When the Gales of November Come Early: Sights of East Lansing
Previously on the Sights of series:
2016 NCAA Hockey Tournament
2016 Football at Rutgers
For your read-along listening pleasure, Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordan Lightfoot. Beware when the gales of November come early.
(As always, right click -> view image to make it bigger. All photos are by myself, Patrick Barron, and Bryan Fuller)
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 crew 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
♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪
Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya
Fellas, it's been good t'know ya
And the good ship and crew was in peril
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her
They may have broke deep and took water
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters
♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪
The islands and bays are for sportsmen
Takes in what Lake Erie can send her
With the gales of November remembered
♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪
In the maritime sailors' cathedral
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald
Of the big lake they call 'gitche gumee'
When the gales of November come early
October 30th, 2016 at 7:22 PM ^
I was at the game and enjoyed many of the same sights but you have captured them well and added in the Edmund Fitzgerald for good measure.
October 30th, 2016 at 7:31 PM ^
(For those of you who may not know, 'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald' is Jim Harbaugh's favorite song)
October 30th, 2016 at 7:48 PM ^
it is a haunting song, indeed.
great pics. would love to know what harbaugh said to make MD have a smile on his face toward the top of your photos. were you within earshot?
October 30th, 2016 at 8:07 PM ^
"Smile or I'll kick your ass."
October 31st, 2016 at 4:32 PM ^
+1,000
October 30th, 2016 at 8:09 PM ^
The handshake photo was by Bryan. I had run off with the players who were looking for the Paul Bunyan trophy. Turns out MSU left it in the locker room...
He might know but in my experience with handshake photos, it's tricky to hear what they're saying.
October 30th, 2016 at 8:23 PM ^
and it's pretty clearly a pre-game shot.
October 30th, 2016 at 8:37 PM ^
Whoops! Mis-read. I haven't gotten much sleep in the past 48 hours...
October 30th, 2016 at 10:41 PM ^
at the eastern end of the UP. becalmed in the channel he was banging his horn to get us out (was our fault, we made it out) little did we know it would be gone 4 months later. we were just kids then.
October 30th, 2016 at 11:24 PM ^
If I had a dollar for every time I've been honked at by a freighter or commercial boat of some kind (including and especially the idiot party boats that ply the lake), I could retire right now. I don't think they like sailboat races that involve the channel.
October 31st, 2016 at 4:48 PM ^
This is fascinating: The real time radio transmissions during the wreck of the Fitz.
October 30th, 2016 at 8:59 PM ^
Well done, sir, well done, indeed.
October 30th, 2016 at 10:10 PM ^
A real toe tapper!
October 30th, 2016 at 11:03 PM ^
October 31st, 2016 at 5:23 AM ^
Fantastic! That is one of my favorite songs, and has been since it was first released back in the day.
October 31st, 2016 at 10:38 AM ^
RIP, and ring the bell 29 times. I remember it like it was yesterday; and it still brings a tear to the eye.
October 31st, 2016 at 4:33 PM ^
Most. Awesome. Thing. Ever.
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