Back

Amsterdam Tab

by David Bowie


David Bowie - Amsterdam (1972)
(Cover, original written by Jacques Brel in French)

(In the first verse each chord indicated is swept once)


In the port of Amsterdam
		   
There's a sailor who sings
		  
Of the dreams that he brings
				  
From the wide open sea

		
In the port of Amsterdam
			
There's a sailor who sleeps
						 
While the river bank weeps
		 
To the old willow tree

		 
In the port of Amsterdam
						 /
There's a sailor who dies
		  
Full of beer, full of cries
		 		  
In a drunken town fight
		 
In the port of Amsterdam
			
There's a sailor who's born
	 			  
On a hot muggy morn
		  
By the dawn's early light

(The rest of the song is strummed in 3/4 time)


In the port of Amsterdam
			
Where the sailors all meet
			
There's a sailor who eats
		
Only fish heads and tails
			
And he'll show you his teeth
			 
That have rotted too soon
			
That can haul up the sails
							 
That can swallow the moon

		 
And he yells to the cook 
					   /
With his arms open wide
		
"Hey, bring me more fish
	      
Throw it down by my side"
		 
And he wants so to belch
			
But he's too full to try
		
So he stands up and laughs
		 	 	  
And he zips up his fly

		 
In the port of Amsterdam
		
You can see sailors dance
			
Paunches bursting their pants
			
Grinding women to porch
			
They've forgotten the tune
				
That their whiskey voice croaked
	
Splitting the night 
							
With the roar of their jokes
			
And they turn and they dance
							/
And they laugh and they lust
									
Till the rancid sound of the accordion bursts
			
And then out of the night
				
With their pride in their pants
		   
And the sluts that they tow
						
Underneath the street lamps

		 
In the port of Amsterdam
			
There's a sailor who drinks
		 
And he drinks and he drinks
		
And he drinks once again
		
He'll drink to the health
		 
Of the whores of Amsterdam
		 
Who've given their bodies
						
To a thousand other men
					
Yeah, they've bargained their virtue
		 				/
Their goodness all gone
		
For a few dirty coins
		  
Well he just can't go on
			  
Throws his nose to the sky
		  
And he aims it up above
			
And he pisses like I cry
				  
On the unfaithful love

		 
In the port of Amsterdam
		 
In the port of Amsterdam
		.	.	.

---
 = 322000, / = X4X454