Editing 2910: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
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==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 [[Cueball]] 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|The Wreck of the ''Edmund Fitzgerald''}}', recounting the fate of the {{w|SS Edmund Fitzgerald|SS ''Edmund Fitzgerald''}}, a vessel famously wrecked on the {{w|Great Lakes}} and thus a promising subject for a musical retelling. The words begin with some of the original lyrics of Lightfoot's song, but soon become a direct reference to the art of songwriting itself. Rather than describing the disaster itself, the song turns out to be a description of how the disaster occurred ''for the sake of'' the song. | |
− | + | In real life, the reason for sinking is still unknown, but it's speculated that her hull broke up in the rough waters of a storm on {{w|Lake Superior}}.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIg90sVSwSE] This comic implies 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 maritime disaster, the {{w|Sinking of the Titanic|sinking of the RMS ''Titanic''}}, occurred 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, this second tale is not, since director of the film, {{w|James Cameron}}, was born more than 40 years after the ''Titanic'' sank. | |
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− | As a punchline, the verse goes on to | ||
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 yet another film, ''{{w|Armageddon (1998 film)|Armageddon}}''. | 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 yet another film, ''{{w|Armageddon (1998 film)|Armageddon}}''. | ||
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==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. 2 pairs of connected eighth notes are on the left and right of Cueball, as well as a detached eighth note on his right. Three seagulls fly in the background on his left.] |
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:The ship was the pride | :The ship was the pride | ||
:of the American side | :of the American side | ||
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::captain well seasoned | ::captain well seasoned | ||
− | :[Zoom on Cueball | + | :[Zoom on Cueball, without the pier. Two eighth notes to his right, a half note and an eighth note to his left.] |
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:But taking a walk on | :But taking a walk on | ||
:the shore by the dock | :the shore by the dock | ||
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::trying to write good | ::trying to write good | ||
− | :[Close-up on Cueball's face. A quarter note and | + | :[Close-up on Cueball's face. A quarter note and two eighth notes to his right, an eighth note and a quarter note to his left.] |
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:Poor Gordon sought glory | :Poor Gordon sought glory | ||
:but needed a story | :but needed a story | ||
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::''Edmund Fitzgerald'' | ::''Edmund Fitzgerald'' | ||
− | :[Zoom back to second panel. | + | :[Zoom back to second panel. Two eighth notes to Cueball's right, three eighth notes to his left.] |
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:Perhaps it was wrong, | :Perhaps it was wrong, | ||
:what he did for a song | :what he did for a song |