This probably hits closer to home for some of us Michigan folks. My wife knows all the words to this song. I am sure she will sing it tonight. Gary
Really good video clips Gary. Makes me think of the 4 Mainers lost recently on the cargo ship that just sank off Cuba.
Tragic to say the least. I remember hearing about it in the news but just barely. Here is a link to the song with words.
I was only 6 months old when it happened, but the history of it and most things Great Lakes related have always been an interest to me. I watched an hour long special on Fox 32 tonight (station out of Cadillac MI). The last half hour was a live broadcast of the bell ringing at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point.
Growing up with a waterman father on Long Island Sound, and even tho young when that track came out- it still is a powerful song and reminder of the potential catastrophe which could rear up instantly! Hair still stands up whenever I hear it! Thanks for posting, Gary_602z!
I still love that song, can remember it from back when I was a kid..... That was a haunting tragedy.....they weren't very far from safety when it went down
A side note... When my brother(who removed himself from our family years ago- another story altogether) was a 1st year student at SUNY Maritime in the Bronx, part of the training in that cadet system involved answers to questions about this very song. Needless to say, my brother saved his fellow classmates numerous hours of PT for his knowledge of the song's lyrics. Makes me sad listening to this song this evening, homesick for Wading River, NY on the Long Island Sound, and remembering my brother's stories about those times in his college days, and yet not being able to speak with him.... But, I digress.
Sorry man...in ways it's harder not being able to talk with someone who chooses not too, like your brother or in my case my daughter. The song reminds me of my brother, who always liked Gordon Lighfoot. We lost him not long after that song came out. He was a heck of a guy, and a good big brother. Loved life and brought a lot of happiness to those around him. Some of the stories from his college years reminds me of Animal House. Funny how music can bring out both happiness and sadness simultaneously isn't it?
That wreck happened as I was months old. I remember learning about this a a child. Being right by lake Michigan, we understand the dangers of traveling on bodies of water. The great lakes get deadly quicker than the oceans due to several factors. This was all over our nightly news again tonight. Sobering.
I was in high school and know the song very well, my uncle was stationed in the Coast Guard on lake Michigan. He told me stories of what the wind and waves would do to boats/ships, and the dangerous rescues they had to make. He told me that he was scared more than scared a few times.
I'll never forget that day. The wind was terrible and it was turning cold. I was in and out of a truck but remember when the news came on about the sinking. A terrible tragedy for sure. Lake Superior is nothing to mess with when the wind picks up. The largest fresh water lake in the world; it never warms up either!
Remember the night and where I was not far from the Canadian shoreline on Whitefish Bay. Man it was wild. Huge trees being up rooted right beside our place. The winds gust were hurricane force winds for sure.
