(Read about the 2010 lyric change below).

SS Edmund Fitzgerald
Courtesy NOAA
 

"According to a legend of the Chippewa tribe, the lake they once called Gitche Gumee 'never gives up her dead.'" -- Great Lakes: The Cruelest Month, James R. Gaines with Jon Lowell in Detroit, ©1975 Newsweek Magazine

Thus began the Newsweek article in the issue of November 24, 1975. That lead and the news magazine's dry story inspired Gordon Lightfoot to write one of the greatest "story songs" ever.

On November 10, 1975, an ore carrier - the Edmund Fitzgerald - sank in Lake Superior during a November storm, taking the lives of all 29 crew members. Later that month, Gordon Lightfoot, inspired by that article in Newsweek Magazine, wrote what is probably his most famous song: Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald.

Buy an MP3 of the original recording of the song from Amazon
Buy the sheet music from Val

Sheet Music

Gordon Lightfoot: Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald Performed by Gordon Lightfoot. Single for voice, piano and guitar chords. C Major. 8 pages. Published by Alfred Publishing. (AP.VS0736) Buy from Val

Lightfoot wrote the song as a tribute to the ship, the sea, and the men who lost their lives that night. When asked recently what he thought his most significant contribution to music was, he said it was this song, which he often refers to as "The Wreck". In spite of its unlikely subject matter, the song climbed to #2 on the Billboard pop charts and remains one the most stirring topical ballads ever written, and a highlight of every Lightfoot concert. See the song lyrics below.

49th Anniversary on November 10th, 2024

Mighty Fitz Michael Schumacher Visit Amazon.com 2012 paperback

Novermber 10th, 2024 is the 49th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Every year, on November 10th and the days around it, there are commemorative services and other programs to remember the ship and the men who lost their lives. Note that events are both in-person and streamed live. Check out the schedule of events listed below and mark your calendars! (If time permits, I will add any additional events I find.)

You can find information about the events at the following links: the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum (Nov 10 before 7pm - after 8pm) - In person is priate (family of those lost), but the event will be live-streamed, with a link to follow. I will try to post the link here, but you should check at their site if I have not posted the link yet, the Dossin Great Lakes Museum (Detroit Historical Society) Nov 10 6:00 - 8:00 pm (in person, livestream also available on their Facebook page), the Split Rock Lighthouse Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Beacon Lighting (Minnesota Historical Society) Nov 10 10am - 6pm (in person; note temporary closing of lighthouse at 4:15pm for reading of the names and beacon lighting), It will also be streamed at YouTube, and the National Museum of the Great Lakes (Nov 9 & 10th special tours). There is also a memorial service at Mariners' Church (in the song referred to as the "Maritime Sailors' Cathedral") on the Sunday before or after the anniverary of the event. This year it is on November 10th at 11am: The Great Lakes Memorial Service.  According to their website, if you would like to be notified when this service is livestreamed, please contact Charlotte McKenzie at: charlotte@marinerschurchofdetroit.org.

Find the song on:

• Original recording of Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald on
  • Summertime Dream
  • Complete Greatest Hits (remastered)
  • Songbook boxed set (remastered)
  • Rhino HiFive MP3 album; not a CD (remastered song)
  • *"Digital 45" 2 MP3s (with The House You Live In); not a CD (Single version, remastered)
  • Gordon Lightfoot: The Complete Singles 1970-1980 (Single version, remastered)
• Rerecording of Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald (live in studio) on
  • Gord's Gold Volume 2

Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald

Music and lyrics ©1976 by Gordon Lightfoot

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 ev'ry 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 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 t'feed ya."
At seven P.M. a main hatchway caved in; he said,

"Fellas, it's bin 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 searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
if they'd put fifteen more miles behind 'er.
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.

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,
(**Lyric change: "musty" changed to "rustic")
in the "Maritime Sailors' Cathedral."
The church bell chimed 'til 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!"

Song: Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald

IT infrastructure advisory and support services / Web sites / online stores by Valerie Magee of     
Darien Cheese  Francos Wine Merchants  Harlan Estate & Bond Wines  Len Goldstein Corporate and Business Law Denver