This is a little late to post about a spring weekend getaway, but oh well, it was early spring just a month ago. Some days it was still wintery. Now that it’s almost early summer – gee, here it jumps from winter to summer – whether you like the continental climate or not (I am not a fan of continental climate…) – but I had such a good time in Saugatuck in one of the spring weekends last month.
５月のある週末、ソーガタック（Saugatuck）に、久々にふらりと行ってきました。
Saugatuck is just perfect for weekend getaway – not only in summer but also in spring. It is not in a same class with those world-famous sightseeing places, but it sure is a lovely and cozy little resort waterfront town. Every time I go there, I feel good and refreshed.
桜がちょうど満開でした。
If you want to avoid crowds and if you want easier parking, go there in early spring.
お天気がよくて時間に余裕がある週末には時々行きたくなる、小さな、静かな、そしておしゃれな町。ただそこをそぞろ歩いて、アイスクリーム食べて、ついでにできればレストランでランチか夕食をして帰ってきたら、すがすがしい、いい気分になっている自分に気がつく。週末ゲッタウエイにぴったり(perfect for weekend getaway) の町です。
その子、「ああそうですね。でも何て呼んでもいいですよ(It does not matter)」。いかにも、アメリカで育った人がいいそうなセリフだと思う(It does not matter. Who cares. I am an American after all. This is America..)。
This is a photograph of the Chicago River dyed green for the St. Patrick’s Day celebration. On the left is Wacker Drive, where it changes from three to two levels. Crossing the river is Michigan Avenue’s double-decker bridge. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
If you are an American or a Canadian, I am sure you know this song. If you are a Japanese over certain age (like me), you probably heard of this song somewhere before. If you are from another country, you may know it or may not. It’s the song by Gordon Lightfoot back in 1976.
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
何て言ってるのかよく分からないけど、歌詞はインターネットですぐ見つかる。I can’t really understand what he is saying, but nowadays it’s so easy to find the lyrics on the Internet. This is a great age for non-native English speakers.
The Great Lakes are scary. Even a big iron ore tanker like Fitzgerald can sink in a bad storm. I was amazed when I heard that there are many ships which sunk a long time ago, still lying at the deep bottom of the Great Lakes.
I never knew about the Edmond Fitzgerald until a reader left me a comment on my post, Crossing Lake Michigan by Ferry on the English side of this blog. Thanks so much.
I had heard of this song when I was young in Japan. I don’t know if the song was a hit in Japan. Not every song popular in the U.S. will be popular in Japan. I never knew that the song was about the ship wrecked in Lake Superior.
I asked my American husband. Of course he knew the song. He told me that his late father loved the song and he often was humming it. Really? I never heard him do it when we lived together (we lived with my husband’s parents for a while).
Probably any Japanese has heard of this song. I think this song was a hit in Japan. But probably very few of the Japanese know who the singer was. I myself, until recently, never knew the singer’s name. Gordon Lightfoot?? Who’s that?
1970年代の雰囲気が、とてもよく出ている曲だと思う。This song sounds so much 1970s.
ゴードンさんは、カナダ、オンタリオの出身。
デトロイトの暴動が1967年に起きた翌年には、「Black Day in July」という歌もリリースしている。こちらがYoutubeのリンク： I also like this song, Black Day in July- about the riot in Detroit. It’s a very good song, I think. This song, however, was never popular in Japan.
I read that Bob Dylan was a huge fan of Gordon Lightfoot. Really? Gorden Lightfoot must have been an awesome artist if the great Bob Dylan was his fan. The funny thing is Boy Dylan was super famous in Japan. Any Japanese has heard of Bob Dylan. I have to wonder if Gordon Lightfoot was never famous in Japan because his name was too hard for the Japanese to remember. His song was well-known in Japan but his name was not. It took me a while to remember his last name – I just could not remember if it’s Lightfoot or Footlight. A very hard name for me to remember. If you are an American or a Canadian, it may be incomprehensible for you why the name is so hard for me to remember. Some English names are easy to remember and pronounce, other names are impossible. And vice versa – some Japanese names are very hard for Americans/Canadians to remember and pronounce – for example, Sakakibara – that’s a very hard Japanese name, isn’t it?
最後に、もう37年も経ってはいるけれど、スペリオル湖で亡くなった船員の方々に、追悼の意を表したいと思う。
It’s been a long time – 37 years – but it still must be hard for the surviving families. I would like to express my sincerest condolence to the families.
「The Wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald」の歌詞を、ゴードン氏の公式サイトで見つけた。彼自身の作詞。シンガーソングライターって、やっぱ才能あるんだあ。そして、これを全部覚えて歌えるというのもすごい。歌手って、よくあんなに歌詞を暗記して歌えるものだと私は感心するのだけど、この歌は、すごく長い。これを間違えずに歌えるのは、やはり才能のひとつなのかも。
I found the lyrics of the Wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald in Gordon Lightfoot’s official website. What a long song. How can he memorize all of it and sing without messing it up? That must be a kind of talent to be able to memorize long lyrics. I ran Google Translation on the lyrics. The Japanese translation (see below) does not make much sense. Machine translation still has a long way to go.
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called ‘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 twenty-six thousand 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 Wisconsin
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
With a crew and good 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 ship’s bell rang
Could it be the north wind they’d been feelin’?
The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the captain did too,
T’was the witch of November come stealin’.
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the Gales of November came slashin’.
When afternoon came it was freezin’ rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind.
When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin’.
Fellas, it’s too rough to feed ya.
At Seven P.M. a main hatchway caved in, he said (2010 lyric
change by Gordon Lightfoot: At Seven P.M., it grew dark, it was
then he said,)
Fellas, it’s been good t’know ya
The captain wired in he had water comin’ in
And the good ship and crew was in peril.
And later that night when his lights went outta sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Does any one know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searchers all say they’d have made Whitefish Bay
If they’d put 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 rooms 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 till it rang twenty-nine 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 said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early
さすがアートの町ソーガタック、お手洗いまでartistic！
ウエブサイト：
鉄砲。もちろん弾は抜いてあり。
独立戦争の衣装を来たボランテイアがあちこちに。
tukusigal
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