Verse
F#
She was there at the dock when the lines cast off,
D E F#
And the Fitz got under way.
A E F#
The sun shone down as the wake trailed out
B F# C#
On that cold November day.
B F#
When she wrapped her cloak over ship and crew,
B F# C#
When the winds began to roar.
F# A E F#
Every man aboard tightened down their souls,
B C# F#
Far from the Michigan shore.
[Violin]
A E F# B B B F#
[Verse 2]
F#
McSorley true, telephoned the crew,
D E F#
When the storm was setting in.
A E F#
Better hold on tight, through this day and night,
B F# C#
Of straight line killer winds.
B F#
Forty-four years I have met these storms,
B F# C#
When Nor'easter gales have blown;
F# A E F#
But oh, these mountains on Superior,
B C# F#
Are the worst I've ever known.
[Violin]
F# E F# B B B F#
[Verse 3]
F#
Who hears a prayer, when the wind strikes down
D E F#
And the seas boil into foam,
A E F#
When the waves cap off and are blown away,
B F# C#
And you're miles away from home?
B F#
Who hears a cry when the north wind roars,
B F# C#
And the crew are pitched to the rail,
F# A E F#
As the great ship rolls, and the church bell tolls,
B C# F#
For those who are lost in the gale?
[Violin]
A E F# B B B F#
F# E E B B B F#
[Verse 4]
F#
When he first saw her, we'll never know,
D E F#
On the deck wash, or the bridge.
A E F#
He must have known when the Fitz would groan,
B F# C#
And the bow began to pitch;
B F#
When she came for the crew, and McSorley too,
B F# C#
As the Fitz rose up no more.
F# A E F#
"Oh, lady of the storms, you won this year,
B C# F#
But I bested you for forty-four!"
[Violin]
F# F# F# B B B F# F#
F# E F# B B B D