The Dutchman's not the kind of man
To keep his thumb jambed in a dam that holds his dreams 
In but that's a secret only Margaret knows


When Amsterdam was gold and 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 a-bove the Zuider Zee
Long a-go, I used to be a young man
Now dear Margaret re-members that for me

The Dutchman still wears wooden shoes his coat and cap 
Are patched with love that Margaret sowed in
Sometimes he thinks he's still in Rotterdam
He watches tugboats down canals and calls out to them 
when he thinks he knows the captain til' Margaret comes 
To take him home again
Down unforgiving streets that trip him though he holds 
Her hand sometimes he thinks he's alone and calls her 
Name

Let us go to the banks of the ocean
Where the walls rise a-bove the Zuider Zee
Long a-go, I used to be a young man
Now dear Margaret re-members that for me


The windmills whourl the winter in she winds his 
Muffler tighter they sit in the kitchen some tea with 
whisky keeps away the dew he sees her for a moment 
Calls her name out humming some old love song
They learned it when the tune was very new
They hum a line or two they hum together in the night
The Dutchman falls asleep Margaret blows the candle out

Let us go to the banks of the ocean
Where the walls rise a-bove the Zuider Zee
Long a-go, I used to be a young man
Now dear Margaret re-members that for me