Monday, June 15, 2015

Song Meaning Still Eludes Appreciative Audience

Fans of the song "Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald" have debated for 4 decades about the meaning behind the lyrics and author, singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, has been notably secretive about his intentions when penning the esoteric 1976 tune.
"It could be about anything," said Lightfoot during a 1987 interview. "Once I've completed a song I don't try to interpret it. I'll let the listener decide." 
Simon Duluth, the creator of a website dedicated to the mysterious song says the song has been linked to extra terrestrials, the demise of the United States auto-manufacturing industry, a romantic relationship ending and other theories. 
"The endurance of this debate can be attributed to the cleverly disguised meaning of the lyrics, "said Duluth, who grew up in Michigan. "For example, the line 'The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay if they'd put fifteen more miles behind 'er' has been linked to the Nixon administration and the NASA Apollo missions. I guess we'll never know exactly what Lightfoot was referring to, but it's fun to discuss."
Fans of the song defend their theories with long dissertations providing their evidence.
"Eddielover76" wrote, "If you count the syllables in the line 'and ev'ry man knew, as the captain did too, twas the witch of November come stealin' then you come up with the same number that was in a campaign speech by John F. Kennedy in 1960 which clearly points to a premonition of his own assassination.
The debate continues as the 40th anniversary of the song approaches and listeners are left only with the baffling lyrics such as "With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more, than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty." These words could refer to Medieval dragon myths or the weight of responsibility that presses down on a new father, but until Lightfoot reveals the source of his inspiration then we'll never know for sure.

For the record, once again, I beat The Onion to this spin.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

What happened to the prior nights blog. It was obviously redacted. What a sorry cry for help. I thought you're calling the blog quits. lonesome loser you are. Feel sorry for you. Get to work. pity party is over. It's been over for a decade now. You should re-post the blog that you removed. Calling you out bitch.

Oggy Bleacher said...

you're babbling because the meds from your sex change operation. consult your doctor and get your head straight. I do commonly publish rants and then regret it as futile so I save them as drafts but I haven't done that in a while because now I really don't care either way. Even the fucking pope has declared humanity is beyond salvation. when you can get the pope pessimistic then you've really fucked up. I've been playing guitar lately and not writing anything except that recollection of the bike trip. maybe you are seeing things. I got nothing to hide. If it's worth reading I leave it up and if it's shit then it's a draft.

Anonymous said...

your life is one big draft. Keep playing the guitar and hiding. you little scared puppy. grow a pair and get to work. You try too hard and it gets in your now mush brain. Enjoy the peaceful carpet ride.

Unknown said...

Um. Are you the anonymous commenter, oggy? Not cool, if so. However, I did enjoy this post.

Oggy Bleacher said...

The Tennessee Belle returns! Here I've been keeping this blog running for your amusement and finally you come back. Yes, I've resorted to insulting myself anonymously and then countering it with abusive responses. Doesn't everyone do this? I had to create an army of alternate personalities to have conversations with. The blog never really caught on in the mainstream. (shrug). Welcome back and I'm sorry if I've used Kansas and Tennessee as examples of philosophically blighted worldviews lately. It's not my fault they are philosophically blighted. Did you know that we "met" the first time that I was trying to drive to Guatemala in 1992? It took me 23 years to finally complete the trip.

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