"Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours? Gordon Lightfoot, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald On Friday morning, I opened TikTok and typed Edmund Fitzgerald into the search bar. A plumage of memes filled my screen. I tapped the first search result and let the algorithm take me away. An hour later, I came up for air believing I had finally found the most satisfying part of the Internetthat involving the Edmund Fitzgerald."
"Tomorrow, November 10, is the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior. It was a national news story at the time the lake had swallowed a 729-foot iron-ore ship, killing all 29 men aboardbut it was the Gordon Lightfoot song The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, which came out in November 1976, that transformed the tragedy into an unforgettable moment of American history. Bettmann//Getty Images The Edmund Fitzgerald pictured in 1972, three years before it sank during a storm on Lake Superior."
"For countless men, including me, it's a minor obsession. What is it about this song and this event and shipwrecks of all kinds that seems to enrapture so many men? Yes, there's rich storytelling and adventure and stoicism and the romance of battling the elements. But here's the real reason men embrace the story of a shipwreck: It's a vehicle for emotionsadness, loss, friendship, even love."
Tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior, a 729-foot iron-ore ship whose loss of 29 crew became a national news story. Gordon Lightfoot's nearly seven-minute ballad, released in November 1976, reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and crystallized the tragedy in American memory. Social media, including TikTok, continues to circulate memes and videos that evoke emotional responses around the anniversary. Shipwreck narratives appeal through storytelling, adventure, stoicism, and the romance of battling the elements. For many men, the Edmund Fitzgerald provides a culturally acceptable vehicle for expressing sadness, loss, friendship, and love.
Read at www.esquire.com
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