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Song Parodies -> "Ed Fitzgerald"

Original Song Title:

"Hallelujah"

 (MP3)
Original Performer:

Leonard Cohen

Parody Song Title:

"Ed Fitzgerald"

Parody Written by:

Patrick McWilliams

The Lyrics

Found this one partially finished in an old notebook. For better or worse, I decided to complete it on the anniversary.
When launched in Nineteen Fifty Nine
She was the biggest of her kind
A new age on the Great Lakes she would herald
A long career had just begun
Of hauling iron ore by the ton
They named their giant freighter, "Ed Fitzgerald"

Ed Fitzgerald, Ed Fitzgerald
Ed Fitzgerald, Ed Fitzgerald

The champagne bottle failedĀ  to break
The day they placed her on the lake
A fact the superstitious would remember
While Coast Guard scientists may think
A rogue wave caused the Fitz to sink
Was she the victim of the Witch November?

Witch November, Witch November
Witch November, Witch November

I still recall a rainy night
When after switching off the light
I dreamed about the tasks I'd do tomorrow
While others, leaving jobs undone
Would never see the morning sun
Or families in pain, and loss, and sorrow

Loss and sorrow, Loss and sorrow
Loss and sorrow, Loss and sorrow

Now, some are humble, others great
But all will share a common fate
How will you stand to face the final peril?
Though life be short or life be long
You are the author of your song
May it be sung forever, like "Fitzgerald"

Ed Fitzgerald, Ed Fitzgerald
Ed Fitzgerald, Ed Fitzgerald

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Original Song: 
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Voting Results

 
Pacing: 4.2
How Funny: 4.2
Overall Rating: 4.2

Total Votes: 5

Voting Breakdown

The following represent how many people voted for each category.

    Pacing How Funny Overall Rating
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 2   0
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 3   0
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 4   0
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 5   4
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User Comments

Comments are subject to review, and can be removed by the administration of the site at any time and for any reason.

Michael Pacholek - November 11, 2019 - Report this comment
It would be an official Edmund Fitzgerald parody if I didn't at least comment, and this was a great idea, well-executed. And the original song does sort of it.
CML - November 11, 2019 - Report this comment
Are you going to open up that can of worms again, Patrick? .... At least, you're adopting the proper somber tone. For a while there, we were almost treating this incident in a jokey manner
Jonathan Spurlock - November 11, 2019 - Report this comment
Gordon LIghtfoot released his "Fitzgerald" tribute back in the mid-70's (1975?) and I remember thinking it was one of the most melancholy works ever. The closest I ever came to the Great Lakes was a glimpse of Lake Erie on the way to Niagara Falls but I've no idea as to how gigantic Lake Superior was and is. The one thing, never knowing or hearing TOS, is that the "Edmund Fitzgerald" was that old. If commissioned in 1959, that meant it had 16 years of service. One wonders how that compares with the longevity of other vessels in Lake service.
Patrick - November 12, 2019 - Report this comment
I was attending college in South Bend, Indiana the night the Fitzgerald was lost. As I recall, it was raining heavily there, too. The next morning I saw the news reports. The sinking would have faded from most people's memory were it not for Gordon Lightfoot. Commemorative ballads were the popular medium in early days for reporting and recalling significant events. Jimmy Driftwood's "The Battle of New Orleans" is modern example of that tradition. The controversy over frivolous retellings, of which I am guilty, I resolve, in my own mind at least, by limiting parodies on the subject to once a year, and adopting a somber or serious original melody. My research turned up the story about the christening champagne bottle failing to break, which was regarded as a bad omen. Over the centuries, thousands of ships have been lost on the Great Lakes. The Edmund Fitzgerald is the one that is remembered, which I suppose means something, perhaps a reminder of the others who vanished from the surface and from the public awareness. I think I missed a tribute last year due to health reasons. I hope I will still be around to write one in 2020. That gives me a year to find a suitable original melody. Thanks to all who read this tribute.

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