Gordon Lightfoot - Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald

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wreck of the edmund fitzgerald chords
gordon lightfoot

capo iii

A Em G D A

A Em
the legend lives on from the chippewa on down
G D A
of the big lake they called gitche gumee
A Em
the lake , it is said , never gives up her dead
G D A
when the skies of november turn gloomy
A Em
with a load of iron ore twenty – six thousand tons more
G D A
than the edmund fitzgerald weighed empty .
A Em
that good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
G D A
when the gales of november came early .

A Em G D A

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 ships 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 ,
twas the witch of november come stealin .
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 suppertime came , the old cook came on deck sayin .
fellas , its too rough to feed ya .
at seven p . m . a main hatchway caved in , he said
fellas , its 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 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 mans 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!

set8