The Edmund Fitzgerald, 50 years ago

[pfrsantos]

Hi there, folks. Never heard of this, but maybe you guys, closer to where this happened, know about this story. I just heard the song and it is great, so I thought I might share it here.

[powernoodle]

I have heard, though not independently verified, that the song has a number of factual error.   

ChatGPT - which frequently has many factual errors of its own - says,


Here’s what’s wrong and what’s correct:

---

### ⚓ The Line:

> “At 7 p.m. a main hatchway caved in, he said / Fellas, it’s been good to know ya.”

**The problem:**
The lyric implies that the ship’s *hatch covers failed* and caused the sinking — as if crew members were able to radio a final message.

**The factual reality:**

* The **SS Edmund Fitzgerald** sank suddenly on **November 10, 1975**, on Lake Superior with **no distress call**.
* The ship disappeared from radar at **7:10 p.m.**, but no one ever reported that “a hatchway caved in.”
* Later investigations (U.S. Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board) found **no evidence that the hatches failed**; rather, the likely causes were **structural failure, flooding, or waves overwhelming the deck**.

So Lightfoot’s lyric reflects **an early theory** reported in the hours after the sinking — before the wreck was discovered — not the final conclusion.

---

### 🎵 Other Minor Artistic Liberties

* The song says the Fitz “was fully loaded for Cleveland.”

  * In fact, she was bound for **Detroit**, then would have continued to Cleveland to unload.
* The lyric “the church bell chimed ’til it rang twenty-nine times” is true — one chime for each crewman — but that memorial bell was added later.

---

### ✅ Summary

**Artistic line:** Hatchway caved in, crew said goodbye.
**Historical fact:** No distress call; cause unknown but not proven to be hatch failure.

Lightfoot later acknowledged this and, after new evidence surfaced, even changed the lyric in concert to:

> “At 7 p.m., it grew dark, it was then / He said, ‘Fellas, it’s been good to know ya.’”

— a respectful nod to the real mystery of the tragedy.

[SteveC]

Very well known around here and a great song   

[pfrsantos]

To be honest, I didn't exactly took the song to the letter. Too much detail and eloquence, but it still made a nice, pleasant song to hear.

Thanks for the checking/sharing of the facts.

 

[SteveC]

From wikipedia


SS Edmund Fitzgerald was an American Great Lakes freighter that sank in Lake Superior during a storm on November 10, 1975, with the loss of the entire crew of 29 men. When launched on June 7, 1958, she was the largest ship on North America's Great Lakes and remains the largest to have sunk there. She was located in deep water on November 14, 1975, by a U.S. Navy aircraft detecting magnetic anomalies, and found soon afterwards to be in two large pieces.

For 17 years, Edmund Fitzgerald carried taconite (a variety of iron ore) from mines along the Minnesota Iron Range near Duluth, Minnesota, to iron works in Detroit, Michigan; Toledo, Ohio; and other Great Lakes ports. As a workhorse, she set seasonal haul records six times, often breaking her own record.[6][7] Captain Peter Pulcer was known for piping music day or night over the ship's intercom while passing through the St. Clair and Detroit rivers (between Lake Huron and Lake Erie), and entertaining spectators at the Soo Locks (between Lakes Superior and Huron) with a running commentary about the ship.[6] Her size, record-breaking performance, and "DJ captain" endeared Edmund Fitzgerald to boat watchers.[8]

On the afternoon of November 9, 1975, she embarked on her final voyage from Superior, Wisconsin, near Duluth, carrying a full cargo of taconite ore pellets with Captain Ernest M. McSorley in command. En route to a steel mill near Detroit, she was caught the next day in a severe storm with near-hurricane-force winds and waves up to 35 feet (11 m) high. Sometime after 5:30 p.m., Edmund Fitzgerald reported being in difficulty; at 7:10 p.m., Captain McSorley sent his last message, "We are holding our own". Shortly after 7:10 p.m., Edmund Fitzgerald suddenly sank in Canadian (Ontario) waters 530 feet (88 fathoms; 160 m) deep, about 17 miles (15 nautical miles; 27 kilometers) from Whitefish Bay near the twin cities of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario—a distance Edmund Fitzgerald could have covered in just over an hour at top speed. Her crew of 29 perished, and no bodies were recovered. The exact cause of the sinking remains unknown, though many books, studies, and expeditions have examined it. Edmund Fitzgerald may have been swamped, suffered structural failure or topside damage, grounded on a shoal, or suffered from a combination of these.

[RobertMcc]

Gordon Lightfoot to Canadians is like Stan Rogers or Matt Minglewood to Maritimers.

Great folk music singers.

[nate j]

Yes, a great song based on a true story.  Though, as often the case, certain artistic liberties were taken.

[pfrsantos]

Yes, a great song based on a true story.  Though, as often the case, certain artistic liberties were taken.

Artistic liberties?! In a song?! When did that ever happened?!



 

[PitCarver]

Yes, a great song based on a true story.  Though, as often the case, certain artistic liberties were taken.

Quite true, Nate.

But it was one heck of a song.

[Farmer X]

One of the local news stations has a documentary on the Fitz. Despite being over an hour long, it may be of interest.

Edit: I cannot for the life of me figure out how y'awl embed YouTube videos, so here's a link to the aforementioned documentary:

https://youtu.be/8KpkceTklu0?si=tk692MWVmufeuUwi

[pfrsantos]

One of the local news stations has a documentary on the Fitz. Despite being over an hour long, it may be of interest.

Edit: I cannot for the life of me figure out how y'awl embed YouTube videos, so here's a link to the aforementioned documentary:

https://youtu.be/8KpkceTklu0?si=tk692MWVmufeuUwi

Just click on the 3rd button from the left, on the bottom row, after the Spoiler and Insert image: . It's the Insert Hyperlink. Insert the YouTube full URL between the tags and you're golden.

Quote my post to see it.



 

Note: you need to remove anything in the URL that comes after (and including) any ?. That's used to add some variables to the video viewing (starting time, usually).

[PitCarver]

My Facebook feed was full of Fitz stories and videos last night...

[Farmer X]

Just click on the 3rd button from the left...

Thanks!

[nate j]

One of the local news stations has a documentary on the Fitz. Despite being over an hour long, it may be of interest.

Edit: I cannot for the life of me figure out how y'awl embed YouTube videos, so here's a link to the aforementioned documentary:

https://youtu.be/8KpkceTklu0?si=tk692MWVmufeuUwi

Watched this last night; thought it was very good.

Thanks for sharing it!

[Farmer X]

You are very welcome!

[Chako]

Very familiar with this story, but then I live in the North Eastern Great Lakes area of Ontario. Older folks than me have reminisce about how nasty that storm was around here.