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The Dutchman

  • (Words & music Michael Smith)

    The Dutchman's not the kind of man who keeps his thumb jammed in the dam
    That holds his dreams in
    But that's a secret that only Margaret knows

    When Amsterdam is golden in the summer Margaret brings him breakfast
    She believes him
    He thinks the tulips bloom beneath the snow

    He's mad as he could 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 that for me

    The Dutchman still wears wooden shoes, his cap and coat are patched with the love
    That Margaret sewed there
    Sometimes he thinks he's still in Rotterdam

    And he watches the tugboats down canals, calls out to them when he thinks
    He knows the captain
    Till Margaret comes to take him home again

    Through unforgiving streets
    That trip him though she holds his arm
    Sometimes he thinks he's alone and he calls her name

    Let us go to the banks of the ocean ...

    The wind has whirled the windmills round, she winds his muffler tighter
    And they sit in the kitchen
    Some tea with whisky keeps away the dew

    And he sees her for a moment, calls her name, and she makes the bed up singing
    Some old love song
    A song Margaret learned when it was very new

    He hums a line or two
    They sing together in the dark
    The Dutchman falls asleep and Margaret blows the candle out

    Let us go to the banks of the ocean ...

    (as sung by Steve Goodman)

Susannes Folksong-Notizen

  • [1999:] I have a friend who had the opportunity to ask Smith about the song, but Smith didn't give a very satisfying answer. It may be that the song did not have a definable inspiration or it may be that Smith just didn't feel up to an explanation at that time or maybe it was something else. (Harold Hedberg, rec.music.folk, 1 July)

  • see also Michael Smith

Quelle: USA

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28.03.2003, aktualisiert am 16.06.2003