At last! We enjoyed the very first spring day of 2013. Sitting in the window, it made me think of that camp song so inextricably bound to our fair city: Tulips from Amsterdam.
We usually sing the Dutch version ‘Tulpen uit Amsterdam’ and typically only when we’re drunk with joy or otherwise intoxicated — temperatures above 20ºC or over two hours of sunshine a day can do that to us.
More than a few believe the song to be an old folk song, but it was originally written by German singer/songwriter Klaus-Günther Neumann. The English version became one of the signature songs of British comedian and singer Max Bygraves.
The sun and the warmth drew me outside and strolling along the beautiful beautiful green canals and the lovely lovely little cobblestone streets today, I ended up wading through clouds of musty-smelling smoke. That reminded me of the Jango Edwards parody of the song: Chillums from Amsterdam. It’s hard to find a recording of it, so I’ll give you the first few lines.
When it’s spring again, I’ll sing again
chillums from Amsterdam
There’s love, you see, for you and me
with chillums from Amsterdam
It struck me that today a lot of people had taken Jango’s words to heart in what is known as the city of love. Me? I’m straight edge and I prefer one of the more serious springtime songs from the King of Fools.
Mina Witteman 