Criomag Bhidio
Briathran Òran
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
– Tha an uirsgeul a ‘ fuireach bhon Chippewa air sìos
Of the big lake they called Gitche Gumee
– Den loch mhòr ris An canar Gitche Gumee
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
– An loch, thathar ag ràdh, cha toir e seachad a marbh gu bràth
When the skies of November turn gloomy
– Nuair a thionndaidheas na speuran samhain gruamach
With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more
– Le eallach de mhèinn iarainn sia mìle tunna a bharrachd
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty
– Na Tha Edmund Fitzgerald a ‘ ciallachadh
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
– An soitheach math sin, agus fior, bha cnàimh ri cagnadh
When the gales of November came early
– Nuair a thàinig gailleann na samhna tràth
The ship was the pride of the American side
– Bha an soitheach moiteil às an taobh Ameireaganach
Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin
– A ‘ tighinn air ais bho chuideigin ann An Wisconsin
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
– Mar a thèid na freiceadan mòra, bha e nas motha na a ‘ mhòr-chuid
With a crew and good captain well seasoned
– Le sgioba agus deagh chaiptean gu math ràitheil
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
– A ‘ crìochnachadh cuid de bhriathran le càraid de chompanaidhean stàilinn
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
– Nuair a dh ‘ fhàg iad làn luchdadh Airson Cleveland
And later that night when the ship’s bell rang
– ‘S an oidhche sin’ n uair a dh’eirich an long
Could it be the north wind they’d been feelin’?
– Am b’urrainn dha a bhith mar an northways a bha iad a’ smaoineachadh?
The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
– Rinn a ‘ ghaoth anns na uèirichean fuaim tatù
And a wave broke over the railin’
– Agus bhris tonn thairis air an rèile’
And every man knew, as the captain did too
– Agus bha fios aig a h-uile duine, mar a rinn an caiptean cuideachd
‘Twas the witch of November come stealin’
– An ath phuist tha an t-samhain a’tighinn gu crìchnext”
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
– Thàinig a ‘ mhadainn anmoch agus dh’fheumadh am bracaist feitheamh
When the gales of November came slashin’
– ‘N uair a thainig na gaisgich an t-samhain slashin’
When afternoon came it was freezin’ rain
– Nuair a thàinig feasgar bha e freezin’ rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind
– Ann an aghaidh a ‘ ghaoith an iar
When suppertime came the old cook came on deck sayin’
– Nuair a thàinig àm na suipeir thàinig an seann chòcaire air an deic ag ràdh’
“Fellas, it’s too rough to feed ya”
– “A chàirdean, tha e ro gharbh a bhiadhadh ya”
At seven P.M. a main hatchway caved in, he said
– Mu sheachd UAIREAN feasgar, thuirt e
“Fellas, it’s been good to know ya”
– “A chàirdean, tha e air a bhith math fios a bhith agad air ya”
The captain wired in he had water comin’ in
– Bha an t-uisge ann he had water coming
And the good ship and crew was in peril
– Agus bha an soitheach math agus an sgioba ann an cunnart
And later that night when his lights went outta sight
– Agus an oidhche sin, nuair a chaidh a sholais a-mach à sealladh
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
– A ‘ cruthachadh Edmund Fitzgerald
Does anyone know where the love of God goes
– A bheil fios aig duine càite a bheil gràdh Dhè
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
– Nuair a thionndaidheas na tonnan na mionaidean gu uairean?
The searchers all say they’d have made Whitefish Bay
– Tha a h-uile dad a dh ‘ fheumas tu a bhith agad mu Shoithichean Zodiac
If they’d put fifteen more miles behind her
– Nam biodh iad a ‘ cur còig mìle deug a bharrachd air a cùlaibh
They might have split up or they might have capsized
– Dh ‘fhaodadh iad a bhith air an sgaradh no dh’ fhaodadh iad a bhith air an glacadh
They may have broke deep and took water
– Is dòcha gun do bhris iad domhainn agus gun do ghabh iad uisge
And all that remains is the faces and the names
– A h-uile rud a tha air fhàgail na h-aghaidhean agus na h-ainmean
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters
– De na mnathan agus na mic agus na nigheanan
Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
– Loch Huron rolls, Na H-Eileanan an Iar
In the rooms of her ice-water mansion
– Anns na seòmraichean aice an taigh-glainne uisge deigh
Old Michigan steams like a young man’s dreams
– Tha Na H-Eòin Òga a ‘ smocadh like a young man’s dreams
The islands and bays are for sportsmen
– Tha na h-eileanan agus na bàigh airson luchd-spòrs
And farther below Lake Ontario
– Agus nas fhaide fo Loch Ontario
Takes in what Lake Erie can send her
– A ‘ toirt a-steach dè As urrainn Dha Lake Erie a chuir
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
– Agus na bàtaichean iarainn a ‘ dol mar a tha fios aig na maraichean uile
With the gales of November remembered
– Cuimhneachain na nollaige
In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed
– Ann An Seann talla musty Ann An Detroit rinn iad ùrnaigh
In the Maritime Sailors’ Cathedral
– Ann An Cathair-Eaglais Nan Seòladairean Mara
The church bell chimed till it rang twenty-nine times
– Dh’èirich clag na h-eaglaise gus an do ghlaodh i naoi uairean fichead
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald
– All fhearghasdanaich Fitzgerald
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
– Tha an uirsgeul a ‘ fuireach bhon Chippewa air sìos
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
– De na lochan mòra ris An can Iad Gitche Gumee
Superior, they said, never gives up her dead
– Suarach, thubhairt iad, cha toir e suas a marbh
When the gales of November come early
– Nuair thig gailleann na samhna tràth
