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The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald

In the style of

Gordon Lightfoot

Lyrics

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
comin' 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
tattletale sound
and a wave broke
over the railin'

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 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 7 p.m.
the 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
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

Details

• Duration : 6:36
• Key : B
• Genre : Rock
• Year released : 1976
• Language : English

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