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Louis Davids - In the Jordaan
Dutch songs with English translation, translated in English
Louis Davids - In the Jordaan
Lyrics: Louis Davids / Music: Margie Morris
(1917; recording 1933)
Louis Davids - In de Jordaan
Tekst: Louis Davids / Muziek: Margie Morris
(1917; opname 1933)
© copyright translation
Dutch song Louis Davids - In de Jordaan
with lyrics, music, video and English translation songtext
Where can you find so much joy and laughter
Where is it so cozy
Where in this world is more amusement, careless fun
Pleasure and happiness
Where can you get to know the Amsterdamer
Get used to him, really
Silly humbug goes around
Where's the heartbeat and the core of Amsterdam
Waar is het op de wereld zo vrolijk
Gezellig en olijk
Waar heb je op de hele wereld meer plezier
Reuzepret en vertier
Waar leer je d' Amsterdammer pas kennen
Waar moet j' aan hem wennen
Waar is plek voor flauw gezwam
Waar vindt men de harteklop van Amsterdam
In the Jordaan
In our small neighbourhood Jordaan
It's a one and only place
Here all good old lads are nuts
And the heart of Mokum beats on endlessly
In the Jordaan
In our small neighbourhood Jordaan
The only place where I want to depart this life
In de Jordaan
In onze enige Jordaan
Op die ene kleine plek
Zijn de toffe jongens gek
Want daar zal het hart van Mokum blijven slaan
In de Jordaan
In onze enige Jordaan
Dat is het enigst plekje waar ik dood wil gaan
Come on people, do the best you can
Shake a leg and dance
Vooruit jongens, op z'n allerbest
De beentjes van de vloer
Tall Jan is turning at his street organ
The wheel turns, he's waving
And on his music you see our girls dance around
An excellent, perfect step
They turn around and whirl just like spirals
It's gorgeous and priceless
Swirl like that is a delight
Every girl from Amsterdam feels proud and great
Als Lange Jan zijn slinger gaat draaien
Dan kan je 'm zien zwaaien
Dan kan je onze meiden nog eens van katoen
Een eerste klas step zien doen
Dan draaien ze gewoon als spiralen
't Is niet te betalen
Links te zwaaien zaligheid
't Is de trots van elke Amsterdamse meid
In the Jordaan
In our small neighbourhood Jordaan
It's a one and only place
Here all good old lads are nuts
And the heart of Mokum beats on endlessly
In the Jordaan
In our small neighbourhood Jordaan
The only place where I want to depart this life
In de Jordaan
In onze enige Jordaan
Op die ene kleine plek
Zijn de toffe jongens gek
Want daar zal het hart van Mokum blijven slaan
In de Jordaan
In onze enige Jordaan
Dat is het enigst plekje waar ik dood wil gaan
© copyright translation
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Louis Davids (1883-1939) was a Rotterdam revue star and singer. His jewish parents had a pub in Rotterdam, but also sang as a duo. Louis Davids sang at fairs and elsewhere in Rotterdam since he was eight years old, often together with his sister Rika.
From around 1914 until 1922 he had a relationship with the English pianist Margie Morris (1892-1983). In 1915 they got a son, but they never married. She wrote music for Davids' songs, sang on stage and played in silent movies.
Davids became successful in the theatre with his sister Rika, with songs like 'A boattrip on the Rhine'/'Een reisje langs de Rijn' (1906) and 'We go to Zandvoort at the seaside'/'We gaan naar Zandvoort aan de zee' (1915). In Amsterdam, Louis Davids made revue shows as he had seen them in England and started to sing Amsterdam 'levensliederen' ('lifesongs') from the Jordaan, although he was a Rotterdamer. In 1937 Louis Davids had to end his work in the theatres, because of severe asthma. He died two years later as a result of this disease, only 55 years old.
Some of his most well-known songs, beside above song, are: 'The common man'/'De kleine man'; 'To the bulb fields'/'Naar de bollen'; and 'Who is born for a dime'/'Als je voor een dubbeltje geboren bent'. Louis Davids also played as actor in the silent movie The Tars/De Jantjes (1922) and later in the remake, a sound film (1934).
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Louis Davids and Margie Morris wrote above song 'In the Jordaan' (1917) for the play 'Pale Bet'/'Bleeke Bet' (1917, written by Herman Bouber). Davids and Morris wrote several songs for the play. In 1923 a silent film was based on this play and in 1934 a film with sound was made (starring Fien de la Mar, Sylvain Poons and Aaf Bouber: picture cast).
The story is situated in the Jordaan, a quarter (neighbourhood) in Amsterdam, the west side of the inner city (right behind the rich rings of canals). It is known as a real working-class quarter ('volksbuurt') with small alleys and small houses; and popular for it's many café's, shops and markets. Before the 1960's the district was very poor.
The origin of the name 'Jordaan' is unknown, probably it refers to the Jordan River in nowadays Israel. After all, Amsterdam had many Jewish inhabitants before the Second World War. The city of Amsterdam was and still is refered to as 'Mokum', the Hebrew word for 'city'.
Other 'life-songs' ('levensliederen') from the Jordaan in Amsterdam, translated on this website, are: 'In our own Jordaan'/'Bij ons in de Jordaan' (1955); 'My choice is Amsterdam'/'Geef mij maar Amsterdam' (1955); and 'At the foot of the Western Tower'/'Aan de voet van die oude Wester' (1957).
 More translated Dutch songs in the genre 'theatre song' and more with the theme 'songs about Amsterdam'. See also the list of Dutch singers with all their songs on this website.
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© copyright translation
(2017)
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