A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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Version 1 Version 2 Version 3 Version 5
Edmund Fitzgerald by: Gordon Lightfoot
Chords By: RT237
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[Verse 1]
A Em
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
G D Asus2 A
Of the big lake they called "Gitche Gumee"
Em
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
G D Asus2 A
When the skies of No vember turn gloomy
A Em
With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more
G D Asus2 A
Than the Edmund Fitz gerald weighed empty.
A Em
That good ship and crew was a bone to be chewed
G D Asus2 A
When the "Gales of No vember" came early.
[Verse 2]
A Em
The ship was the pride of the A merican side
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Coming back from some mill in Wis consin
A Em
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
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With a crew and good captain well seasoned
A Em
Con cluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
G D Asus2
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
A Em
And later that night when the ship's bell rang
G D Asus2
Could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?
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[Verse 3]
A Em
The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
G D Asus2 A
And a wave broke over the railing
A Em
And every man knew, as the captain did too,
G D Asus2 A
T'was the witch of No vember come stealin'.
A Em
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
G D Asus2
When the Gales of No vember came slashin'.
A Em
When afternoon came it was freezin' rain
G D Asus2
In the face of a hurricane west wind.
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[Verse 4]
A Em
When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck
G D Asus2 A
Sayin’, "Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya."
A Em
At Seven P.M. a main hatchway caved in',
G D Asus2 A
he said "Fellas, it's been good t'know ya"
Em
The captain wired in he had water comin' in
G D Asus2
and the good ship and crew was in peril.
A Em
And later that night when 'is lights went outta sight
G D Asus2
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitz gerald.
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[Verse 5]
Em
Does any one know where the love of God goes
G D Asus2 A
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
A Em
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
G D Asus2 A
If they'd put fifteen more miles be hind her.
A Em
They might have split up or they might have capsized;
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They may have broke deep and took water.
A Em
And all that remains is the faces and the names
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Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.
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[Verse 6]
Em
Lake Huron rolls, Su perior sings
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In the rooms of her ice-water mansion.
A Em
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams;
G D Asus2 A
The islands and bays are for sportsmen.
A Em
And farther below Lake On tario
G D Asus2
Takes in what Lake Erie can send her,
A Em
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
G D Asus2
with the Gales of No vember re membered.
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[Verse 7]
A Em
In a musty old hall in De troit they prayed,
G D Asus2 A
In the "Maritime Sailors' Ca thedral."
A Em
The church bell chimed till it rang twenty-nine times
G D Asus2 A
For each man on the Edmund Fitz gerald.
A Em
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
G D Asus2 A
Of the big lake they call "Gitche Gumee".
A Em
"Su perior", they said, "never gives up her dead
G D Asus2
When the 'Gales of No vember' come early!"
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