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Version 1 Version 2David 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 ()