Thanks to Fr Seán Coyle who posted a comment on an earlier post and reminded me of this lovely song. Seán thinks The Dutchman may have Alzheimer’s Disease (Liam Clancy thinks it’s more like shell-shocked). Whatever the cause, the old man needs a bit of patience, love and kindness and he’s not denied his needs. God bless all the “Margarets” out there who patch the old and torn with love-sewn threads.
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 Zider 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
‘Till 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
The windmills swirl the winter in
As she winds his muffler tighter, they sit in the kitchen
And the tea with whiskey keeps away the dew
He sees her for a moment
Calls her name, she makes his 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
I spoke at Mass in Kilmovee yesterday about Glen Campbell, his living with Azheimers and about his daughter’s song “Remembering”. It was in the context of the Gospel Passage about the “Rich man and Lazarus” and the need to be aware of one another, especially when people are at a low ebb.
Thought I’d share the video here. It’s a lovely song and a fine commitment to one who is ill. We need to notice and help one another.
Four years old running up the stairs to your bed
Thunder rolls and I pull the covers over my head
You say it’s just a storm, enjoy the show
You take me to the window, show me that it’s beautiful
Never had to ask you to sing for me, it’s just the way to put me at ease
Bone for bone we are the same
Bones get tired and they can’t carry all the weight
We can talk until you can’t even remember my name
Daddy don’t you worry, I’ll do the remembering
First guitar and I just wasn’t getting it right
You showed me how to play it, said it doesn’t happen overnight
In a couple years I come home and show you how I play “Blackbird”
Though I miss a couple notes you still say it was the best you ever heard
Never had to ask you to smile for me, it’s just the way you put me at ease
Bone for bone we are the same
Bones get tired and they can’t carry all the weight
We can talk until you can’t even remember my name
Daddy don’t you worry, I’ll do the remembering
Daddy don’t you worry, I’ll do the remembering
Now I have to ask you to sing for me
And I have to show you the worlds to see
You’re standing right in front of me and slipping away
Dad, I’d ask you to smile for me, it’s just the way you put me at ease
Bone for bone we are the same
Bones get tired and they can’t carry all the weight
We can talk until you can’t even remember my name
Daddy don’t you worry, I’ll do the remembering
Daddy don’t you worry, I’ll do the remembering
Yeah, I believe in that but this is just a video that I came across of a fine version of the song … Enjoy! I think I am going to add a page with all the songs I like at some stage. A big page!!
Watched a documentary on Johnny Cash the other evening. It was called “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash”. It was very good. I liked one piece where Kris Kristofferson talked about Johnny singing one of his songs “Sunday Morning Coming Down” and that the producers of the show wanted him to substitute a word they did not think acceptable. Cash asked Kris what he thought and Kris said the other word suggested did not have the same meaning. He left the choice to Cash …..
I just recorded this with phone so video quality not great but the message is clear and I love Kris’ rendition. I cut the recording before realising Kris had something else to say about the lines he had just sung … “Well, I guess that could have been sung worse but I don’t know by who …..”
I think Kris does a good job on his own song … here he sings it at a tribute concert in memory of Johnny Cash.
With Bruce visiting Ireland last week, I decided to check out some of his concerts. I wasn’t going to Croke Park. I found a YouTube video of his concert in Kilkenny. It was a recording of the full concert – over three hours – and I thought I’d have a look. The opening song took me by surprise. Not the stuff of Rock and Roll, you might think, but it surely had its place. Well done Bruce. It seems to be a regular in his playlists.
and though I didn’t make Croke Park, here’s a clip of a man who did!! Not a whinger in site:) You’d love to see some “action” like this in the Dáil:) Then again, maybe not!!
On the upside … now I’m beginning to think I’ve got rhythm after all:)
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