In eighteen hundred and forty-six   On March the eighteenth day   We hoisted our colors to the top of the mast      And for Greenland sailed away, brave boys   And for Greenland sailed away      The lookout in the cross trees stood   With spyglass in his hand   There's a whale, there's a whale   And a whale fish he cried      And she blows at every span, brave boys   And she blows at every span      The captain stood on the quarter deck   The ice was in his eye   Overhaul, overhaul, let your gib sheets fall      And you'll put your boats to sea, brave boys   And you'll put your boats to sea      Our harpoon struck and the line played out   With a single flourish of his tail   He capsized the boat and we lost five men      And we did not catch the whale, brave boys   And we did not catch the whale      The losing of those five jolly men   It grieved the captain sore   But the losing of that fine whale fish      Now it grieved him ten times more, brave boys   Now it grieved him ten times more      Now Greenland is a barren land   A land that bares no green   Where there's ice and snow   And the whale fishes blow      And the daylight's seldom seen, brave boys   And the daylight's seldom seen