Nice cover! From another diehard Lightfood fan.

Glad you liked it Lance. We only make the music we love, and sweat blood and tears to do it ha ha. The Wreck is a classic and keeps the memory of the lost 29 alive to this day

Nice cover..very true to the original..please check out our cover too ..it was done a few years ago at a friend's request (it's on our soundcloud profile)..think Linda did a good job with the vocals..keep on creating great music..Tom

Thanks Tom. Tried to keep it true to the original without trying to be the original, if you get me. A tricky song to do but am pleased how it came out. Will check you out on SoundCloud 👍

The new album from Goodnight, Texas due out on August 5 on Tallest Man Records. 

http://hiwearegoodnighttexashowareyou.com 
https://www.facebook.com/goodnighttexas
http://www.youtube.com/goodnighttexasmusic


Knock 'Em Stiff

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Songfacts 
(Writer: Gordon Lightfoot         Original performance: Gordon Lightfoot) 
Gordon Lightfoot, one of Canada’s greatest songwriters, passed away on 1st May 2023. 

Where do I start with this song. I first heard it when it was released as a single in the UK in 1976. Although it was a No.1 hit in Canada and No.2 in the USA, it only made No.40 in the UK singles charts (shame on you UK, although perhaps the subject was much more in the consciousness of Canada and the USA as the Edmund Fitzgerald disaster had only happened in November 1975 and, for both countries, the Great Lakes are a major feature).  My antennae had tuned in to Gordon Lightfoot in 1974 with the release of his single ‘Sundown’, though even that had only reached No.33 in the UK charts. ‘The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald’ though has no equal for me in the history of my chart listening life: it is not so much a song, or a piece of music, as the telling of a haunting tale, in a musical setting, and done so well that any listener worth their salt cannot help but be spellbound by it. That is how it was for me anyway: I never forgot it and it was irrelevant to me whether it charted well or not. I attempted to sing it (or as many of the words as I could remember) to myself and my children over the years.  And now that I am making music in a recording studio, I decided I must try and do a version of this song. I had started work on it (and indeed did an earlier simpler version back in 2018) before the death of Gordon Lightfoot was announced on 1st May 2023, but I put it out now as my tribute to a most wonderful songwriter and soul, whose work I think ought to be more widely known and appreciated worldwide than it perhaps is. For Canada, where I have many relatives, Gordon Lightfoot was (and will always be I think) a national treasure whom they regarded as capturing better than almost anyone the spirit of his countryfolk in his songs. 
 
I found this song perhaps more challenging than any I have recorded to date:  the music doesn’t really go anywhere, there’s no verse/chorus tension, no ‘middle 8’, no instrument solo etc., and there are only four chords in the song.  What any arrangement must do then to avoid being dull, is to try and support the telling of the tale as it progresses: the tale teller strums his guitar as he narrates the lyric, and the other instruments are there to embroider and add tension. The other big challenge is the absence of Gordon Lightfoot. On the original, and even though he works with great musicians, it is the unique ‘angsty’ character of his voice that strikes me as driving the telling of the tale home. The timing of his delivery is also fascinating – sort of missing the beat while being perfect for the song. As an alternative, I’ve worked on the  drama of the song, with a preface where she ship’s propellor is heard from beneath the waves as her ships horn sounds out in distress above them. 

Paul ‘Midshipman’ Jennings ably assisted on bass as usual, and I playing several guitar / slide guitar parts through various distortion and effects pedals. The 12-string acoustic guitar was given to me by an old friend whose family wanted to find a good home for it. I’m pleased it has at last found its place in this very special song.

The Edmund Fitzgerald was an ore carrier that disappeared without trace or notice with the loss of all 29 lives on 10th November 1975 in a storm on Lake Superior. Gordon Lightfoot made it the subject of his song after reading an article, "The Cruellest Month", in the November 24, 1975, issue of Newsweek.  The full story can be read here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Edmund_Fitzgerald

Anyhoos, hope you like it and please share if you do. Rest in peace Gordon Lightfoot, who wrote what many songwriters consider some of the finest songs they’d ever heard. 

Mike O’Neill
16th June 2023

Emeralds & Pearls

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (G Lightfoot)(The Clana Boys)

Tool - Invincible (Live In Birmingham, AL - 2019.05.07)

Illusion & Doubt

Dead Man's Isle

Delirium

Miss Mary

Boots

Time for Crawlin'

Hard Day

This is the album that started it all, the debut release for Jayke Orvis and Farmageddon Records! This album was recorded at Rebel Roots Recording Studio in Richmond, VA in 2009 and 2010. A founding member of The .357 String Band, and a pioneer in the roots music underground, Orvis has paved the way for many punk turned pickers! If you wish to order a hard copy of this CD you can do so at www.farmageddonrecords.bigcartel.com

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (G Lightfoot)(The Clana Boys)

Hugh Boy

Recent comments

VikingAl

Hugh Boy

The Ducks On Soundcloud

Hugh Boy

Related tracks