[Verse 1]
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
[Pre-Chorus]
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
Wherе the walls rise above thе Zuider Zee
Long ago, I used to be a young man
Now 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 the tug-boats down canals
Calls out to them when he thinks he knows the Captain
Till Margaret comes to take him home again
[Pre-Chorus]
Through unforgiving streets that trip him, though she holds his arm
Sometimes he thinks he's alone and he calls her name
[Chorus]
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
Now dear Margaret remembers that for me
[Verse 3]
The windmills whirl the winter in
She winds his muffler tighter
As they sit in the kitchen
Some tea with whiskey keeps away the dew
He sees her for a moment, calls her name out
While she makes the bed up singing some old love song
A song Margaret learned when it was very new
[Pre-Chorus]
He hums a line or two, they sing together in the dark
The Dutchman falls asleep and Margaret blows the candle out
[Chorus]
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
Now dear Margaret remembers that for me
[Chorus]
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
Now dear Margaret remembers that for me
[Outro]
Now dear Margaret remembers that for me
