November 10 1975 THE WRECK OF THE EDMUND FITZGERALD

[seemslikeadream]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_8s2zsNhSM

THE WRECK OF THE EDMUND FITZGERALD

Gordon Lightfoot

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called '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 twenty-six thousand tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty.
That good ship and crew 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 Wisconsin
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
With a crew and good 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 ship's bell rang
Could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?

The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the captain did too,
T'was the witch of November come stealin'.
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the Gales of November came slashin'.
When afternoon came it was freezin' rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind.

When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin'.
Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya.
At Seven P.M. a main hatchway caved in, he said
Fellas, it's been good t'know ya
The captain wired in he had water comin' in
And the good ship and crew was in peril.
And later that night when his lights went outta sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Does any one know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searches all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her.
They might have split up or they might have capsized;
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 rooms 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 till it rang twenty-nine 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 said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early!

[MadMaddie]

1. The documentry they have about the Edmund Fitzgerald

is facinating....the song is haunting isn't ?

RIP

[rodeodance]

2. living here in WI, radios still occassionally play that song.

[Annces]

3. Amazing that was fairly recent

Love the song.

[Scout]

4. The Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point

has an excellent exhibit and movie. I think they have the bell from the Fitz there as well.

I could never be a sailor or merchant marine ... that big water just scares the crap out of me.

I've been on Lake Superior a couple times, crossing to Isle Royale. Thank Goddess we had good weather! The second time, the lake was smooth as glass both over and back, and we had beautiful blue skies. I can't imagine being out there in a November storm.


RIP crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald

[seemslikeadream]

9. Archival Chronicle Gallery

This issue of the Archival Chronicle Gallery features images from the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes.

Captain Ernest McSorley

SS EDMUND FITZGERALD, built 1958

The SS EDMUND FITZGERALD sank November 10, 1975, at approximately 7:10 P.M. in Lake Superior, about 15 miles north of Point Crisp, Michigan. All twenty-nine crew members were lost. The ship was one of the largest carriers on the Great Lakes. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the loss of the EDMUND FITZGERALD

http://www.bgsu.edu/Colleges/library/cac/acgal0512.html

[mike_c]

5. that song give me chills every time I hear it....

eom

[Kingshakabobo]

10. Me too. Of course, I had to mosey over to his other songs on YouTube....

....and listen to "If You Could Read My Mind." Now I'm all emotional on a Saturday afternoon.

[Eurobabe]

13. I just heard Carefree Highway on XM70s this afternoon

before I even saw this thread. :hi:

[Bluebear]

14. "Too Late for Praying" gets me everytime.

It was only yesterday
When I heard the teacher say
Patiently, one and two make three
We were children, you and me
Let us pray for the ones they call
The children of today
Nothin' left but promises
Nothin' much is certain
All we see is want and need across the board, why thank you lord
We're livin' in the glory of your care
Skies of blue have all turned brown
To the sound of cryin
Lord abide, let us stem the tide
Of broken dreams
Sometimes you seem to tell us
It's too late for prayin'

See the ocean wild and blue
Think of all that's in her
She will not surrender to the likes of us, but then she must
They tell us, wise men tell us, it's too late
For each child with eyes that smile
There'll be ten more cryin'
Lord abide, let us stem the time
Of helplessness
But then I guess we're livin'
Is it too late for tryin'

Nothin' here but grains of sand
Nothin' much worth savin'
Guess we've all got problems of our own to bear, and still we share
Tomorrow could get better than today
To the ones who've loved in vain
Will ya be beholden
Lord abide, let us stem the tide
Of broken dreams
Sometimes ya seem to tell us
It's too late for prayin'

[MaineYooper]

6. I grew up about 75 miles west of Whitefish Bay,

... and I lived about two blocks from Lake Superior. It is a frightening sight to see in a big storm.

I was 11 when the ship went down. I don't remember the storm, but I do remember the news stories. It certainly was a different world then in terms of navigational and communication tools.

[NMMNG]

7. That gets to me every time

:cry:

[Eurobabe]

8. Great song, fascinating story, I grew up on Lake Erie

and had moved to NY State by 1974, but I remember the night this freighter went down.

Discovery just did a documentary on the Edmund Fitzgerald a year or so ago, they hoisted the bell for the families.

[havocmom]

12. That was a really moving documentary

I simply cannot get through singing the song. Voice fails at "...the faces and names of the wives and the sons and the daughters" CANNOT get that phrase out of my throat. All these years gone by and I still cannot give that phrase voice.

[truedelphi]

11. Love that song! I get chills too! n/t