C
The Dutchman's not the kind of man
Who keeps his thumb jammed in the dam
Dm
That holds his dreams in,
GC
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.
GC
He thinks the tulips bloom beneath the snow.
FGCCBAm
He's mad as he can be, but Margaret only sees that sometimes,
FGC
Sometimes she sees her unborn children in his eyes.
Chorus:
FEm
Let us go to the banks of the ocean
FGC
Where the walls rise above the Zuider Zee.
DmAGCCBAm
Long ago, I used to be a young man
FGC
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.
GC
Sometimes he thinks he's still in Rotterdam.
C
And he watches the tug-boats down canals
Dm
An' calls out to them when he thinks he knows the Captain.
G
Till Margaret comes
C
To take him home again
DmGCCCBAmA
Through unforgiving streets that trip him, though she holds his arm,
FGC
Sometimes he thinks he's alone and he calls her name.
C
The winters whirl the windmills 'round
She winds his muffler tighter
Dm
And they sit in the kitchen.
GC
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,
GA song Margaret learned
C
When it was very new.
DmGCCCBAm
He hums a line or two, they sing together in the dark.
FGC
The Dutchman falls asleep and Margaret blows the candle out.
This arrangement for the song is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the song. You may only use this for private study, scholarship, or research.