----
| | Asus2 | Em |
| Th | e legend lives on from the | chippewa on down of the |
| | G | D | Asus2 |
| | Big lake they | called "Gitche | Gumee" |
| | Em |
| The lake, it is said, never g | ives up her dead |
| | G | D | Asus2 |
| When the | skies of No | vember turn | gloomy, etc... |
| Play the intro between verse sections. |
| "...could it be the north wind they'd bin feelin'?", |
| "...came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" (twice here), |
| "...with the gales of November remembered", and |
| "...when the gales of November come early" |
| The Chords: (relative to the capo, which is the zero fret, or nut) |
| | Asus2 | A11 | Dsus4 | D |
| | (nut is | 3rd fret) | | |
| =========== =========== =========== =========== |
| | | | | | | | | | | O | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-|-|-|-|-| 4|-|-|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-|-|
| | | O O | | | | | O | | | | | O | | | | | O | O |
|-|-|-|-|-| 5|-|-|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-|-|
| | | | | | | | | O | | | | | | | O O | | | | O | |
|-|-|-|-|-| 6|-|-|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-|-|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-|-|-|-|-| 7|-|-|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-|-|
| | G | Em |
| ===== | ====== ===== | ====== |
|-|-|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-|-|
|-|-|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-|-|
|-|-|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-|-|
|-|-|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-|-|
| The Full Lyrics (thanks to Brian Ross) |
| 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. |
| 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 ship's 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, |
| T'was 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 freezin' rain |
| In the face of a hurricane west wind. |
| When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin'. |
| "Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya." |
| At Seven P.M. a main hatchway caved in', he said |
| "Fellas, it's been good t'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 'is 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 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 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!" |
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Once again, a hundred thousand *MORE* apologies to Brian Ross who obviously spent a long time on this -- heck, it's still worth getting just for the great lyric chart alone!!! Also, apologies to those who were confused by my post. I'll be more careful! It's just that, played "correctly" :^), this song sounds so eerie, that you can give yourself goose bumps. It's even worth buying a 12-string JUST TO PLAY THIS SONG!
| P.S. Any big GL fans? I'd still love to hear from you! |
| mfifer@merle.acns.nwu.edu |
