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 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 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 Zuider Zee.
Long ago, I used to be a young man
And dear Margaret remembers that for me.
verse 2
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.
He watches tug-boats down canals
And' 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.
Chorus
The winter whirls the windmills 'round;
She winds his muffler tighter
And they sit in the kitchen.
Some tea with whiskey keeps away the dew.
He sees her for a moment, calls her name,
She makes the bed up singing some old love song?
She learned it when the tune 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.
Chorus