In Memory of the Edmund Fitzgerald

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