Brel wrote and first performed "Amsterdam" in 1964 while he was living seaside at Roquebrune Cap-Martin on the Côte d’Azur. It recounts imagined exploits by Flemish sailors, drunks and whores in the Dutch port of Amsterdam (Brel was Flemish). Brel once commented that he wanted to create a “sea-song which resembled a Breugel painting” and he largely succeeded with his debauched imagery. He also clearly expresses criticism at immoral behavior. The melody borrows a 16th century English folk song (“Greensleeves”) and traces a powerful musical crescendo (“Brelian Crescendo”) that transports listeners from the song’s opening with languorous ocean torpors to its culmination in sweaty, unbridled sex.
The song has a strong structure of 4 groups of 4 stanzas each with varied rhyming schemes. The words “dans le port d’Amsterdam” introduce each group and are peppered throughout. Translation of Brel’s obscure words, metaphors and images is notoriously difficult (“décroisser la lune?” “croquer la fortune?” “bouffer des haubans?” “langueurs océanes?” “soleils crachés?”) so one is forced to take interpretive liberties. One wonders occasionally if some of the obscurity may arise from a dogged search for matching rhymes.
“Amsterdam” exemplifies the contribution of an artist’s live “performance” to the overall impact of a song’s music and words on an audience. Simply reading the lyrics or listening to a recording of “Amsterdam” provides only half a meal. Perhaps not coincidentally, Brel never recorded a studio version of the song, which survives only in a live video recording from the historic Olympia music hall in Paris. Brel’s “performance” comprises his elocution, the robust sounds and syllabic structure of words, his urgent tone of voice, gesticulations, and the dynamic musical crescendo.
The word “Amsterdam,” re-iterated almost accusingly 11 times throughout the song takes on a life of its own with its 3-syllable structure and the repetitive “ah” sound. Reportedly, the original setting for the song was the town of Zeebrugge, but the sonority of the word Amsterdam took precedence. The plural structure of verbs (ending in “ent”) recounting sailors’ exploits creates a verbal and visual rhythm that would have gone missing had the subject (sailors) been singular. Many words contain explosive “eur,” “ss,” “v” and rolling “r” sounds that punctuate the narrative and support Brel’s prominent mouth, lips and teeth in their leading role.
The song has a strong structure of 4 groups of 4 stanzas each with varied rhyming schemes. The words “dans le port d’Amsterdam” introduce each group and are peppered throughout. Translation of Brel’s obscure words, metaphors and images is notoriously difficult (“décroisser la lune?” “croquer la fortune?” “bouffer des haubans?” “langueurs océanes?” “soleils crachés?”) so one is forced to take interpretive liberties. One wonders occasionally if some of the obscurity may arise from a dogged search for matching rhymes.
“Amsterdam” exemplifies the contribution of an artist’s live “performance” to the overall impact of a song’s music and words on an audience. Simply reading the lyrics or listening to a recording of “Amsterdam” provides only half a meal. Perhaps not coincidentally, Brel never recorded a studio version of the song, which survives only in a live video recording from the historic Olympia music hall in Paris. Brel’s “performance” comprises his elocution, the robust sounds and syllabic structure of words, his urgent tone of voice, gesticulations, and the dynamic musical crescendo.
The word “Amsterdam,” re-iterated almost accusingly 11 times throughout the song takes on a life of its own with its 3-syllable structure and the repetitive “ah” sound. Reportedly, the original setting for the song was the town of Zeebrugge, but the sonority of the word Amsterdam took precedence. The plural structure of verbs (ending in “ent”) recounting sailors’ exploits creates a verbal and visual rhythm that would have gone missing had the subject (sailors) been singular. Many words contain explosive “eur,” “ss,” “v” and rolling “r” sounds that punctuate the narrative and support Brel’s prominent mouth, lips and teeth in their leading role.
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Dans le port d’Amsterdam Y’a des marins qui chantent Les rêves qui les hantent Au large d’Amsterdam Dans le port d’Amsterdam Y’a des marins qui dorment Comme des oriflammes Le long des berges mornes Dans le port d’Amsterdam Y’a des marins qui meurent Pleins de bière et de drames Aux premières lueurs Mais dans le port d’Amsterdam Y’a des marins qui naissent Dans la chaleur épaisse Des langueurs océanes Dans le port d’Amsterdam Y’a des marins qui mangent Sur des nappes trop blanches Des poissons ruisselants Ils vous montrent des dents A croquer la fortune A décroisser la Lune A bouffer des haubans Et ça sent la morue Jusque dans le cœur des frites Que leurs grosses mains invitent A revenir en plus Puis se lèvent en riant Dans un bruit de tempête Referment leur braguette Et sortent en rotant Dans le port d’Amsterdam Y’a des marins qui dansent En se frottant la panse Sur la panse des femmes Et ils tournent et ils dansent Comme des soleils crachés Dans le son déchiré D’un accordéon rance Ils se tordent le cou Pour mieux s’entendre rire Jusqu’à ce que tout à coup L’accordéon expire Alors le geste grave Alors le regard fier Ils ramènent leur batave Jusqu’en pleine lumière Dans le port d’Amsterdam Y’a des marins qui boivent Et qui boivent et reboivent Et qui reboivent encore Ils boivent a la santé Des putains d’Amsterdam De Hambourg et d’ailleurs Enfin ils boivent aux dames Qui leur donnent leur joli corps Qui leur donnent leur vertu Pour une piece en or Et quand ils ont bien bu Se plantent le nez au ciel Se mouchent dans les étoiles Et ils pissent comme je pleure Sur les femmes infidèles Dans le port d’Amsterdam Dans le port d’Amsterdam |
In the port of Amsterdam There are sailors who sing The dreams that haunt them Off the coast of Amsterdam In the port of Amsterdam There are sailors who sleep Like battle standards Stretched along gloomy riverbanks In the port of Amsterdam There are sailors who die Full of beer and dramas At the day’s early light But in the port of Amsterdam There are sailors who are born In the clammy heat Of oceanic torpor In the port of Amsterdam There are sailors who eat, On tablecloths too white Their dripping fish They show you their teeth To chew up fate To chomp on the moon To devour shrouds And it smells like codfish Into the core of (French) fries That their big hands invite To come back for more Then they rise laughing In the noise of a storm Zip up their flies And leave burping In the port of Amsterdam There are sailors who dance While rubbing their bellies On the bellies of women And they turn and they dance Like splattering suns In the raucous sound Of a rank accordion They twist their necks To better hear themselves laugh Until suddenly The accordion dies Then a solemn gesture Then a proud look They sleep with their sluts Until the full light of dawn In the port of Amsterdam There are sailors who drink And who drink and drink again And who still drink again They drink to the health Of the whores of Amsterdam Of Hamburg and elsewhere Finally, they drink to the ladies Who give them their pretty bodies Who give them their virginity For a piece of gold And when they’ve really drunk Point their noses to the sky Snort to the stars And they piss like I cry On the faithless women In the port of Amsterdam In the port of Amsterdam |
NB:
- “oriflamme:” an historic reference to the French royal scarlet banner or standard used in battle.
- “batave:” means Batavian, an obsolete reference to Holland. Here it refers to Dutch women.
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