Gordon Lightfoot - The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald (1979)

Thank you my audiophile friend SGT (Join to see) for posting the music video of Gordon Lightfoot performing the classic and somber ballad The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald in 1979.

Background. There are are many songs and ballads about sea tragedies. 'This song commemorates the sinking of the carrier SS Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior on November 10, 1975. The tragedy took the lives of 29 men.'

"The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald" written by 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 twenty-six thousand tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty
[Former version:] That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
[Latter version:] 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
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
Saying, "Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya."
[Former version:] At seven PM a main hatchway caved in
[Latter version:] At seven PM it grew dark, it was then
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

[Former version:] In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed
[Latter version:] In a rustic 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.'

One classic Gordon Lightfoot ballad inspires me to post a few more

Gordon Lightfoot - "If You Could Read My Mind" (Live TV performance)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DK--A-IaZnA

FYI SMSgt Lawrence McCarterLTC (Join to see)MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D.Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D.PO1 William "Chip" NagelSPC Michael TerrellGySgt Thomas VickCPL Douglas ChryslerLt Col John (Jack) ChristensenGySgt Jack WallaceMSgt James Clark-RosaSMSgt Mark VenzeioCpl Vic BurkSFC Ralph E KelleySGT Randell Rose LTC John Mohor1st Lt Padre Dave Poedel 1SG Joseph Dartey SPC Margaret Higgins

Great song very well done.

A Great performance and a Great Story song about what? ... The Greatest of the Great Lakes and a Great ship. What can I say? It's Just GREAT!!!