19. The Fires upon the Sea | Moby-Dick Act III: The Price of the Chase

[Verse 1]
The try-works burn and stain the midnight red,
Their furnace glow climbs where the daylight fled.
I hold the wheel while shadows twist and reel,
And watch the fire run trembling down the keel.

[Verse 2]
The ocean blackens under copper light,
The smoke climbs high and folds itself in night.
The deck beneath me shifts from near to far,
As flame and water blur each guiding star.

[Chorus]
The fires on the sea rise wild and high,
They stain the waves and seem to scorch the sky.
I steer, yet lose the border under me,
Where ship becomes the flame and flame the sea.

[Verse 3]
The timbers groan, the heated vapours rise,
A crimson glare deceives my searching eyes.
I know this deck, each rope, each mast, each spar,
Yet all are changed beneath this burning star.

[Verse 4]
I turn my head and cannot judge the way,
For smoke has made a darkness out of day.
The burning deck appears to drift alone,
As if the sea had claimed the ship its own.

[Chorus]
The fires on the sea rise wild and high,
They stain the waves and seem to scorch the sky.
I steer, yet lose the border under me,
Where ship becomes the flame and flame the sea.

[Verse 5]
I think of daylight, clear upon the foam,
Of open blue that once had felt like home.
But here the sea wears iron, smoke and fire,
And every wave reflects the same desire.

[Verse 6]
At last the wind draws clean across my face,
And water finds again its rightful place.
The wheel is wood, the deck becomes my ground,
And through the dark the sea regains its sound.

[Chorus]
The fires on the sea rise wild and high,
They stain the waves and seem to scorch the sky.
I steer, yet lose the border under me,
Where ship becomes the flame and flame the sea.

[Outro]
The fires still burn behind me through the night,
But now I know their fevered, shifting light.
I steer ahead as smoke thins through the air,
And find the darkened ocean waiting there.

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[The Scene] After the whale has been killed and Queequeg has worked beside the carcass with Ishmael holding the rope that links them, the Pequod turns to the night work of processing its catch. Ishmael takes the helm while the try-works burn fiercely behind him, filling the deck with smoke, heat and shifting red light. As fire reflects across the black sea, the familiar boundaries between ship, water and sky begin to blur, and for a moment his sense of direction almost fails. The practical labour of whaling becomes something strange and disorienting, deepening the darker atmosphere now surrounding the voyage. [Verse 1] The try-works burn and stain the midnight red, Their furnace glow climbs where the daylight fled. I hold the wheel while shadows twist and reel, And watch the fire run trembling down the keel. [Verse 2] The ocean blackens under copper light, The smoke climbs high and folds itself in night. The deck beneath me shifts from near to far, As flame and water blur each guiding star. [Chorus] The fires on the sea rise wild and high, They stain the waves and seem to scorch the sky. I steer, yet lose the border under me, Where ship becomes the flame and flame the sea. [Verse 3] The timbers groan, the heated vapours rise, A crimson glare deceives my searching eyes. I know this deck, each rope, each mast, each spar, Yet all are changed beneath this burning star. [Verse 4] I turn my head and cannot judge the way, For smoke has made a darkness out of day. The burning deck appears to drift alone, As if the sea had claimed the ship its own. [Chorus] The fires on the sea rise wild and high, They stain the waves and seem to scorch the sky. I steer, yet lose the border under me, Where ship becomes the flame and flame the sea. [Verse 5] I think of daylight, clear upon the foam, Of open blue that once had felt like home. But here the sea wears iron, smoke and fire, And every wave reflects the same desire. [Verse 6] At last the wind draws clean across my face, And water finds again its rightful place. The wheel is wood, the deck becomes my ground, And through the dark the sea regains its sound. [Chorus] The fires on the sea rise wild and high, They stain the waves and seem to scorch the sky. I steer, yet lose the border under me, Where ship becomes the flame and flame the sea. [Outro] The fires still burn behind me through the night, But now I know their fevered, shifting light. I steer ahead as smoke thins through the air, And find the darkened ocean waiting there.

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