Solo artist and sideman. Fingerstyle blues, folk, jazz, country. Play slide on National steel, lap steel, dobro, and Turbodiddley. Wide tonal palette -
I first heard this song in Amsterdam, played by a guy from my home state. Beautiful song, damn close to perfect lyrics. What a song! It still moves me after 40 years....
Lyrics
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 can be, but Margaret only sees that sometimes,
Sometimes she sees her unborn children in his eyes.
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 tug-boats down canals
An' 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
Where the walls rise above the Zuider Zee.
Long ago, I used to be a young man
And dear Margaret remembers that for me.
The winters whirl the windmills 'round
She winds his muffler tighter
And they sit in the kitchen.
Some tea with whiskey keeps away the dew.
And he sees her for a moment, calls her name,
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
Where the walls rise above the Zuider Zee.
Long ago, I used to be a young man
And dear Margaret remembers that for me.
Dear Margaret, remember that for me.
Quite a song indeed. About as far from pop schlock as music can go. Incredibly well played and sung with the sensitivity that the emotional and image laden lyrics demand. Hard to comment on a song that goes beyond words. Great post Geo.
Quite a song indeed. About as far from pop schlock as music can go. Incredibly well played and sung with the sensitivity that the emotional and image laden lyrics demand. Hard to comment on a song that goes beyond words. Great post Geo.