10 November 2006

"The church bell chimed, 'til it rang 29 times"

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call 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 - 26,000 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 Wisconson
As the big freighters go it was bigger than most
With a crew and the 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 ships bell rang
Could it be the North Wind they'd been feeling.

The wind in the wires made a tattletale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the Captain did, too,
T'was the witch of November come stealing.

The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the gales of November came slashing
When afternoon came it was freezing rain
In the face of a hurricane West Wind

When supper time came the old cook came on deck
Saying fellows it's too rough to feed ya
At 7PM a main hatchway caved in
He said fellas it's been good to know ya.

The Captain wired in he had water coming in
And the good ship and crew was in peril
And later that night when his lights went out of sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Does anyone know where the love of God goes
When the words turn the minutes to hours
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd 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 ruins 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, 'til 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 say, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early.

-The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot
-----
so, today is the 31st anniversary of the wreck of the edmund fitz... here are some conversations from this eve:

me (about cruises): don't order the beer, they'll ass rape you.
some chick: what do you mean ass rape?
me: you know, like in prison have someone force themselves upon your anus.
some chick: if you order a beer?
me: oh. no, i meant price wise on the cruise. similar to ass rape.
zach's wife: you know sodomy. 
me: well, forced sodomy.
zach's wife: well, you order a beer, and you get GHB and a foreigner fucking you in the ass.
---

colin: so, how'd the election turn out for you?
me: fuck the Dem's. they want that slut back in power, they get what they deserve in the next 4 years.
colin: so, you're not gonna change states?
me: what? and be like the whiney Dem's after '04 when Bush won? I'm going to canada!  fuck that. and fuck Canada. Fucking socialists.
----

me: Dude i wanna play wreck of the edmund fitsz again.
dude: man, once is enough.
me: but dude, i want these people to suffer!
dude: i thought you were playing it so they would understand and feel and shit.
me: fuck that! i want them to suffer through a 15 minute folk song about a ship that sank in 4 minutes.
dude: dick.
----
curt(on the phone and drunk as shit): WHERE YOU AT FUCKER!!!!!????
me: about to walk home.
curt: FROM THE BENCH!!!!????
me: nope. from your mom's vagina.
curt: OH, RIGHT, LIKE YOU'RE WALKING HOME FROM SOUTH LYON!!!!!!!!
me: nope. but your mom's vagina is so big, by the time i walk out and trip over the labia minora i'm home!
[click]
me: hello?
----
curt (calling back): hello.
me: did you hang up on me cuz i was talking about your mom's vagina?
curt: are you done?
me: no! in fact...
[click]
----

ahh thursdays, always a good day.

13 comments:

Joe C said...

Best post in a while, Chuddy.

Anonymous said...

Wow, good shit.
Thursdays are good.
-MC =)

I'm Scooter, but I might be a troll. said...

There's the Ched we all know and love!

Well, at least know...

I'm Scooter, but I might be a troll. said...

"Ched"??

WTF?

Anonymous said...

Chud,
Can you believe that Graholm was re-elected? I really thought Devos had a pretty good chance of winning. Dumb liberal state!
Kathy

Anonymous said...

Did you have that second helping of Gordon Lightfoot? That is HARSH! Almost as bad as when someone plays Charlie Daniels. Ughhh!!!!!

I'm Scooter, but I might be a troll. said...

I think I am gonna call you Ched from now on. You know, for the longest time, I thought your profile pic was photoshopped.

I finally clicked on it, and sure enough, it's you in the flesh. What exactly do you have on your head?

Cindy-Lou said...

Ched is Chud mixed with Chet.

How would you like a greasy pork sandwich, served in a dirty ashtray?

Drunken Chud said...

no ken, the damn jukebox wouldn't let me. damn technology foiling my plans.

scooter, i have melissa's shirt on my head. no one had a bandanna and mikey had the eye patch. but i did shop out chatters and put in the jolly roger.

cindy lou, why is it snowing in my bedroom?

I'm Scooter, but I might be a troll. said...

Hey... where's the funny?

Stepho said...

You know, my mom touched Gordon Lightfoot once and was so deliriously happy about it she STILL talks about it.

I'm Scooter, but I might be a troll. said...

I don't think so, Chud. He was pretty close to the ground, so the possibility for a ground to foot electrical arc is pretty high. Also, he might have grabbed the wire as he was still on the ground... the high spot that he used to get near the wire.

Drunken Chud said...

why are you posting on my blog about it scooter? and besides, me thinks you know not the laws of electricity: PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE RULES. a ground foot arc from 6 feet up is about as likely as a wire/pole arc from 6 inches away.