Amsterdam (ver2) Chords - 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 
EAm
With the roar of their jokes
C
And they turn and they dance
GE/F
And they laugh and they lust
AmEm/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/GAm
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
EAm
To a thousand other men
C
Yeah, they've bargained their virtue
 GE/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
FEAm.E.Am.

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

Tab converted by Cbswe (cbswe@bredband.net)