"The Dutchman" is a song written by Michael Peter Smith in 1968 and popularized by Liam Clancy, Brendan Grace and

Steve Goodman Steven Benjamin Goodman (July 25, 1948 – September 20, 1984) was an American folk and country singer-songwriter from Chicago. He wrote the song " City of New Orleans", which was recorded by artists including Arlo Guthrie, John Denver, The ...

. At the time Smith wrote the song, he had never visited the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. The song is about an elderly couple living in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, Margaret and the title character. The unnamed Dutchman is senile, and Margaret cares for him with a sadness over what has happened to him over the years. It is a story of unconditional love.

Covers

The song has been covered by

, Liam Clancy,

Tommy Makem Thomas Makem (4 November 1932 – 1 August 2007) was an Irish folk music, folk musician, artist, poet and storyteller. He was best known as a member of the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. He played the long-necked 5-string banjo, tin whistle, l ...

, Brendan Grace Bernard Wrigley,

John Gorka John Gorka (born July 27, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. In 1991, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine called him "the preeminent male singer-songwriter of what has been dubbed the New Folk Movement." Personal life Gorka was raised in the Colon ...

, Suzy Bogguss, Norm Hacking, Anne Hills, John McDermott (No. 18 Canada), The New Kingston Trio, The Shaw Brothers, Gamble Rogers, Tom Russell,

Jerry Jeff Walker Jerry Jeff Walker (born Ronald Clyde Crosby; March 16, 1942 – October 23, 2020) was an American country and folk singer-songwriter. He was a leading figure in the progressive country and outlaw country music movement. He also wrote t ...

, Robert James Waller, Cashman & West, Josh White Jr.,Other Artists' Recordings
Woods Tea Company, Keith Harkin, Celtic Thunder,

David Soul David Soul (born David Richard Solberg; August 28, 1943 – January 4, 2024) was an American-British actor and singer. With a career spanning five decades, he rose to prominence for portraying Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the Americ ...

, The Quiggs, Danny Doyle, The High Kings
Tom Hoglund
Del Suggs, and Bob Louisell.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dutchman, The 1968 songs American folk songs Songs about Amsterdam