Amsterdam 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)

Am
In the port of Amsterdam
		   Em/G
There's a sailor who sings
		  F
Of the dreams that he brings
			Em/G	  E
From the wide open sea

		Am
In the port of Amsterdam
			Em/G
There's a sailor who sleeps
			F			 E
While the river bank weeps
		 Am
To the old willow tree

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

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

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

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

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

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

		 Am
In the port of Amsterdam
		 E
In the port of Amsterdam
F	E	Am.	E.	Am.

---
Em/G = 322000, E/F = X4X454

Tab converted by Cbswe (cbswe@bredband.net)

www.TAB6.com