Eulogy For A Legend

For those of you that missed Monday’s news, Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot has died at the age of eighty-four (1).

As far as his music is concerned, Mr. Lightfoot was a rare breed; an introspective songwriter who penned hits that discussed life and living.  Some of his legendary hits include “Sundown” and “If You Could Read My Mind”.

Then there is “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”, a song that hit number two on the Billboard charts (and number one in Canada) in 1976 (2).

In the lyrics of this ballad, Lightfoot tells the story of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, an American iron freighter that sank in Lake Superior on November 10, 1975. Typical of the style of other Lightfoot hits, it has all the elements of a great Shakespearean tragedy:

"Does anyone know where the love of God goes
when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
if they'd put fifteen more miles behind 'er.

They might have split up or they might have capsized;
they may have broke deep and took water.
And all that remains is the faces and the names
of the wives and the sons and the daughters" (3, 4).

“Wreck” is one of those songs that simply screams AM radio.  To someone of my age, that is a very appealing and comforting factor. Lightfoot had many songs like this; their popularity made him a legendary figure in the world of music, and one of my favorite artists of all time.

There aren't too many singers who can make you feel a certain way, and perhaps remind you of days gone by. Mr. Lightfoot was one of these; a unique artist whose ilk (see definition) is rapidly disappearing. He will be sorely missed.

(5)

RIP, legend.

Definition - 

Ilk: Noun, a sort or kind.  "Politicians and their ilk" (6)

Sources:

1. “Gordon Lightfoot.” Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Lightfoot. Accessed 2 May 2023.

2. “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wreck_of_the_Edmund_Fitzgerald. Accessed 2 May 2023.

3. “SS Edmund Fitzgerald.” Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Edmund_Fitzgerald. Accessed 2 May 2023.

4. “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” GordonLightfoot.com; Magee, Valerie, editor. 
Accessed 2 May 2023 via gordonlightfoot.com/wreckoftheedmundfitzgerald.shtml.

5. Zeezy. “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald’ - Gordon Lightfoot (HD W/ Lyrics).” YouTube, 23 Aug. 2010, youtu.be/9vST6hVRj2A?t=12. Accessed 2 May 2023.

6. “Ilk.” Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ilk. Accessed 2 May 2023.

4. 

4.