{This is the ninth in an undetermined number of songs my mother taught me I'm posting this month in her memory. For background, please visit the post containing the first song, Ivory Tower.}
There are three songs my mother taught me that sprung from, ironically, my own generation - but went unnoticed by me when they were first released. I may not have time in this month of remembrance of her to post the other two, but I sure couldn't miss The Dutchman.
My mother, whose name was Margaret, was one-half Dutch on her father's side (Van Swearingen). She never traveled abroad so did not visit The Netherlands, although she had an opportunity to tour there with a group from her office before she retired and opted to not spend the $1000 it cost then. What a pity. She regretted it for the rest of her life.
About ten years before she retired she was promoted to office manager of a satellite state employment office outside Reno (she left casino work after 17 years as a blackjack dealer and reinvented herself in the business world). She was divorced from my step-father by then, both my sister and I were in our first marriages, and she went through a phase of partying with the people from her office after work. John Ascuaga's Nugget in Sparks was close to the office and with its variety of restaurants, lounges, and areas of entertainment it became the favorite haunt of the group...and also of my mother alone when the rest of them had gone home to spouses and families. She preferred the smaller lounge with stage and enjoyed the acts there that ranged from home-grown talent to nationally-known acts, many that had been big-name acts in the past.
One of those once big-name acts, still enjoying a large and strong fan base, was The Kingston Trio. When my mother learned that they were to perform at the small stage lounge she encouraged her group of co-workers/friends to attend the opening night's performance.
My mother attracted people like a magnet. She had a winning smile, expressive brown eyes, and a body that moved to music so when she appreciated someone -- from someone she supervised to a skilled musician on a stage -- she exuded that appreciation. Drew them to her. She caught the attention of Bob Shane, the lead of The Kingston Trio, who asked for her name after a song. "Margaret," her voice traveled to the stage. "Oh," said Bob Shane, "then here is your song." They sang The Dutchman. My mother swooned and returned nightly during the Trio's stint at the Nugget. Bob Shane came to her table to meet her during one of their breaks and my mother swooned more, and he must have loved receiving the true adoration common in times gone by. Each night while the group played The Nugget when Shane saw my mother in the audience he would begin The Dutchman, adding, "This is for Margaret."
Below is a screengrab from The Kingston Trio website showing Bob Shane (center) as he looked during the time my mother enjoyed him singing The Dutchman........
Bob Shane has retired from The Kingston Trio (after suffering a heart attack in 2004). I know this because last year they came for one performance to the beautifully-refurbished Elsinore Theater in Salem, Oregon. Mike and I went but realized in the opening song that Bob Shane was not up there on the stage. The concert was wonderful anyway, with Bill Zorn (formerly of The Lamplighters) performing as lead.
The song was significant for my mother because someone made it special for her, because her name is in the song, and because of her Dutch ancestory. It was also significant, I believe, because the song's story was so unlike her own life. Married four times, and an eternal romantic, she was alone for the last 30 years of her life. There was a great love relationship during part of that time, but she never remarried. She said to me in later years that she guessed she "did better alone." Yes, and no. She would have loved being the Dutchman's Margaret of this song, sharing unconditional love after having shared a real partnership throughout a long marriage.
During my mother's final illness I bought a CD by Scottish singer John McDermott that contained this song my mother taught me.
The Dutchman. We played it often during her last weeks.
She listened to it with her eyes closed.
Here is the quintessential version sung by the late Steve Goodman.
"The Dutchman" is a song written by Michael Peter Smith in 1968 and popularized by Steve Goodman. At the time Smith wrote the song, he had never visited The Netherlands.
The song is about an elderly couple living in Amsterdam, Margaret and the title character. The unnamed Dutchman is suffering from shell shock which he received during the war, while Margaret cares for him with a sadness over what has happened to him over the years. It's a story of unconditional love. - Wikipedia
The Dutchman - lyrics
The Dutchman's not the kind of man
To keep his thumb jammed in the dam
That holds his dreams in
But that's a secret only Margaret knows
When Amsterdam is golden in the morning
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
(chorus)
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
The Dutchman still wears wooden shoes
His cap and coat are patched with love
That Margaret sewed 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
Through unforgiving streets that trip him
Though she holds his arm
Sometimes he thinks that he's alone and calls her name
(chorus)
The windmills whirl the winter in
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 humming some old love song
She learned it when the tune was very new
He hums a line or two
They hum together in the night
The Dutchman falls asleep and Margaret blows the candle out
(chorus)
For inspiration: The biography of Steve Goodman (1948-1984) --
No one performed/performs The Dutchman as well as he did.
Painting: The Mill at Wijk-Bij-Duurstede by Jacob van Ruisdael (1628-1682)
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