The Dutchman Lyrics - John Mcdermott

The Dutchman's not the kind of man 

To keep his thumb jammed in the dam 

That holds his dreams in 

But that's a 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 snows 

He's mad as he can be 

But Margaret only sees that sometimes 

Sometimes, she sees her unborn children 

In his eyes 

Let us go to the banks of the ocean 

Where the walls rise above the Zuiderzee 

Long ago, I used to be a young man 

And dear Margaret remembers for me 

The Dutchman still wears wooden shoes 

His cap and his coat are patched with love 

That Margaret sewed in 

Sometimes he thinks he's still in Rotterdam 

He watches tug boats down canals 

And calls out to them 

When he thinks he knows the captain 

'Til Margaret comes to take him home again 

Through unforgiving streets 

A tripping though she holds his arm 

Sometimes he thinks that he's alone 

And calls her name 

Let us go to the banks of the ocean 

Where the walls rise above the Zuiderzee 

Long ago, I used to be a young man 

And dear Margaret remembers for me 

The windmills swirl the winter air 

She winds his muffler tighter 

They sit in the kitchen 

And the tea with whiskey keep away the dew 

He sees her for a moment, calls her name 

She makes his bed up 

Humming 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