Editing 2910: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
The edit can be undone.
Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then save the changes below to finish undoing the edit.
Latest revision | Your text | ||
Line 10: | Line 10: | ||
==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | + | {{incomplete|Created by ONE OF THE FBI'S MOST WANTED, FOR CRIMES AGAINST SHIPPING - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | |
− | + | The comic features a character identifiable as a {{w|minstrel}}, {{w|bard}} or {{w|Folk music|folk singer}}, performing a {{w|narrative song}} on a jetty. It parodies {{w|Gordon Lightfoot}}'s song {{w|The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald}}, recounting the fate of the {{w|SS Edmund Fitzgerald}}, a famously wrecked vessel and thus an ideal subject for a musical retelling. | |
− | + | The words begin with some of the original lyrics of Gordon Lightfoot's song, but soon become a direct reference to the art of songwriting itself. Rather than describing in song the disaster itself, it turns out to be a description of how the disaster occurred ''for the sake of'' the song. | |
− | In real life, the | + | In real life, the reason for sinking is still unknown, but it's speculated that her hull broke up in the rough waters of the Great Lakes.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIg90sVSwSE] This xkcd is implying that the ''real'' reason for her sinking is that the songwriter bribed a mechanic to intentionally engineer her sinking and give him sufficient material for a new song. |
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
+ | As a punchline, the verse goes on to reveal that another even greater {{w|Sinking of the Titanic|maritime disaster}} had already occured for the sake of a {{w|Titanic (1997 film)|film}}. While the tale of Lightfoot causing the first disaster is feasible, since the song came out a few months after the "accident", James Cameron was born more than 40 years after the Titanic sank. | ||
+ | The title text continues this particular cycle by suggesting that an even bigger potential disaster was orchestrated {{tvtropes|RecycledInSpace|in space}}, as the 'real life' basis for {{w|Armageddon (1998 film)|yet another film}}. | ||
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
+ | {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | ||
− | :[Cueball is holding a guitar and singing on a pier | + | :[Cueball is holding a guitar and singing on a pier.] |
− | |||
:The ship was the pride | :The ship was the pride | ||
:of the American side | :of the American side | ||
− | + | :It was due to set | |
− | + | :sail for Cleveland | |
:As the big freighters go, | :As the big freighters go, | ||
:it was bigger than most | :it was bigger than most | ||
− | + | :With a crew and good | |
− | + | :captain well seasoned | |
− | |||
− | |||
:But taking a walk on | :But taking a walk on | ||
:the shore by the dock | :the shore by the dock | ||
− | + | :Was a songwriter named | |
− | + | :Gordon Lightfoot | |
:He was humming a tune | :He was humming a tune | ||
:but it didn't have words | :but it didn't have words | ||
− | + | :For it's challenging | |
− | + | :trying to write good | |
− | |||
− | |||
:Poor Gordon sought glory | :Poor Gordon sought glory | ||
:but needed a story | :but needed a story | ||
− | + | :His career in folk | |
− | + | :music imperiled | |
:He mulled over this as | :He mulled over this as | ||
:he watched them do work | :he watched them do work | ||
− | + | :On the hull of the | |
− | + | :''Edmund Fitzgerald'' | |
− | |||
− | |||
:Perhaps it was wrong, | :Perhaps it was wrong, | ||
:what he did for a song | :what he did for a song | ||
− | + | :He should never have | |
− | + | :bribed that mechanic | |
:But his maritime crimes | :But his maritime crimes | ||
:are no worse than the time | :are no worse than the time | ||
− | + | :Young James Cameron | |
− | + | :sank the ''Titanic'' | |
{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} |