Gordon Lightfoot Working On Extended Version Of "Edmund Fitzgerald"

Canadian folk legend Gordon Lightfoot, 76, was recently honoured
with a bronze statue in his hometown of Orillia, Ontario.

Orillia, ON

It was 40 years ago this past Tuesday that the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank during a fierce storm on Lake Superior, taking all 29 souls to the depths with it. The 729-foot vessel, once the largest ore-carrier on Lake Superior, went down in 520 feet of water at approximately 7:30 p.m. Winds of hurricane force — of 75 miles per hour — raised waves to 25 feet in 42-degree weather.

The Great Lakes have claimed thousands of ships since European explorers began navigating the waters in the 17th century, yet the Edmund Fitzgerald may to this day remain the most famous among them due to Canadian folk legend Gordon Lightfoot's song The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,  which became a Number 1 hit in Canada and peaked at Number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The ballad originally appeared on Lightfoot's 1976 album Summertime Dream.

However, in an interview on Friday with The Sentinel Dispatch's John Sanders, the 76 year old Lightfoot revealed that in honour of the 40th anniversary of the tragedy, he has been working on an extended version of the song, which will be available through iTunes just in time for Christmas.

"Throughout the years it always nagged on me that the song was just too damned short," said Lightfoot of the song that originally clocked in at 6 minutes, 32 seconds. "Time and time again after almost every concert I've given throughout Canada, the States, and overseas, fans invariably come up to me and say, 'Mr. Lightfoot, I love that song, but why does it only have 7 verses? It goes by so quickly!' I just shrug my shoulders and hadn't given it much serious thought until this past year when the big anniversary was coming up. And then the ideas just started flying."

According to the Orillia, Ontario native, the extended version, which will feature 23 verses, will explore everything from the meaning of the term "Gitche Gumee," the true ethnicity of the great-grandfather of the ships doctor, as well as the type of coffee that the crew were drinking when the ship went down. "We all know the lyric When suppertime came/the old cook came on deck/
sayin' Fellas, it's too rough t'feed ya." What we don't know is what kind of coffee they were enjoying, if any, or even if they had a chance to play a round of gin."

The 2015 version of The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald will be available December 19th. Lightfoot also confirms that he already has ideas for more verses in honour of the 50 year anniversary in 2025.

From Our Toronto Bureau