C D C
[Verse 1]
C
The Dutchman's not the kind of man
C
Who keeps his thumb jammed in the dam
Dm
That holds his dreams in,
G C F C
But that's a secret that only Margaret knows.
C
When Amsterdam is golden in the summer,
C
Margaret brings him breakfast,
Dm
She believes him.
G C
He thinks the tulips bloom beneath the snow.
[Pre-Chorus]
Dm G C Am
He's mad as he can be, but Margaret only sees that sometimes,
Dm G F C
Sometimes she sees her unborn children in his eyes.
[Chorus]
F G C
Let us go to the banks of the ocean
Dm G C Am
Where the walls rise above the Zuider Zee.
Dm G C Am
Long ago, I used to be a young man
Dm G C
Now dear Margaret remembers that for me.
{Instrumental]
C
[Verse 2]
C
The Dutchman still wears wooden shoes,
C
His cap and coat are patched with the love
Dm
That Margaret sewed there.
G C F C
Sometimes he thinks he's still in Rotterdam.
C
He watches the tug-boats down canals
C Dm
Calls out to them when he thinks he knows the Captain.
G C
Till Margaret comes to take him home again
[Pre-Chorus]
Dm G C Am
Through unforgiving streets that trip him, though she holds his arm,
Dm G F C
Sometimes he thinks he's alone and he calls her name.
[Chorus]
F G C Am
Let us go to the banks of the ocean
Dm G C Am
Where the walls rise above the Zuider Zee.
Dm G C Am
Long ago, I used to be a young man
Dm G F C
Now dear Margaret remembers that for me.
{Instrumental]
C
[Verse 3]
C
The windmills whirl the winter in
C
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 out,
Dm
While she makes the bed up singing some old love song,
G C
A song Margaret learned when it was very new.
[Pre-Chorus]
Dm G C Am
He hums a line or two, they sing together in the dark.
Dm G F C
The Dutchman falls asleep and Margaret blows the candle out.
[Chorus]
F G C
Let us go to the banks of the ocean
Dm G C Am
Where the walls rise above the Zuider Zee.
Dm G C Am
Long ago, I used to be a young man
Dm G F C
Now dear Margaret remembers that for me.
[Chorus]
F G C Am
Let us go to the banks of the ocean
Dm G C Am
Where the walls rise above the Zuider Zee.
Dm G C Am
Long ago, I used to be a young man
Dm G C
Now dear Margaret remembers that for me.
[Otro]
Dm G F C
Now dear Margaret remembers that for me.