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