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Steve Ash
11-09-2005, 11:09 PM
30 years ago the "Fitz" went missing. Tonight it is reported Lake Superior has 23' waves, just heard from a guy who lives on Lake Huron 4 freighters are waiting it out right now out his window. Forgive me for the long thread but I thought posting the lyrics to the song might be a nice tribute to those 29 men who lost their lives.



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
Coming back from some mill in Wisconson
As the big freighters go it was bigger than most
With a crew and the 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 ships bell rang
Could it be the North Wind they'd been feeling.

The wind in the wires made a tattletale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the Captain did, too,
T'was the witch of November come stealing.

The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the gales of November came slashing
When afternoon came it was freezing rain
In the face of a hurricane West Wind

When supper time came the old cook came on deck
Saying fellows it's too rough to feed ya
At 7PM a main hatchway caved in
He said fellas it's been good to know ya.

The Captain wired in he had water coming 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 words turn the minutes to hours
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd 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 ruins 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 29 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 say, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early.

Mark Singer
11-10-2005, 12:08 AM
Affair On 8th Avenue <HR width="40%">
(Em7) (Am7) (Em)
The perfume that she (D) wore was from (Am) some little (Bm) store
(Cmaj7) On the down side of (D) town
But (Em) it lingered (D) on long (Am) after she'd (Bm) gone
(Cmaj7) I remember it (D) well
And our (G) fingers en(D)twined like (C) ribbons of (D) light
And we (G) came through a (Em) doorway some(Am)where in the (F) night (D)
Her long flowing hair came softly undone
And it lay all around
And she brushed it down as I stood by her side
In the warmth of her love
And she showed me her treasures of paper and tin
And then we played a game only she could win
And she told me a riddle I'll never forget
Then left with the answer I've never found yet
How long, said she, can a moment like this
Belong to someone
What's wrong, what is right, when to live or to die
We must almost be born
So if you should ask me what secrets I hide
I'm only your lover, don't make me decide The perfume that she wore was from some little store
On the down side of town
But it lingered on long after she'd gone
I remember it well
And she showed me her treasures of paper and tin
And then we played a game only she could win
And our fingers entwined like ribbons of light
And we came through a doorway somewhere in the night

Andrew Ault
11-10-2005, 12:17 AM
Steve,

Thanks for posting this. This song goes through my head often. It's good to thing about the men that died doing a tough job.

May they rest in peace.

Andy

Dave Richards
11-10-2005, 6:31 AM
Tonight they light the beacon at Split Rock Lighthouse in commemoration of the sinking of the Fitz. The lighthouse's construction was brought about after the shipwrecks during the "gales of November" in 1905.

http://www.mnhs.org/places/sites/srl/images/srphotoeleven.jpg
Split Rock Light (http://www.mnhs.org/places/sites/srl/)

John Hart
11-10-2005, 7:20 AM
I guess this means the waves are going to be crashing over the interstate this morning for me on the way to work. I always love that...very majestic and it reminds me how powerful the Great Lakes can be. Good thread!

Tyler Howell
11-10-2005, 8:10 AM
My favorite sailing waters! :cool:
Very spiritual, and respected.

Karl Laustrup
11-10-2005, 8:10 AM
We took the tour of Split Rock a couple of years ago. What an impressive location.

Wish I could be up there tonight to see the light shine again.

Karl

Darrick Robbins
11-10-2005, 8:37 AM
Everytime I head out onto the big lake (Lake Michigan) to fish I have a little shiver. So big, so deep, so changable. If those big ships can go under then my father in law's 33 footer is like a bobber out there. I have heard it said by several of those captains that pilot sea going ships that they have seen more difficult waves in the great lakes than on the open ocean. God Bless those guys who work and live on the water.
Darrick

Earl Reid
11-10-2005, 9:13 AM
Steve,
Thanks for posting. I remember the day. A friend of mine got off the Fitzgerald a week before and lost his life in Lake Erie 2 yrs later while serving on another boat. I worked with many of the lake sailors for many yrs.
Earl

Tyler Howell
11-10-2005, 9:26 AM
A some what obsolete Nav Aid, the lights are quite majestic. You'll never know how much they are valued until you have been fighting unfamiliar waters all night long.
There are some wonderful lights all over the Great Lakes that are no longer in use, only accessible by water. Great for a tour/hike.

White Fish Bay has a nice museum and big exhibit on the Fitz. They have the original ships bell.:cool:

Karl Laustrup
11-10-2005, 10:19 AM
White Fish Bay has a nice museum and big exhibit on the Fitz. They have the original ships bell.:cool:

And that bell will toll on the anniversary of the sinking 30 times. Once for each of the crew members [29] and once for all the others lost on the "Lakes".

Karl

Michael Gibbons
11-13-2005, 10:28 AM
Being born in Michigan, It still amazes me how much water surrounds our state. Lake Superoir, the largest is quite a sight. If anyone has a chance, get to the U.P. and head to the "GREAT LAKES SHIPWRECK MUSEUM" . Kinda eerie when you realize how much damage that lake can cause.

John Bailey
11-13-2005, 10:41 AM
Three years ago I did a single handed, month long sail voyage on Lake Superior. I had to go around Whitefish Point twice. Both times I sailed an extra 2 hours to give the point a wide berth. On my outgoing trip I sailed 18 hours into a 20 knot wind to get to the next harbour, which was Grand Marais. There isn't much out there between Whitefish Point and Grand Marais. Lake Superior has an awsome power that you learn not to mess with, and when you're out there, Gordon Lightfoot's tune runs through your mind constantly.

If you have the chance, do visit the museum at Whitefish Point. It's worth the time.

John

Mark Singer
11-13-2005, 11:08 AM
What is the matter wit "Affair on Eight Ave"....you can still sing it on the lake:confused:

Dave Richards
11-13-2005, 11:17 AM
John, that's an impressive crossing to do single handed. Not sure I could do that.

Mark, I'd scare the fish out of the lake if I sang that song (or any other). :D

John Bailey
11-13-2005, 11:28 AM
Dave,

The hard part is convincing yourself to go, the rest is easy. Once your out there you don't have a choice, one wave after another till you get where you're going.

Mark,

Nothin' wrong with the song. Is that a Lightfoot. It doesn't seem familiar and I thought I knew all his songs.

John

John Bailey
11-13-2005, 11:35 AM
Tyler,

They may be somewhat obsolete, but I can tell you when you're sailing at night, and especially when you're alone, you wish there were more of them. I've gone sailing in November twice and both times I've run aground because they take the buoys up in November and I wasn't able to find deep water while approching land. I was able to kedge off one time, but the other cost me a $1,000 tow. (Is it any wonder I sailed alot singlehanded!!)

John

Ken Fitzgerald
11-13-2005, 11:45 AM
John....You have my respect. As a young man I began working alongside my father on oil rigs at age 15. When I entered US Navy bootcamp at age 19, I laughed all the way through. By the time I was age 27 I thought I was invinceable. Then at age 27 I experienced the Atlantic in late February! I had never been to sea or spent time on a large body of water. It was a humbling experience as I watched a 40' ship being swamped while we on a much larger ship passed portable bilge pumps to them to replace their foundering bilge pumps. I suddenly realized just how small, insignificant and powerless man really is compared to Nature. I don't know that I'd have the courage to sail solo on Lake Superior at any time of year. I, also, have a tremendous respect for all mariners of any sort!

John Bailey
11-13-2005, 2:40 PM
Ken,

Like anything else, sailing is only risky if you don't show the proper respect. It's no more dangerous than working in our shops. On my month long trip, I spent about 8 days holing up, listening to Gordon Lightfoot music, waiting for good weather. 2 of those days were waiting for the weather to clear before I went around Whitefish Point.

John

Mark Singer
11-13-2005, 3:46 PM
Dave,

The hard part is convincing yourself to go, the rest is easy. Once your out there you don't have a choice, one wave after another till you get where you're going.

Mark,

Nothin' wrong with the song. Is that a Lightfoot. It doesn't seem familiar and I thought I knew all his songs.

John

John,
That is a Lightfoot song...an early one..I saw him a couple years ago...the voice is getting a bit weak....the cd's sound better...still he was great to see and what a body of work!

John Bailey
11-13-2005, 4:15 PM
Mark,

Yup, I found it, on the "Back Here on Earth" album. I had forgotten it, but I remember now. So now I'm in the process of listening to all my Gordon Lightfoot music. It's a good day for it. We've got high winds, gusts to 60 all day. Mackinaw Bridge is closed. Good day for listening to the Minstral of Canada. I guess I'll get out the late Stan Rogers and his brother Garnet while I'm at it. Those Eastern Canadians sure know how to spin a folk tune.

John

Tyler Howell
11-13-2005, 7:06 PM
Yah John!

"If you haven't been aground you haven't been around"

That south shore is some tough stuff. I don't do much single-handed sailing cause I really don't like the company:o .
Did a couple of deliveries from the Sault to Bayfield in early May. Coldest night of my life, I wore everything I owned including the soft sided luggage.
GPS or Sat-Nav will never give me that warm and cuddly like a light house will.

John Bailey
11-13-2005, 7:19 PM
Tyler,

I haven't done any sailing in your half of the lake. I've done a little kayaking in the Apostle's. I've got a friend who works for the MN DNR, or whatever you call it. He's developing a water trail on your Lake Superior shoreline. I hope to do that some day.

As far as single handed sailing, I did a lot for the same reason you didn't. Others didn't enjoy the company.

John

Dale Thompson
11-13-2005, 9:19 PM
Steve,
We all recall Gordon Lightfoot's haunting, memorable and classic song remembering that tragic event. http://www.corfid.com/gl/wreck.htm

My dad had had his Sailor's Papers for about a year back in the early 1930's when he signed aboard a small lumber hauler named the "Redfern". It wasn't the sturdiest ship on the lakes and he said that he knew he was in trouble when the First Mate came aboard with an inner tube around his shoulders.

Anyway, a storm came up and the "Redfern" sank off the shores of Door County, WI. His unforgotten memory of that near-disastrous night was the occasional visibility of the "Lower lights" beaming from the shores of Door County. Fortunately, all hands were saved and my dad quit the water and became a minister.

Until his death in 1992, his favorite song was always, "Let the Lower Lights be Burning". http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/l/l/llowerlb.htm

Dale T.

Dennis Peacock
11-13-2005, 11:35 PM
Great songs and to be highly respected. But I, like many, can't carry a tune in a bucket....which is why I play bass guitar.!!:D

Michael Cody
11-14-2005, 10:51 AM
Great songs and to be highly respected. But I, like many, can't carry a tune in a bucket....which is why I play bass guitar.!!:D


Bass player -- isn't that what they call guys that hang out with musicians? You should listen to Bob & Tom on Wed mornings @ 9:45am est.. the have their bass talk show -- jokingly of course.

I with you though on the bucket .. I wear an MP3 player & headphones (cordless bluetooth) when I turn sometimes .. wife shuts the doors and windows because I often sign along with the music -- dogs run away, neighbors mow their lawns, etc.. just to drown out the sound. :D