"The Dutchman" is a song written by

Michael Peter Smith Michael Peter Smith (September 7, 1941 – August 3, 2020) was an American, Chicago-based singer-songwriter. ''Rolling Stone'' once called him "The greatest songwriter in the English language". Mark Guarino of '' Chicago Reader'' wrote, "He ne ...

in 1968 and popularized by

Liam Clancy Liam Clancy ( ga, Liam Mac Fhlannchadha; 2 September 1935 – 4 December 2009) was an Irish folk singer from Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. He was the youngest member of the influential folk group the Clancy Brothers, regarded as Ireland's ...

Brendan Grace Brendan Grace (1 April 1951 – 11 July 2019) was an Irish comedian and singer. He was best known for his comedy schoolboy character 'Bottler', the 1995 film ''Moondance'', and his 1996 appearance in the Irish TV sitcom ''Father Ted'' as Father ...

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 Arlo Guthrie and many others including John Denver, ...

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

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The song is about an elderly couple living in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, Margaret and the title character. The unnamed Dutchman is

senile Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a Syndrome, set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negativ ...

, and Margaret cares for him with a sadness over what has happened to him over the years. It is a story of unconditional love. One of the most notable and successful versions was recorded by Irish comedian and entertainer

Covers

While Goodman's cover version of "The Dutchman" is one of the best known, along with a cover by Irish artists

and

Tommy Makem Thomas Makem (4 November 1932 – 1 August 2007) was an internationally celebrated Irish 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 ...

, the song has been covered by many other artists as well, including

Bernard Wrigley Bernard Wrigley (born 25 February 1948 in Bolton, Lancashire, England) is an English singer, actor and comedian. He is sometimes known by the nickname "The Bolton Bullfrog". Wrigley's career as a singer and storyteller began in the late 1960s, ...

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 Susan Kay Bogguss (born December 30, 1956) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She began her career in the 1980s as a solo singer. In the 1990s, six of her songs were Top 10 hits, three albums were certified gold, and one album re ...

Norm Hacking Norm Hacking (August 1, 1950 – November 25, 2007) was a Canadian folk music singer-songwriter. Early life Hacking spent his first six years living in a house that used to be owned by his grandparents, in the Gerrard Street and Victoria Park ...

Anne Hills Anne Hills (born October 18, 1953) is an American folk singer-songwriter. Hills was born to a family of missionaries in Moradabad, India, and grew up in Michigan, United States. She studied at the Interlochen Center for the Arts, where she pla ...

, John McDermott (No. 18 Canada),

The New Kingston Trio The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and ...

, The Shaw Brothers,

Gamble Rogers James Gamble Rogers IV (January 31, 1937 – October 10, 1991) was an American folk artist musician and storyteller known for the recurring theme in his songs and stories about characters and places in a fictional Florida county. He was a 1998 i ...

Tom Russell Thomas George Russell (born 1947/1948) is an American singer-songwriter. Although most strongly identified with the Americana music tradition, his music also incorporates elements of folk, rock, and the cowboy music of the American West. Many ...

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

Robert James Waller Robert James Waller (August 1, 1939 – March 10, 2017) was an American author best known for '' The Bridges of Madison County'', an enormously successful book in 1993. He was also a photographer and musician. Life Robert James Waller Jr. was ...

Cashman & West Terry Cashman (born Dennis Minogue, July 5, 1941) is an American record producer and singer-songwriter, best known for his 1981 hit, " Talkin' Baseball". While the song is well recognized today and allowed Cashman the chance to meet the featured ...

Josh White Jr. Josh White Jr. is a Grammy Award-nominated recording artist who upholds the musical traditions of his father, the late bluesman Josh White. Career At the age of four, Josh White Jr. made his professional debut alongside his father at the Caf� ...

,Other Artists' Recordings
Woods Tea Company, Keith Harkin,

Celtic Thunder Celtic Thunder is an Irish singing group and stage show known for its eclectic, theatrical style show. The group is backed by the Celtic Thunder Band on their concert tours, and their live shows are known for the use of dramatic set pieces (of ...

David Soul David Soul (born David Richard Solberg; August 28, 1943) is an American-British actor and singer. He is known for his role as Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the television series ''Starsky & Hutch'' from 1975 to 1979; Joshua Bolt on ' ...

The Quiggs ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

, Danny Doyle,

The High Kings The High Kings is an Irish folk group formed in Dublin in 2008. The band consists of Finbarr Clancy, Brian Dunphy, Darren Holden, and Paul O'Brien. As of 2020, the group had released five studio albums, four live albums, and two live DVDs, an ...

References

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