Lyrics & Translation
Delve into the compelling narrative of "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot, a masterpiece that not only tells a gripping true story but also offers a unique opportunity to experience the rich vocabulary and storytelling tradition of English folk music. Through its vivid lyrics and haunting melody, you can explore themes of maritime history, the power of nature, and human resilience, making it a powerful and educational listening experience for language learners.
[English]
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on downOf 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, 26 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 7 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 his lights went outta sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Does anyone 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
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
In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral
The church bell chimed till it rang 29 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
Key Vocabulary
| Vocabulary | Meanings |
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legend /ˈledʒənd/ B2 |
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lake /leɪk/ A1 |
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skies /skaɪz/ A2 |
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November /noʊˈvembər/ A1 |
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ship /ʃɪp/ A1 |
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gales /ɡeɪlz/ B2 |
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pride /praɪd/ B1 |
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captain /ˈkæptɪn/ A2 |
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night /naɪt/ A1 |
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wind /wɪnd/ A1 |
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wave /weɪv/ A2 |
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witch /wɪtʃ/ B1 |
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rain /reɪn/ A1 |
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deck /dek/ A2 |
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lights /laɪts/ A1 |
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wreck /rek/ B1 |
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Key Grammar Structures
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The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
➔ Parenthetical insertion with "it is said"
➔ The phrase "it is said" is inserted within the main clause for emphasis or to indicate that the information is commonly known or believed, but not necessarily verified. It adds a sense of folklore or legend. It acts as a parenthetical remark interrupting the flow of the sentence.
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Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty
➔ Comparative clause using "than"
➔ This uses the comparative conjunction "than" to compare the weight of the iron ore to the empty weight of the Edmund Fitzgerald. It expresses a degree of difference. The structure is: more + noun + "than" + noun.
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That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
➔ Metaphorical use of "bone to be chewed"
➔ The phrase "bone to be chewed" is a metaphor suggesting that the ship was a difficult or challenging thing for the gales to deal with. It implies a struggle or conflict.
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When the gales of November came early
➔ Adverbial clause of time using "when"
➔ This uses "when" to introduce a clause that indicates the time at which the main clause event occurs. The subordinate clause (the gales came early) provides the temporal context for the main clause event.
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Could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?
➔ Inversion for interrogative, past perfect continuous tense (they had been feeling)
➔ The sentence is a question. The auxiliary verb "could" is placed before the subject "it", inverting the typical subject-verb order to form the question. "They'd been feelin'" is a contraction of "they had been feeling", which is the past perfect continuous tense. It implies that the feeling of the north wind had been happening for some time before the moment in question.
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They might have split up or they might have capsized
➔ Modal verb "might" with perfect infinitive "have + past participle" expressing speculation about the past
➔ "Might have split up" and "might have capsized" indicate possibilities about what could have happened to the ship. The use of "might" shows uncertainty. The structure expresses speculation about past events.
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Takes in what Lake Erie can send her
➔ Relative clause using "what" as a fused relative pronoun.
➔ The word "what" functions as a fused relative pronoun, combining the roles of both a relative pronoun and its antecedent. So, "what Lake Erie can send her" means "the things that Lake Erie can send her". It acts as the direct object of the verb "takes in".
