| In Memory of the Edmund Fitzgerald
| |
| | too
|
| The legend lives on from the Chippewa on
| |
| | 'Twas the witch of November come
|
| down
| |
| | stealin'.
|
| Of the big lake they called "Gitche
| |
| | The dawn came late and the breakfast had
|
| Gumee."
| |
| | to wait
|
| The lake, it is said, never gives up her
| |
| | When the Gales of November came slashin'.
|
| dead
| |
| | When afternoon came it was freezin' rain
|
| When the skies of November turn gloomy.
| |
| | In the face of a hurricane west wind.
|
| With a load of iron ore twenty-six
| |
| | When suppertime came the old cook came on
|
| thousand tons more
| |
| | deck sayin'.
|
| Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty,
| |
| | "Fellas, it's too rough t'feed ya."
|
| That good ship and true was a bone to be
| |
| | At Seven P.M. a main hatchway caved in;
|
| chewed
| |
| | he said,
|
| When the "Gales of November" came early.
| |
| | "Fellas, it's bin good t'know ya!"
|
| And so starts the memorial song, "The
| |
| | The captain wired in he had water comin'
|
| Wreck of the Edmund
| |
| | in
|
| Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot. It is in
| |
| | And the good ship and crew was in peril.
|
| memory of thatfateful day, November 10th,
| |
| | And later that night when 'is lights went
|
| 1975, when the Edmund Fitzgerald,or "The
| |
| | outta sight
|
| Fitz" as she was called, disappeared in a
| |
| | Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
|
| storm on
| |
| | Does any one know where the love of God
|
| Lake Superior.
| |
| | goes
|
| The sinking of this gigantic ship gave
| |
| | When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
|
| rise to one of thebiggest mysteries in
| |
| | The searchers all say they'd have made
|
| Great Lakes maritime history.
| |
| | Whitefish Bay
|
| Whathappened that fateful night? Why were
| |
| | If they'd put fifteen more miles behind
|
| they unable to sendnary a distress call?
| |
| | 'er.
|
| After 31 years of not having
| |
| | They might have split up or they might
|
| anyconclusive answers, we will probably
| |
| | have capsized;
|
| never know.
| |
| | They may have broke deep and took water.
|
| The day after the wreck, Detroit's
| |
| | And all that remains is the faces and the
|
| Mariners' Church tolled
| |
| | names
|
| 29 times in memory of the 29 souls. The
| |
| | Of the wives and the sons and the
|
| church continues tohold an annual
| |
| | daughters.
|
| memorial, which includes the reading of
| |
| | Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
|
| thenames of the crewmen and the ringing
| |
| | In the rooms of her ice-water mansion.
|
| of the church bell. Herwreck lies broken
| |
| | Old Michigan steams like a young man's
|
| in two sections in 530 feet of water in
| |
| | dreams;
|
| Lake Superior. The ship's bell was
| |
| | The islands and bays are for sportsmen.
|
| recovered from the wreckon July 4, 1995
| |
| | And farther below Lake Ontario
|
| and is now in the Great Lakes Shipwreck
| |
| | Takes in what Lake Erie can send her,
|
| Museum in Whitefish Point near Paradise,
| |
| | And the iron boats go as the mariners all
|
| Michigan. An anchorfrom the Fitz, lost on
| |
| | know
|
| an earlier trip, was recovered fromthe
| |
| | With the Gales of November remembered.
|
| Detroit River and is on display at the
| |
| | In a musty old hall in Detroit they
|
| Dossin Great
| |
| | prayed,
|
| Lakes Museum in Detroit, Michigan.
| |
| | In the "Maritime Sailors' Cathedral."
|
| ****************************************
| |
| | The church bell chimed 'til it rang
|
| *******************
| |
| | twenty-nine times
|
| The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
| |
| | For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.
|
| By Gordon Lightfoot, © 1976
| |
| | The legend lives on from the Chippewa on
|
| The legend lives on from the Chippewa on
| |
| | down
|
| down
| |
| | Of the big lake they call "Gitche Gumee."
|
| Of the big lake they called "Gitche
| |
| | "Superior," they said, "never gives up
|
| Gumee."
| |
| | her dead
|
| The lake, it is said, never gives up her
| |
| | When the gales of November come early!"
|
| dead
| |
| | ****************************************
|
| When the skies of November turn gloomy.
| |
| | *******************
|
| With a load of iron ore twenty-six
| |
| | When you travel the northern coast of
|
| thousand tons more
| |
| | Michigan's Upper
|
| Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty,
| |
| | Peninsular along Lake Superior, you will
|
| That good ship and true was a bone to be
| |
| | be in awe of thebeauty of this lake. You
|
| chewed
| |
| | will get a feel for justhow big it is.
|
| When the "Gales of November" came early.
| |
| | With it's location so far north, it's a
|
| The ship was the pride of the American
| |
| | giventhat it is cold, even in mid-summer.
|
| side
| |
| | It's hard to imaginehow cold it was that
|
| Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin.
| |
| | night The Fitz went down. And it givesyou
|
| As the big freighters go, it was bigger
| |
| | pause. When you visit the Dossin Great
|
| than most
| |
| | Lakes Museum or
|
| With a crew and good captain well
| |
| | Mariners' Church in Detroit, the Great
|
| seasoned,
| |
| | Lakes Shipwreck Museumin Whitefish Point,
|
| Concluding some terms with a couple of
| |
| | or at any of the other locations
|
| steel firms
| |
| | aroundthe state with artifacts from this
|
| When they left fully loaded for
| |
| | ship, you get a visualfeel for just how
|
| Cleveland.
| |
| | large this ship was. And it gives you
|
| And later that night when the ship's bell
| |
| | pause.
|
| rang,
| |
| | Take pause on November 10th, and remember
|
| Could it be the north wind they'd been
| |
| | the men, thewives, the sons, and the
|
| feelin'?
| |
| | daughters of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
|
| The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale
| |
| | Thanks to the Mariners' Church and to
|
| sound
| |
| | Gordon Lightfoot andthe song he penned,
|
| And a wave broke over the railing.
| |
| | the memory of this great ship and hercrew
|
| And ev'ry man knew, as the captain did
| |
| | will never be forgotten.
|
