The Dutchman Chords

KeyC CapoNone TuningStandard Difficulty Plays579

The Dutchman by Steve Goodman is a more advanced guitar song played in the key of C. It uses the chords C, Dm, G, F, B, Am, Em and A. Use the transpose and diagram tools on this page to change the key, see each shape, or simplify the chords.

Transpose
C
Text
16
Speed
  			   
   
Verse 1:   
   
C                                    
The Dutchman's not the kind of man   
                                        
To keep 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   
He watches tug-boats down canals,   
                                        Dm   
Calls out to them when he thinks he knows the captain,   
     G                                              C  
Till Margaret comes 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 winter whirls 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   
He sees her for a moment, calls her name,   
                             Dm   
She makes the bed up singing some old love song,   
      G                                                      C  
A song Margaret learned 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   

    	

Chord diagrams

Guitar tuner

--
Start the tuner and play a string

Reference tones

Standard tuning, lowest to highest. Click a string to play it; the string the mic hears is highlighted.

Click Start tuner and allow microphone access. The needle centers and turns green when a string is in tune (within 5 cents).
No microphone? You can still tap any string above to hear its exact reference pitch.

Metronome

100 BPM Andante