That song holds a special place in my heart. The day the Edmond Fitzgerald sank, my Uncle (Dad's brother) was buried in Toronto. The weather then was glummy in Toronto...
it's the "or more" part that'll get you in trouble.
if you don't know your exact tonnage you're going to be imbalanced.
get it together, man. gales or not, do your job right.
Lines from the song by Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot
One of the songs of his that I like.
But I can never remember Amerindian name of the lake.
That song brought that ships loss to my notice.
That song always gives me a chill. My dad worked on the lake freighters when I was growing up. We hated when he had to sail between October and when the lakes froze.
My great uncle was the Captain of an Ann Arbor Carferry and sailed between Manitowoc, Ludington and Frankfort. He told us the worst months on L Michigan were October and March. Based on this week’s 48 mph gusts, I think his assertion was accurate.
#YA2UP,EH
That’s a good question. I only remember uncle Magnor’s name. His daughter, my mom’s cousin, was the only resident of Manitowoc to christen one of the submarines built at the Manitowoc Shipyards for WWII. She ended up marrying the Navy officer who escorted her at the ceremony. He was a submariner.
It was just after dark when the truck started down
The hill that leads into Scranton Pennsylvania.
Carrying thirty thousand pounds of bananas.
Carrying thirty thousand pounds (hit it Big John) of bananas.
I once got a miraculous delay on a behind schedule software project because the Great Lakes stayed frozen later than usual. Because the ships couldn’t leave port, my unfinished software wasn’t needed as quickly as planned.
Well watching that cracked open a head full of memories; I was a 10 year old in St. Paul and it was in the news, people spoke of it. What I remember most was the respectful fear people had of Lake Superior.
I don’t know how you can ever behold the Great Lakes in their entirety 1
But as a kid who had never seen it was as terrifying to me as the possibility of being possessed by Pazuzu. The next year my mother took us to Duluth for vacation. I gamely made way towards the water slipping on its shore of slick dark flat oval stones. Finally at Superior’s edge I dipped a toe in
the cold burned to the bone and it was then that I understood that this was less a body water than it was pure force that took no issue eating people live. I returned only once, 45 years later. It was a windy September day looking at the water’s chop that sailors refer to as confused water.
Fun fact: in ‘91 I was in a nasty auto wreck (100% my fault). And that lyric played on a loop in my brain for a while as my mangled body was trapped underneath my car.
Coasties here! I served Search and Rescue out of Duluth in 1986; we talked about the Fitz constantly. Our BM2 was on one of the recovery crews, 10 years prior, had a thousand-yard stare.
That line was changed when they found the wreck and it was proven that there was no humans error that lead Ronné wreck. I've only found 1 live recording of Lightfoot singing the new lyrics on YouTube.
Thank you, BSDTV...
I'm reading alot into these lyrics...or maybe just bummed over trumps new America
Regardless, like to think I'll run into Gordon on the Astral plane one day...
He was one of the worthy
Not clear by design. That’s a recent development by an invasive species that has eaten a lot of the plant life. It used to be colored a silty cold gray on most days.
Is your ship the pride of the American side, coming back from some mail in Wisconsin? As the big freighters go, is it bigger than most, with a crew and good captain well seasoned?
It's an astounding feat how he spun a bunch of nautical jibberish about something as mundane as a cargo ship running into a storm into the most beautiful poetry ever heard.
I live near Detroit, home of the Old Mariner's Cathedral. As you may know, when Gordon Lightfoot passed, the church paid tribute by ringing the bell 30 times, one for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald and one more for the musician who gave them a sort of immortality in his art.
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
I love Gordan Lightfoot's voice and his story-like songs. Even reading the comments, the lyrics to this song are making me tear up. I heard that this song is requested for funerals, and ever since I feel like I should add that to my Will.
My dad sailed on the SS John Boardman. The pictures he took of his freighter coated in ice WHILE they sailed the lakes was mindboggling and fuckin scary.
I grew up on the Lake Huron shore and my dad was a sailor in the US Steel fleet. We'd often see the Fitz. He was in shock for days after she went down. She was looked on as the unofficial flagship of the lakes until she went down and the Stinson came along.
Comments
Cool.
if you don't know your exact tonnage you're going to be imbalanced.
get it together, man. gales or not, do your job right.
Think I want to stay on this thread the rest of my life 😂
P.S. thank you for this Canadiana. If you could read my mind, you'd know I needed a distraction. The comments on your post are golden.
In the rooms of her ice water mansion.”
Phenomenal.
great song btw
One of the songs of his that I like.
But I can never remember Amerindian name of the lake.
That song brought that ships loss to my notice.
#YA2UP,EH
It was just after dark when the truck started down
The hill that leads into Scranton Pennsylvania.
Carrying thirty thousand pounds of bananas.
Carrying thirty thousand pounds (hit it Big John) of bananas.
Where are you hauling it to?
https://youtu.be/qiD3I1aTQdM?si=JRUkggPkTyJ5Z58W
not about my dad.
about the song. 🤭
"Fellas, it too rough to feed ya,' we knew we weren't going to eat that night.
https://youtu.be/Y8LBkYjniTU?si=ku3QOl1YCyG9R6My
I don’t know how you can ever behold the Great Lakes in their entirety 1
🇦🇺💙🍁✌️
Good times…
Hope this isn't a metaphor for these days we're in ...💙
https://youtu.be/71q5RmYS0ZM?feature=shared
I'm reading alot into these lyrics...or maybe just bummed over trumps new America
Regardless, like to think I'll run into Gordon on the Astral plane one day...
He was one of the worthy
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/gordonlightfoot/thewreckoftheedmundfitzgerald.html
When the gales of November came early.
* or true, supposedly original lyric?
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
Of the Great Lake they call Gitcheegumi
💛
1) Split up
2) Capsized?
3) Broke deep and took water?
😉 🇦🇺💙🍁
Gitche Gumee has plans for you 🌊
Gordan Lightfooot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcDLADEgdbg
the wind in the wires make a tattletale sound
I’m usually bad at this but..
I used to sing this one a lot.