The Dutchman chords

The Dutchman

• C

 
 
Verse 1 
 
C                                  
The Dutchman's not the kind of man 
                                      
Who keeps his thumb jammed in the dam 
Dm 
That holds his dreams in, 
G                             C               
But that's a secret that only Margaret knows. 
C          
When Amsterdam is golden in the summer, 
          
Margaret brings him breakfast, 
Dm 
She believes him. 
G                           C 
He thinks the tulips bloom beneath the snow. 
            F              G             C         C B   Am 
He's mad as he can be, but Margaret only sees that sometimes, 
              F               G               C 
Sometimes she sees her unborn children in his eyes. 
       F                      Em 
Let us go to the banks of the ocean 
          F           G               C 
Where the walls rise above the Zuider Zee. 
     Dm A   G            C        C B  Am 
Long ago, I used to be a young man 
         F          G                C 
And dear Margaret remembers that for me. 
Verse 2 
 
C 
The Dutchman still wears wooden shoes, 
 
His cap and coat are patched with the love 
Dm 
That Margaret sewed there. 
G                                 C 
Sometimes he thinks he's still in Rotterdam. 
C 
And he watches the tug-boats down canals 
                                        Dm 
An' calls out to them when he thinks he knows the Captain. 
     G 
Till Margaret comes 
            C 
To take him home again 
             Dm                  G         C C        C B       Am A 
Through unforgiving streets that trip him, though she holds his arm, 
             F           G                      C 
Sometimes he thinks he's alone and he calls her name. 
 
 
 
Chorus 
 
 
 
Verse 3 
 
C 
The winters whirl the windmills 'round 
 
She winds his muffler tighter 
         Dm 
And they sit in the kitchen. 
G                                    C 
Some tea with whiskey keeps away the dew. 
C 
And he sees her for a moment, calls her name, 
                             Dm 
She makes the bed up singing some old love song, 
G 
A song Margaret learned 
            C 
When it was very new. 
          Dm           G                  C C     C B    Am   
He hums a line or two, they sing together in      the    dark. 
             F                G              C    
The Dutchman falls asleep and Margaret blows the candle out. 
 
 
 
Chorus 
 
Note:  The song was sung by Steve Goodman.  The song was composed by Michael Smith (not the Michael Smith already in the archive) 
The song as done by Goodman can be found on such Goodman albums as "Live From Austin City Limits" and more.  Other performers have 
done different versions of this song (ie: Gamble Rogers, Tom Russell, etc) 
 
Depending on how you pick the song (flatpick, fingerpick, etc), the chords can be moved one beat either way... 
 
The Dutchman 
 

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