Gordon Lightfoot Analysis - Early Release!

My high school English textbook in 1990 had this printed in it, as a poem. Since I was very familiar with the melody by that point from my mom playing Gordon Lightfoot a lot, I could only read it in that rhythm, but I’ve wondered how someone who didn’t know the melody would have read it as a poem.

Jeremy Morton

The space/hush you noted before the verse about the Maritime Sailors Cathedral I sense as the calming of waves after the passing of a storm. I felt the same musical sensation after he verse that ends with the wreck itself,. Also kinda liked the way he pronounced "Detroit"... like dee-troy-it.

Scott Bombeck

Ohhhhh I have been so waiting for this song to come around since Elizabeth did "If You Could Read My Mind" by Gordon. As a kid growing up south of Cleveland, I remember seeing those big freighters (and probably the Fitz) when going up there. Gordon was a master poet-lyricist, and I've always felt this one was his greatest achievement. The haunting guitar and synth being woven amongst his lyrics narrating a true story really hits hard. And I was waiting to see Elizabeth's reaction to the "Does anyone know where the love of God goes...." lines. I had a feeling it was going to really run deep, and it looks like it did. Excellent analysis, as usual. Looking forward to more Gordon. Fingers crossed "Sundown" is next on the list!

Brian W

Music is poetry with tones, and poetry is music with words. Gordon Lightfoot wove them together as one of the greatest bards of all time. Mastery and excellence that everyone could relate to. Thank you for your reaction Elizabeth. I'm so happy you are able to feel and understand one of our "Great Gords" so well.

Digibirder

Well for anyone who was/is from the U.P. this song is a somber reminder of the power of Lake Superior. I was born and raised in the harbor town of Marquette and was in elementary school when this tragedy happened. That day will forever be seared in my memory. To this day if you happen to be in a pub or local watering hole and this song comes on a hush comes across the crowd. Only Yoopers fully understand when the north wind and gales come... Thank you Elizabeth for this walk down memory lane.

I have my own Lake Superior sea story, from only five years after the Edmund Fitzgerald sank. I was in the US Coast Guard serving aboard the USCGC Sundew, a buoy tender and icebreaker much smaller than the Fitz, when we were called out on a search and rescue mission during a similar storm in December of 1980. I was up all night navigating the ship across the lake through 20 to 25 foot seas to get to the area we were to search. This was long before GPS, and the radar didn't help much that far from land in those seas, so my initial estimates of our position were not too accurate, landing me in hot water with my captain. Once I finally got a break in the morning and could leave the bridge, I couldn't sleep as I was woken up twice to go out on deck and help chip off the ice which had accumulated overnight. We had gained 4 inches of ice on the buoy deck and 8 inches on the forecastle which had to be removed by sledge hammer and axe handle to keep the ship from becoming unstable. To our surprise, we found the victim but, to no one's surprise, he was dead from hypothermia and probably had died before we made it out into the big lake from where we had been moored. In 3 and a half years of sea duty on three different ships, this was probably the roughest night at sea I ever experienced.

Norman Pearce