I was introduced to this song by a music teacher in elementary school, and I remember being wow'd by the story and thinking the song sounded cool as hell. I've almost never listened to it since then, but it has remained ingrained in my head for almost 30 years. Every couple of weeks it pops into my head, clear as a bell.
When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin'
"Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya"
At seven PM, a main hatchway caved in, he said
"Fellas, it's been good to know ya"
One of my favorite songs. So many haunting lyrics. I've always been fascinated by "Superior, they said, never gives up her dead..." I've read it is in reference to the fact that because the lake is so cold, sunken bodies will not decompose and resurface. Of course, it could just be folklore.
There’s a well known wreck (SS Kamloops) popular among divers that has a body in the engine room. Divers call it “Whitey” because it has saponified, and thus appears similar to a bar of soap.
Iron Maiden's adaptation of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner comes close. You have to get into the original work and perhaps have similar life experiences to appreciate it I suppose.
The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is more accessible.
(Since Iron Maiden got another mention for Rime of the Ancient Mariner, I'd bet they have more to offer, but I'm not that knowledgeable about their work.)
On a less historical, more personal tragedy level, "Cat's in the Cradle" has always hit me way harder than I would expect (both as a kid and an adult):
Obligatory link to the Paul Gross song, 32 Down on the Robert Mackenzie, which was composed after the show (Due South) was planning to do a story (featuring the song) about the Edmund Fitzgerald, but was convinced by the families of the deceased that it was better to craft something fictional: https://youtu.be/_d-t0959C3A
Oh wow... I haven't seen (or really even thought about) that show in ~25 years. That was one of my favorite shows in my early teens. I wonder how well it would hold up these days. I remember it being super campy (in a fun way).
Not sure why I'm sharing this, but yeah...