The Dutchman
Steve Goodman
C
The Dutchman's not the kind of man
Who keeps his thumb jammed in the dam
Dm
That holds his dreams in,
G C
But that's a secret that only Margaret knows.
C
When Amsterdam is golden in the summer,
Margaret brings him breakfast,
Dm
She believes him.
G C
He thinks the tulips bloom beneath the snow.
F G C C B Am
He's mad as he can be, but Margaret only sees that sometimes,
F G C
Sometimes she sees her unborn children in his eyes.
Chorus:
F Em
Let us go to the banks of the ocean
F G C
Where the walls rise above the Zuider Zee.
Dm A G C C B Am
Long ago, I used to be a young man
F G C
And dear Margaret remembers that for me.
C
The Dutchman still wears wooden shoes,
His cap and coat are patched with the love
Dm
That Margaret sewed there.
G C
Sometimes he thinks he's still in Rotterdam.
C
And he watches the tug-boats down can*ls
Dm
An' calls out to them when he thinks he knows the Captain.
G
Till Margaret comes
C
To take him home again
Dm G C C C B Am A
Through unforgiving streets that trip him, though she holds his arm,
F G C
Sometimes he thinks he's alone and he calls her name.
Repeat Chorus
C
The winters whirl the windmills 'round
She winds his muffler tighter
Dm
And they sit in the kitchen.
G C
Some tea with whiskey keeps away the dew.
C
And he sees her for a moment, calls her name,
Dm
She makes the bed up singing some old love song,
G
A song Margaret learned
C
When it was very new.
Dm G C C C B Am
He hums a line or two, they sing together in the dark.
F G C
The Dutchman falls asleep and Margaret blows the candle out.
Repeat Chorus
|
