Here's the English version of Jacques Brel's Amsterdam as sung by David Bowie on 'Bowie at the Beeb - the best of the BBc sessions 68-72' David plays each chord once for the first verse and then starts strumming with a driving rhythm enhanced by various hammer-ons etc. and then he gradually gets louder and pained. Never heard the original but DB's version is great as is the whole Bowie at the Beeb album if you like early Bowie. AMSTERDAM --------- In the port of Amsterdam There's a sailor who sings Of the dreams that he brings From a wide open sea And in the port of Amsterdam There's a sailor who sleeps While the river bank weeps To the old willow tree And in the port of Amsterdam There's a sailor who dies Full of beers full of cries In a drunken down fight And in the port of Amsterdam There's a sailor who is born On the hot muggy morn By the dawns early light In the port of Amsterdam Where the sailors all meet There's a sailor who eats Only fish heads and tails He'll show you his teeth That have rotted too soon That can haul up the sails That can swallow the moon And he'll yell to the cook With his arms open wide Oh bring me more fish Though it's 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 flies In the port of Amsterdam You can see sailors dance Paunches bursting their pants Grinding women's with paunch (not sure about this line) They've forgotten the tune That their whiskey voice croaks 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 slut 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 Oh he drinks to the health Of the whores of Amsterdam Who have given their bodies To a thousand other men It's their worth and their goodness Their virtues all gone For the few dirty coins When he just can't go on Throws his nose to the sky And he aims it up above And he pisses like I cry For an unfaithful love In the port of Amsterdam In the port of Amsterdam Submitted by Mr Thyroid