I love that song!
I still listen to that song about once per week. A very powerful song.
Lonepalm keeps the wreck of the John F'n Kerry alive.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1110369/posts
When I want to waste six minutes, I prefer the Chambers Brothers' "Time Has Come Today."
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
by Gordon Lightfoot
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy.
With a load of iron ore - 26,000 tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early
The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconson
As the big freighters go it was bigger than most
With a crew and the Captain well seasoned.
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
And later that night when the ships bell rang
Could it be the North Wind they'd been feeling.
The wind in the wires made a tattletale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the Captain did, too,
T'was the witch of November come stealing.
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the gales of November came slashing
When afternoon came it was freezing rain
In the face of a hurricane West Wind
When supper time came the old cook came on deck
Saying fellows it's too rough to feed ya
At 7PM a main hatchway caved in
He said fellas it's been good to know ya.
The Captain wired in he had water coming in
And the good ship and crew was in peril
And later that night when his lights went out of sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Does anyone know where the love of God goes
When the words turn the minutes to hours
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd fifteen more miles behind her.
They might have split up or they might have capsized
They may have broke deep and took water
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.
Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
In the ruins of her ice water mansion
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams,
The islands and bays are for sportsmen.
And farther below Lake Ontario
Takes in what Lake Erie can send her
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
With the gales of November remembered.
In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed
In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral
The church bell chimed, 'til it rang 29 times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
Superior, they say, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early.
I saw the ceremony where they brought the bell up and rang it for each crewman and then sent it back down w/a memorial inscription.
"Carefree Highway", "Hangdog Hotel Room", "Sundown", "If You Could Read My Mind", "Early Morning Rain" and "Summer Side of Life" are some other great Gordon Lightfoot tunes but he is probably best known for "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"
heh...
I was just a Browns game this past weekend and Lake Erie looked ummmm let's say, CHOPPY :) in the 35 KT gusts :)
JERRY: (Correcting her) Edmund Fitzgerald.
ELIANE: I love Edmund Fitzgerald's voice.
JERRY: No, Gordon Lightfoot was the singer. Edmund Fitzgerald was the ship.
GEORGE: (Talking about his would-be apartment) You could fit 15 people in that bathroom..
ELAINE: I think Gordon Lightfoot was the boat.
JERRY: (Sarcastic) Yeah, and it was rammed by the Cat Stevens.
An old friend of mine had a cousin on board.
Rest in Peace.
Saving for later reading. Thank you.
My mom was once attacked by Gordon Lightfoot back in 1971. He had to be restrained by three security guys.
Probably Gord's last decent album although I think Endless Wire had a few good moments.
I like artists who sing lyrics that mean something. Al Stewart (not Rod) is the very best in that department, I think, but Lightfoot is a close second.
But it's a beautiful song and tells a sad story so beautifully.
I'm glad the families of the victums find it comforting.