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