In the port of Amsterdam 
There's a sailor who sings 
Of the dreams that he brings 
From the wide open sea 
In the port of Amsterdam 
There's a sailor who sleeps 
While the river bank weeps 
To the old willow tree 

In the port of Amsterdam 
There's a sailor who dies 
Full of beer, full of cries 
In a [bad word] town fight 
In the port of Amsterdam 
There's a sailor who's born 
On a hot muggy morn 
By the dawn's early light 

In the port of Amsterdam 
Where the sailors all meet 
There's a sailor who eats 
Only fish heads and tails 
And he'll show you his teeth 
That have rotted too soon 
That can haul up the sails 
That can swallow the moon 

And he yells to the cook 
With his arms open wide 
"Hey, bring me more fish 
Throw it down by my side" 
And he wants so to belch 
But he's too full to try 
So he stands up and laughs 
And he zips up his fly 

In the port of Amsterdam 
You can see sailors dance 
Paunches bursting their pants 
Grinding women to porch 
They've forgotten the tune 
That their whiskey voice croaked 
Splitting the night 
With the roar of their jokes 
And they turn and they dance 
And they laugh and they lust 
Till the rancid sound of the accordion bursts 
And then out of the night 
With their pride in their pants 
And the [bad word] that they tow 
Underneath the street lamps 

In the port of Amsterdam 
There's a sailor who drinks 
And he drinks and he drinks 
And he drinks once again 
He'll drink to the health 
Of the whores of Amsterdam 
Who've given their bodies 
To a thousand other men 
Yeah, they've bargained their virtue 
Their goodness all gone 
For a few dirty coins 
Well he just can't go on 
Throws his nose to the sky 
And he aims it up above 
And he [bad word] like I cry 
On the unfaithful love 

In the port of Amsterdam 
In the port of Amsterdam