John McDermott - The Dutchman lyrics

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

(Chorus)

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

(Chorus)

The windmills swirl. The winter air

She winds his muffler tighter

They sit in the kitchen

And the tea with wiskey 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 vey new

He hums a line or two, they hum together in the night

The Dutchman falls asleep

And Margaret blows the candle out.