Index Page
GEST Songs Of Newfoundland And Labrador
~ Copyright Info ~
~ Privacy Policy ~
The Dutchman's not the kind of man
Who keeps his thumb jammed in the dam
That holds his dreams in.
Ah, but that's the secret only Margaret knows.
When Amsterdam is golden,
In the morning Margaret brings him breakfast;
She believes him.
He thinks the tulips bloom beneath the snow.
He's as mad as he can be,
But Margaret only sees that sometimes,
Sometimes she sees her unborn children in his eyes.
So, let us go to the banks of the ocean,
Where the walls rise above the Zeiderzee;
Long ago, I used to be a young man,
Dear Margaret remembers that for me.
And the Dutchman still wears wooden shoes,
His cap and coat are patched with love
That Margaret sewed in.
Sometimes he thinks he's still in Rotterdam.
But he watches tug-boats down canals,
And calls out to them
When he thinks he knows the captain,
Until Margaret comes to take him home again.
Through unforgiving streets that trip him,
And she holds his arm;
Sometimes he thinks that he's alone
And calls her name.
So, let us go to the banks of the ocean,
Where the walls rise above the Zeiderzee;
Long ago, I used to be a young man,
And dear Margaret remembers that for me.
The windmills swirl the winter in,
She winds his muffler tighter;
They sit in the kitchen,
Where the tea with whiskey keeps away the dew.
He sees her for a moment, calls her name,
She makes his bed up,
Singing some old love song.
She learned it when the tune was very new.
He hums a line or two,
They hum together in the night;
The Dutchman falls asleep,
And Margaret blows the candle out.
And let us go to the banks of the ocean,
Where the walls rise above the Zeiderzee;
Long ago, I used to be a young man,
And dear Margaret remembers that for me.