Puzzle Description:

The summer I graduated from high school was decorated by this masterpiece from North of the Border, which featured a song which may be the last great song of its kind.

#1: Mathew (keiimaster) on Jun 1, 2026 [SPOILER]

Summertime Dream by Gordon Lightfoot.

UL is Race Among The Ruins, UR is Spanish Moss, and on the bottom (ugh, pardon the pun), is of course The Wreck Of The Edmond Fitzgerald. Being born in Michigan and still living there until 1983, this song was in heavy rotation in the mid-seventies. As I result I grew up being a huge Gordo fan. I wish I had gotten to see him live. RIP Gordo and the 29 souls on the Edmond Fitzgerald.

Not from this album, but listening to Sundown now :)

I saw a cicada on the bottom Ha Ha Ha

@jota, I saw off-color grasshopper until I noticed the lightning, then it all clicked.

and I *cannot* sing along without crying. Ugh.

(to Ed. Fitz., that is)

For so much of America's history, folk songs have been written and passed down the generations which commemorate my country's history, from the Revolutionary War ("Yankee Doodle Dandy"), to the Civil War (dozens of songs), the gold rushes in California ("Darling Clementine") and Alaska ("North to Alaska"), to the rise of labor unions ("We Shall Overcome"). The closing song of the Kingston Trio At Large album from last week was "Remember the Alamo". Creating songs of this sort has slowed down to a trickle since the rise of other forms of popular music have overshadowed the telling of stories in song, and it is a particular treat to hear such a well-crafted song gain a foothold on the public consciousness. Over the past 50 years I have appreciated the songs "Springfield Mining Disaster" (Written by Pete Seeger, popularized by Peter Paul & Mary), "The City of New Orleans" (Arlo Guthrie), "The Night They Drove old Dixie Down" (written by Robbie Robertson, popularized by Joan Baez). Another song was Neil Young's "Ohio" (Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young), which is a great song although some of the lyrics make me cringe. Gordon Lightfoot's magnificent dirge commemorating the wreck of the freighter ship, and the tragic loss of 29 lives (which occurred less than one year prior to the song), might be one of the most important songs that was written during the decade of the 1970's. I have mostly fallen out of touch with the music that has been made since that time, and I wonder if we have any examples of a similar song being written.

Bruce, I too am a member of the bicentennial class. We had two tassels on our caps, one of our school colors and one red, white and blue with a gold liberty bell crimp holding it together. I miss the music so very much! Cheers!

That's a really interesting question, Bruce. My first thought is that the storytelling impulse never disappeared so much as it migrated into the other genres and forms as the popularity of folk has been overshadowed.

A few examples more from my time (bicentennial baby rather than class). "Zombie" by The Cranberries was written in direct response to the Warrington bombing. Public Enemy's "By the Time I Get to Arizona" captured and helped document the controversy surrounding Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Other examples that come to mind are U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday," Midnight Oil's "Beds Are Burning," Manic Street Preacher's "If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next," Bruce Springsteen's "Youngstown," and Rage Against the Machine's "Wake Up." Different styles and audiences, but all pulling from real events, historical movements or cultural flashpoints in ways that remind me of the older folk tradition. More recently, songs like "Rich Men North of Richmond" by Oliver Anthony spread through the public consciousness less like a pop hit and more like an old protest song.

I wonder if part of the difference now is that songs no longer have a monopoly on storytelling. Ballad were one of the primary ways ordinary people learned about and remembered an contemporary event. Today that same role is shared with documentaries, films, podcasts, books, YouTube channels, and social media. That's been developing like a gradient over the years. The desire to commemorate events and capture a moment in history seems unchanged...there are just a lot more competing ways for those stories to be told these days.

Goto next topic

You must register and log in to be able to participate in this discussion.