Gord's "other" shipwreck song

I was reading the insert in my greatest hits
CD and it said that The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald was written after Gord read a Newsweek article about the tradgedy and he decided he had ANOTHER shipwreck song in him.

I don't recall the name of the song and my insert is not in the same room as my computer. I would like to know if anyone has ever heard this "other" shipwreck song?
Is it good? Where can I find it on CD?

I know Auburn Annie will know the answer to this. Also, I would like to know if Borderstone has the "other" shipwreck song on one of his huge collection of records?

I don't own a CD with this "other" shipwreck song and I've never heard it before.

"Ballad Of The Yarmouth Castle" on the "Sunday Concert" album/CD. Great song.

titan: Further to my last post. Click on the link and you will see just how accuratly Gordon's song reflects the actual incident.
If you have not heard the song, you should be able to find the lyrics elsewhere on this site
http:/www.lostliners.com/Yarmouth_Castle/index.html

Sorry titan, did enter the URL correctly. http://www.lostliners.com/Yarmouth_Castle/index.html

Thanks alot!!!! I must buy that CD soon!!

[fowlesjohn]

Titan
Well I for one am amazed that you with your apparent vast wealth do not already have Sunday Concert in your collection. In addition to the Ballad Of The Yarmouth Castle it contains a number of essential Gord songs not on other albums especially (IMHO)
Leaves of Grass and Apology.
It is available on CD either as Sunday Concert Live.
Or on the "Bear Family" reissue Sunday Concert Plus with a number of useful additional bonus tracks including the only version of "Spin Spin" available on CD this great original Lightfoot hit being IMHO conspicuously omitted from tne otherwise almost perfect Songbook box-set

For full details of all the Bear Family Lightfoot reissues go to:- the Lightfoot page at their German site:- http://www.bear-family.de/php/showar...rdon&wo=&was=L
It is currently available from Amazon for $18.98 new (or less used) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...roduct-details
this also gives the full track listing of course and several nice reviews
there is also is the US 2-cd set of the first 4 United Artists albums (excluding Sunday Concert).But better still is the Canadian 3-CD boxset with Sunday Concert on the third CD and a very nice 12-page booklet
Some of these are occasionaly on auction at ebay:
and right now at 1 p.m. EST 18 March 2003 there is a claimed new copy of the 3-CD set
(ALL OUR ITEMS ARE BRAND NEW, STILL FACTORY SEALED AND DIRECT FROM THE MANUFACTURER)
in Toronto (wherever that is) going for $12.93 or "buy it now" for $14.93 plus
shipping of $5.75 in North America see:- http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...7&category=307
I hope this helps you Titan and anyone else especially any "newbies" who do not yet have the classic first five albums
JOhn Fowles

[This message has been edited by fowlesjohn (edited March 18, 2003).]

[This message has been edited by fowlesjohn (edited March 18, 2003).]

Thanks so much!!! It's never too late to find out about a Lightfoot CD that you don't have yet. Is it??? It all makes perfect sense now because my 4 CD box set does not contain the tracks you mentioned. This is
exciting because it's like finding buried treasure!!!!! A Lightfoot CD was out there the whole time and I had no idea.

One Problem: The insert from my Greatest Hits Cd said that Gord's "other" shipwreck song was titled Marie Christine. Now where do I find it??? Are there 3 shipwreck songs??? I'm either dazed or confused now!! HELP ME!!!

[fowlesjohn]

so what is the second shipwreck song
a very good question
Marie Christine you will find on the 4th album Back Here On Earth but
I don't think anyone has fathomed out yet what ship it was or what happenned to it
wheras the Yarmouth Castle definitely got wrecked. Perhaps it might even have been about a lady and not a ship at all. Any bright ideas anyone??
If you search here you will find a topic thread on the subject from as recently as February this year
wheras there is nothing useful on the Newsgroup alt.music.lightfoot
John Fowles


[This message has been edited by fowlesjohn (edited March 18, 2003).]

OK. OK. OK. Your trying to help. I will get the Sunday Concert CD. That will fill the void in my collection. I would sure like to know if that CD will " bring me up to par"?
This is what I own:
1) Gord's Gold I
2) Gord's Gold II
3) 4 CD box set titled Songbook
5) Summertime Dream
6) A Painter Passes Through

I realize that he has other albums that I do not own, But those tracks are already on my other CD's. Right or wrong?
If I get the Sunday Concert, will that get me to where I want to be?
Also, my collection is pretty good and I'll bet it's the best GL collection in my town of 6000 people, and I don't ever recall saying that I had vast wealth. I'm trying to learn something here.

[BILLW]

The answer is a gentle, friendly Wrong! You need to get all of the 19 "original" releases and add them to your collection. The first five, as mentioned, can be obtained as two-fers on Bear Family. The other 14 are still in print, except for Waiting for You, which you need and will find at E-bay or some source, or from someone here. You need to listen to each album in it's entirety at least once, in it's original order to get the feel of where he was at any particular time in his career. Val's site has some nice pictures of all the covers, check it out and then go to CDUniverse.com and search on Gordon Lightfoot and fill your basket, click ORDER and then wait about three days. Then you'll be done. I don't know enough about bootlegs to tell you but someone else will jump in here I'm sure.
Go shopping, Be Happy!

Bill
You've already got two so you're on your way.

[MaryEllen]

I love the Songbook--it is invaluable, but mostly because the digital remastering is so, well, *masterly*. Especially relevatory are the old United Artist cuts (Songbook CD #1). I sure wish they could turn that guy (William Inglot?) loose on *all* the old stuff!

But, Titan, so much is missing, even in this truly outstanding set. Everybody can make up their own "what the heck were they thinking?" list (of masterpieces that are not in the Songbook), but my "top 10" would certainly include:

1. Wherefore & Why
(GGI actually has a version of this that's better than the original.)
2. Christian Island
(Inexcusable!)
Addendum 3/19: This is one of Gord's most profound love songs, full of a very rare (for him, at least in those days) respect--even esteem--for the object of his affections. Of course, it's a boat, but as Osgood says at the end of Some Like It Hot, "Nobody's perfect!"
3. Looking at the Rain
(Both #2 & #3 are from "Don Quixote"; I think it's a tossup whether this or "Sundown" is GL's best LP--though you could make a case for "Shadows," too--or "Summertime Dream," which you already have.)
4. The Watchman's Gone
(Gord has indicated more than once in concert that he is very proud of this cryptic, Guthrie-ish song--it's sort of a modern take on "East Texas Red," but that's just where it *starts*. Like so much of GL's music, it could be interpreted many ways.)
5. Too Late For Prayin'
(Like #4, it's from "Sundown," and is--again, among many other things--a prayer from a soul almost too damaged to believe the effort is still worthwhile. It relates to and recaps two of the album's themes--blighted love (degenerated into lust) and an incisive (if also opaque) "worldview" (e.g., Circle of Steel). The singer doesn't seem to doubt that God is out there, or even that He's listening--only that He cares. Ironically, this song of resignation and despair is so beautiful it gives the reply to the "To try or not to try?" question that it implies. Songs like this are like water; everyone finds their own level.)
6. I'm Not Supposed To Care
(Bob Dylan has covered this song in concert in recent years.)
7. Spanish Moss
8. Whispers of the North
9. I'll Tag Along
10. Restless
(Gord's greatest song since "Shadows"! Again, what the heck were they thinking?!)

[This message has been edited by MaryEllen (edited March 19, 2003).]

Rememeber This about OL'Titan, I have never
misrepresented myself on this website. I feel I do have a good understanding of Lightfoot and his music. My problem that I see here is that if GL's musical career were a book- I have skipped from chapter
to chapter and back and forwards again and again. I've also missed some paragraphs.
I have always liked Lightfoot. I just realized about 3 years ago after my life got on track how much I loved his music. Now,
his music is an EVERY DAY part of my existance. No one called me and told me about this website, I found it or we found each other. I must get busy collecting now.
My journey has just begun. Wish me well.

Everyone's Friend
Titan

[BILLW]

You're in for a real treat titan. Have fun and let us know how it goes.

Bill

Thanks!! I'm appreciative of everybody's guidance and help. I was thinking, the percentage of the world's population that actually do own all of Gord's stuff has to be quite small. I'll join a pretty elite group in a couple weeks. Right?

[Oma]

quote:Originally posted by titan:

Also, my collection is pretty good and I'll bet it's the best GL collection in my town of 6000 people,.

Hey Titan,

Nice to meet you. I, like you, live in a small town in IL, pop. 1,500 (on a good day!) I thought I was doing pretty good with my small collection of GL music (compared to the others in my town...Gordon WHO???) until I found this site! Wow...I never knew there was such an amazing group of GL lovin' people out there with such extensive collections of his albums until I hit this board. I have learned A LOT, and am sure I will learn a lot more. The best thing about this site is being able to hang out with an interesting variety of people who truly appreciate the artistry of GL's music.

My dinky collection includes the albums: The Best of Gordon Lightfoot, Gord's Gold, Endless Wire, Sundown, Summertime Dream, and Dream Street Rose. In my town that would probably be considered a lot...but here, on this board... it's miniscule!

Yea, this is the big leagues. Watch out for the seniors who will try to crush your ego by calling you a "newby".

[SomewhereupinMichigan]

Just remember, one and all: We were all "newbies" before we became "knowbies." As I said to someone else not so long ago, Titan, "Welcome, you are never a newbie for long here."

[BILLW]

Titan,

Most of us are just big kids who are big GL fans. Ignore the ego crushers or send 'em to debate the Watchman, he's a pretty good anti-ego-crusher, if that's a word.
But seriously man this is all supposed to be fun and we're just here to help.

Peace

Bill

[walls]

Yarmouth Castle, better than the Fitzgerald. And indeed, fowlesjohn, Sunday Concert is an essential to any collection.

------------------
restless shadows

Both are great musical sagas; I couldn't presume to say which one's better than the other.
But in terms of historically significant events, it's ironic that Fitzgerald is much more widely known (since the song charted at #2) because it was the Yarmouth Castle's catastrophe that had the really huge impact on maritime law, with long overdue regulations put in place as a result of the disaster. More than twice as many died on
the Castle vs. the Fitz as well, and mostly
passengers (as opposed to crew). And of course, the real-life shocker: the captain abandoned his ship, his crew, his passengers. (There's an hour-long PBS doc on the Yarmouth Castle that you might be able find at your local library.)

This is what really impresses me with Lightfoot's writing. As I read up on these
events (and there are some good websites on both) I really would have expected GL to employ a certain amount of dramatic licence.
(After all, there's not a "true story" movie
out there that doesn't make stuff up and consolidate characters for dramatic purposes.) But virtually everything you hear
in these lengthy, lyrical accounts is documented fact...from the weight of the ore on the Fitz to the funnels frying on the Bahama Star from the heat. They are exquisite examples of balladeer as journalist. I really admire that kind of songwriting integrity. (The one poetic licence he allowed himself he mentioned in the GL Songbook--using the cook's farewell
to the Fitz crew, "Fellas it's been good to know ya," as an homage to Woody Guthrie. The cook actually stayed behind on that fateful night.)

Sorry I rambled. I find the stories behind
the art quite interesting at times. Which is
why I still challenge all comers for any background on "Marie Christine". Who's got the goods?!

patrick

[SomewhereupinMichigan]

Marie Christine was one of the songs Gord wrote while traveling throughout England and Scotland prior to returning, recording and releasing "Back Here on Earth." If there is any special inspiration for the song I am guessing it came from his travels in the U.K. Perhaps he came upon a story about an old English, Scottish or Irish sailing ship named the Marie Christine. Perhaps he got the inspiration from someone named Marie Christine that he met. Perhaps it was just purely a chance thing that he struck on this name while randomly inspired to write another song about a ship. Who knows? Perhaps we should ask Gord?

I agree with Somewhere...
I suppose we won't definitively know short of
going to the source. I was hoping someone in Gord's inner circle might be kind enough
to offer their insight.

The more I discover the amount of detail and research that went into his other shipwreck sagas, the more I'm inclined to believe "Marie Christine" is likely to have some sort of inspirational source (rather than simply made of whole cloth).

One correction: my brain cells firing a little better this morning remind me that
the documentary I mentioned earlier on the Yarmouth Castle was actually a Discovery Channel production, not PBS. It was a one-hour installment of a 3-part series "Shipwrecks".

[Borderstone]

Isn't,"Triangle" a shipwreck song? I think it is. I'll have to go back and re-read the lyrics. I'll never understand why it was not in the,"Songbook" collection. I mean,he chose,"Someone to Believe In" over that one?? Certainly wouldn't have been my choice. Borderstone,outta here and Alberta Bound!

[MaryEllen]

I think Gord has been quoted as (slyly) saying that this song is about more than one kind of triangle. Look closely (with a dirty mind) and you will note that one interpretation could be very adult-oriented indeed!

(Same with "Spanish Moss," and about the same--er--area.)

[Auburn Annie]

Oh, yeah, I remembered reading the um, 'alternative' explication of "Triangle" a while back so I looked it up.
To find it look in the Google Group alt.music.lightfoot (search "Triangle" in alt.music.lightfoot only) and it's the first article from February 7, 2001. Enjoy!