Captain do you remember the day when we first set assail?nYou nailed that gold doubloon upon the mastnAnd you said that's for the man who first sights the great white whalenYou said I've chased that beast over 7 seas and more nand up and down the tides of my lifenand until I've got his head I'll never set afoot ashorennmy heart soared as he stood on the prownand said all men are equal 'neath my sailnwe're all good men and free and rich men we'll all benwhen we come back to that junket with the head of that whalenand we've given up all the comforts of shorenand spurn them wherever we may roamnuntil we prevail over that accursed whalenas long as I've a ship you'll always have a homennAnd port after port and cruise after cruisenthe years swept like wings over our backsnwe're all good men and free and as rich as we could benwhen the wind sang in our ears and the sun shone at our backsnand though we often talked of all the things we'd given upnthey were treasures we were glad to leave behindnand though we chased that whale without seeing even its tailnthe thought of giving up never once crossed our mindsnnbut captain I have a confessionnone night as I stared out unto the seanI saw a flash of plunging white that reached over the wavesnand I never doubted once what it could benso I ran at once to your cabin doornbut stopped with my hand upon the bellnwhen I thought of what awaited us ashorennI hung my head in shame as I climbed back up the mastntears from crying and rage had took my voice nwe were all good men and free all except for menand for 40 days and nights I never made another noisen'til I was woken up by my conscious and runnand told my bunkmate everything I'd donenbut he only laughed and he clapped me on the backnand said every man who thinks he's seen the whale has held he toungenhe said it's all the same to the captain anywaynas long as he never knows how close we camenwe were all good men and free and we freely chose the seanover and landman's quiet life or a rich man's guilded gravenand from that day fourth when I walked past the doubloonnthat I had once held as a symbol of my shamenI didn't spare a second thought for all the things I hadn't gotnbut bowed my head in thanks for all the things that I had gainednnThe captain said I too have a confessionnand I want it to be heard before I dienI know you fought temptation that night outside my doornand I wondered whether you'd raise up the crynI was glad to see that you resistednand I was glad to see you think you deceived menbecause the whale that we chase never exsistednyou are a good men and free