforts of everyday men working to support their families in an industry that is both rewarding and merciless. Anyone who has relied upon the fickle sea for their livelihood lives with that haunting tune in the recesses of their being, knowing that the sea is selective.
Gordon did a great honor to the those 29 men in writing the Wreck, and that honor is appreciated by so many.
Yarmouth Castle also tells a story well, but the focus of the Wreck on the individuals who died in service to the vessel that was their home and sustenance is truly compelling, at least to me.
"...All that remains
is the faces and the names
of the wives, and the sons and the daughters..."
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