The Dutchman - Michael Peter Smith

Missoula folksinger Britt Arnesen performs Michael Smith's classic song The Dutchman.
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The Dutchman is not the kind of man
Who keeps his thumb jammed in the dam
That holds his dreams in
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, 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
Dear Margaret remembers that for me
The Dutchman still wears wooden shoes
And his cap and coat are patched with the love
Margaret sewed there
Sometimes he thinks he's still in Rotterdam
He watches the tug-boats down canals
And calls out to them when he thinks he knows the Captain
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
#findyourfolk
The winters whirl the windmills 'round
She winds his muffler tighter, 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
A song that margaret learned when it was very new
He hums a line or two, they hum together in the dark
The Dutchman falls asleep, Margaret blows the candles 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

[@paulbear1]

Love this. So beautifully done and wonderfully sung…. Thank you 🙏

[@BrittArnesen]

Thank you!

[@andreacooper8048]

One of the great (and early) folk songs about dementia written with such insight. Lovely rendition. A classic. Thank you.