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Gordon Lightfoot - Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald (Official Audio)
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Credits

PERFORMING ARTISTS
Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Lightfoot
Vocals
Rick Haynes
Rick Haynes
Bass Guitar
Barry Keane
Barry Keane
Drums
Pee Wee Charles
Pee Wee Charles
Pedal Steel Guitar
Gene Martynec
Gene Martynec
Moog
Terry Clements
Terry Clements
Lead Electric Guitar
COMPOSITION & LYRICS
Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Lightfoot
Songwriter
PRODUCTION & ENGINEERING
Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Lightfoot
Producer
Ken Friesen
Ken Friesen
Recording Engineer
Lee Herschberg
Lee Herschberg
Mixing Engineer
Lenny Waronker
Lenny Waronker
Producer

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake, they called 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
[Verse 2]
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 feeling?
[Verse 3]
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
'Twas 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
[Verse 4]
When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck saying
"Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya"
At 7:00 PM, a main hatchway caved in, he said
"Fellas, it's been good ta 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
[Verse 5]
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
[Verse 6]
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
[Verse 7]
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 called Gitche Gumee
Superior, they said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early
Written by: Gordon Lightfoot

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