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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 twenty-six thousand 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 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
Then 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
When the wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the captain did too
'Twas 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 freezing 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 PM a main hatchway caved in
He said, "Fellas, it's been good to 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 out of sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Does anyone know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searchers 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
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 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 'til 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
Too bad he is Canadian! Sort of blows the American jingoism out the window, don't you think?
North American?
More Rheostatics please!
"That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early"
Lyrics like that don't come along every day.
How about:
"Does anyone know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?"
When the gales of November came early"
Lyrics like that don't come along every day.
(If you are not following @LakeSuperior on Twitter, you really should be.)
Lake Superior: couple of facts. Largest lake by volume in the entire world. Rarely freezes over, only 3 years on record. More hazardous than any ocean in winter. 55'-75' waves not uncommon.
Not to be pedantic: by volume it's Lake Baikal, by surface area it's Superior. Baikal is e'rso deep...
Some ireland rhythm. And sea
Having spent 31 hours crossing the Gulfstream in my old 47' Alden ketch during a freak summer nor'easter with winds over 50kts and seas 15 to 20 feet, I can easily identify with this song. Several times I thought we were gone but my old boat brought us home safely. She was built to go around the world by her original owner (and did) and you better believe I was thankful of that considering the pounding we took.
Sing on Gordon. Every time I hear this I mourn the deaths of my fellow seafarers.
Those who have been through such a voyage truly understand what it is "when the waves turn the minutes to hours."
Hey, Great tune... From a Michigan Sailor... For those who are not familure with the lakes, and the storms that roll through, they can be everything but a vacation paradise. This song remindes me of every storm I've sailed through that has left me wonding... "what the hell am i doing out here".... Capt'n
Watching a storm front come across the lake toward your little spec of a canoe out of Isle Royale is an enlightening experience.
"As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most".
So the ship was big, eh, Gordon?
I have it cranked to 11, as it should be any time this classic hits the airwaves, or intertubes, as the case may be.
Big thanks.
LLRP.
And from now on I'll always pronounce it Dee-troy-it in honor of GL's genius.
Hard to craft a more solid song than this.
Iconic American songwriting !
Too bad he is Canadian! Sort of blows the American jingoism out the window, don't you think?
Iconic American songwriting !
We treasure him in the U.S.A. too!
I grew up near Detroit and remember well when this happened. They showed the bell being chimed on the news and I tear up every time I hear this song. I love to sing along with it, but my singing goes to crap when I sing about "the wives, the sons, and the daughters".
By volume the largest is Lake Baikal in South Eastern Siberia, and by a distance. Superior has a surface area about equal to England but it is relatively shallow, probably what causes the extraordinary wave heights.
Not sure where you're getting your facts, but to say it's more hazardous than any ocean is quite a stretch but yes it's way underestimated. 55'-75' waves are uncommon most anyway but the North Sea in the winter. Do they happen on the lake, sure, but to call it common is a stretch.
Bill,,, how about playing the cover of it by The Dandy Warhols?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8GZ33mda5A
Well, I guess my 8's not high enough; if Bob likes it it's gotta be a 9 at least....so be it....9 it is....Long Live RP!!
This song makes me want to put on a Stan Rogers album.
I prefer small lakes.....
Lake Ontario? It's almost a "pond" compared to the big lake they call "Gitche Gumee".
You finally stopped at 15...do you go boating on Lake Superior?
Too Big....I prefer small lakes.....that slide guitar kills me! 15
You finally stopped at 15...do you go boating on Lake Superior?
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Sing on Gordon. Every time I hear this I mourn the deaths of my fellow seafarers.
Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turns the minutes to hours?
A nice seque for the next song would be the Enter the Haggis song Down With The Ship
Great pic. thanks
How 'bout that PSD button, gents. Does it not work in your northern climes?
Booo!
DocStrangelove wrote:
How 'bout that PSD button, gents. Does it not work in your northern climes?
This song speaks. One of Lightfoot's best.
written in the style of sailing songs of old
DocStrangelove wrote:
starts with, so fair with fromm glide
My daughter might have been on the same ride. Some lady in the back of the boat blew chunks all over her.
My brother has video of that trip. I get sick just watching it on his phone.
My dad was on the trip too. He was in the Navy as a young man and went through typhoons on Destroyers. He just sat there and smiled while watching people run for the side to hurl.
Some of us have attention spans longer than a house fly's!
Just with the gitchy-goominess of a great tune. ( < ;
Love the nod to Hiawatha.
I remember studying poetry in Grade 7 and my group had to do a presentation on ballads. We chose this one and started singing it in front of our class as our presentation. After the first verse my classmates stopped singing and I had to carry the rest of the tune myself. It's such a LONG song. It was mortifying, I'm still scarred today.
https://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/namesake-of-ill-fated-edmund-fitzgerald-to-get-his-due-b99240359z1-254894551.html
And suddenly, I'm back in high school Chem class while one of the boys plays this on a kazoo...
Bluecobra wrote:
This song speaks. One of Lightfoot's best.
I think you might be misunderstanding what we are all doing here.
Agree. What about shine on your crazy diamond ? Jewel. Gordon Lighgfoot is (or was) incredible
I think you might be misunderstanding what we are all doing here.
Too long? For what? To tell the story properly?
It is a perfect ballad 10++!
Some of us have attention spans longer than a house fly's!
Just with the gitchy-goominess of a great tune. ( < ;
One of many wrecks on the Lakes. Check out the SS Cedarville from 1965
I think you missed a word. Did you mean "much to long for?"
Cry Cry Cry - Cold Missouri Waters
Gordon Lightfoot - The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
My hat is off to you, BillG.
Well said !!
easmann wrote:
Hear! Hear!
Well, I guess my 8's not high enough; if Bob likes it it's gotta be a 9 at least....so be it....9 it is....Long Live RP!!