Christy Moore started in the music business in the mid-sixties, when his life as a bank clerk was interrupted by a bank strike, and he moved to England. There he became involved in the folk music scene at the time, and spent a few years playing pubs and clubs around the country.
His return to Ireland was marked by the album 'Prosperous', which proved to be a milestone in the rapprochement of Irish music to the popular mainstream. This album benefited from a collaboration of the leading talents of contemporary folk music, musicians such as Andy Irvine, Donal Lunny and Liam O'Flynn, and this one-off was to lead to the formation of Planxty, a band who were soon to be at the leading edge of the revival of Irish traditional music.
Over the following years the musical status of Planxty became legendary both in Ireland, Britain and throughout Europe. However in 1974 the band split up to pursue solo projects. It was during this period that Christy continued to explore new ground as a solo artist recording a number of solo albums including 'The Iron Behind the Velvet' (TARACD2002) which featured Andy Irvine and 'Live in Dublin' (TARACD2005) with Donal Lunny.
The original Planxty lineup of Christy, Andy, Liam and Donal then reformed in 1979. They recorded two further albums with Tara Records 'After the Break' (TARACD3001) and 'The Woman I Loved So Well' (TARACD3005). There were several additions and changes to their lineup most notably the addition of Matt Molloy, flautist from The Bothy Band, who later joined The Chieftains, and Bill Whelan.
In 1981 Planxty performed a Bill Whelan arrangement called 'Timedance' as the intermission piece for the Eurovision song contest, held that year in Ireland. Later it was released as a single and is now included on Bill's CD of 'The Seville Suite' (TARACD3030) released by Tara in 1992.
In the eighties Christy again teamed up with Donal Lunny to form Moving Hearts, another ambitious and innovative Irish band which sought to mix jazz into the folk-rock fusion. Ever the wanderer, Christy was soon breaking out on his own again, and it was in the eighties that he began to establish himself as one of Ireland's leading solo artists with a string of acclaimed albums and high profile tours.
In the mid-nineties Christy decided to take a break from the music for a few years. In the year 2000 Christy return to live performances with a series of Dublin concerts. Over the last few years he has released a number of solo projects including a television series, a live album and a 6 CD boxset.
Weekend in Amsterdam
Christy Moore Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The spree
A brand new passport in my hand as we took off for The
Netherland
Myself and Dinny and O'Dwyer and Scut at Schiphol we
Were all half cut
We opened up the duty-free, the red lemonade and brandy
And we jumped on board a tram
Our first stop was the coffee shop, in we went and we
All sparked up
Hashish from Pakistan, Morocco, Nepal and the Lebanon
All the boys was rollin' joints, they forgot to drink
Their pints
Water pipe came bubblin' around, took one pull and hit
The ground
Lads wake him if you can
Oh The Weekend that we spent in Amsterdam
Sunday we went to The Blarney Stone, Paddy Wynne had
The Leinster Final on
The Lily Whites and The Boys in Blue, the Majors and
Taytos
Over to Mulligan's for the night, the bar was leppin'
And the band was shite
De Burgh, De Bono and De Wolfe Tones'til Dinny grabbed
The microphone
And gave us Van The Man
Oh The weekend that we spent in Amsterdam
Macker sez while we're here we'll go and have a look at
The kinky gear
I said a quiet prayer I wouldn't bump into anyone from
Kildare
Big dildos, blow-up dolls, snap-on tools and hairy
Balls
Vibrators, whips and chains, zips and fanny ticklers
God between us and all harm
Oh The Weekend that we spent in Amsterdam
Then we went for a midnight walk, all our eyes were out
On stalks
Gay bars, bordellos, models in the windows with no
Clothes
Dinny he danced all night with a South American
Transvestite
Everything was goin' grand until Dinny tried to drop
The hand There was pandemonium
Oh The Weekend that we spent in Amsterdam
The bouncer she was 5' 10", Lowland Heavyweight
Champion
She hit Dinny an awful box, the boys ran amok and
Wrecked the shop
We could hear the squad cars getting near, it's time
Lads we were out of here
Dinny pulled up his tights and we disappeared into the
Night
All together now one by one
Oh The Weekend that we spent in Amsterdam
Queen Beatrix she rides her bike, Rembrandt is hangin'
Down in The Rijk
Ajax, Heineken, Van Gogh, The Gargle and The Ghanja
Monday morning we were all half cracked we dived into
The Kaisergracht
They fished us out, hosed us down and put us on the
Plane to Dublin Home to the Mammy again
Oh The Weekend that we spent in Amsterdam
The song "Weekend in Amsterdam" by Christy Moore talks about a wild weekend that the singer and his friends spent in Amsterdam after getting their redundancy. They headed to the coffee shops to smoke different types of hashish and forgot to drink their pints. They visited the Blarney Stone and enjoyed listening to the Leinster Final on a Sunday. They then went for a walk along the streets of Amsterdam where they came across gay bars and bordellos. Dinny danced all night with a South American transvestite, resulting in a commotion and a run-in with the bouncer.
The lyrics of the song are an account of the wild weekend that the singer and his friends had during their stay in Amsterdam. The song is a representation of the liberal and tolerant Dutch culture that is also reflected in the city's hashish coffee shops and red-light districts. The song also touches on the comradery among friends and the banter that often accompanies such trips.
Line by Line Meaning
When we got our redundancy, myself and the lads went on
The spree
After getting fired from their jobs, the singer and his friends decided to go on a wild trip
A brand new passport in my hand as we took off for The
Netherlands
The singer had just got his passport and was heading to the Netherlands for the first time
Myself and Dinny and O'Dwyer and Scut at Schiphol we
Were all half cut
The singer and his friends were already tipsy by the time they reached the airport
We opened up the duty-free, the red lemonade and brandy
And we jumped on board a tram
The friends started drinking the duty-free alcohol and hopped on a tram to start exploring
Oh The Weekend that we spent in Amsterdam
The artist reminisces about the wild weekend they had in Amsterdam
Our first stop was the coffee shop, in we went and we
All sparked up
The friends went to a coffee shop to smoke marijuana
Hashish from Pakistan, Morocco, Nepal and the Lebanon
All the boys was rollin' joints, they forgot to drink
Their pints
Each of the friends was rolling their own marijuana joints and got too high to remember to drink their beers
Water pipe came bubblin' around, took one pull and hit
The ground
Lads wake him if you can
One of the friends took a hit from a water pipe and passed out, prompting the others to try to wake him up
Sunday we went to The Blarney Stone, Paddy Wynne had
The Leinster Final on
On Sunday, the friends went to an Irish pub to watch a sports game
The Lily Whites and The Boys in Blue, the Majors and
Taytos
Over to Mulligan's for the night, the bar was leppin'
And the band was shite
De Burgh, De Bono and De Wolfe Tones'til Dinny grabbed
The microphone
And gave us Van The Man
The friends went to multiple bars that night, with Dinny taking the microphone to sing some classic Irish songs and Van Morrison covers
Macker sez while we're here we'll go and have a look at
The kinky gear
One of the friends suggested they visit a sex shop to see what was there
I said a quiet prayer I wouldn't bump into anyone from
Kildare
The artist hoped not to run into anyone from their hometown, Kildare, while visiting the sex shop
Big dildos, blow-up dolls, snap-on tools and hairy
Balls
Vibrators, whips and chains, zips and fanny ticklers
God between us and all harm
The sex shop had a wide range of sex toys, some more graphic than others
Then we went for a midnight walk, all our eyes were out
On stalks
Gay bars, bordellos, models in the windows with no
Clothes
The friends went for a walk at night and were amazed by the variety of businesses in the red light district
Dinny he danced all night with a South American
Transvestite
One of the friends, Dinny, danced with a transvestite they met while out at the bars
Everything was goin' grand until Dinny tried to drop
The hand There was pandemonium
Things were fine until Dinny made an unwanted advance, leading to chaos
The bouncer she was 5' 10", Lowland Heavyweight
Champion
She hit Dinny an awful box, the boys ran amuck and
Wrecked the shop
The bouncer beat up Dinny, causing the friends to get into a physical altercation and damage the establishment
We could hear the squad cars getting near, it's time
Lads we were out of here
Dinny pulled up his tights and we disappeared into the
Night
The friends heard police sirens and made a quick escape before they got caught
Queen Beatrix she rides her bike, Rembrandt is hangin'
Down in The Rijk
Ajax, Heineken, Van Gogh, The Gargle and The Ghanja
The singer lists some of the famous Dutch icons and products
Monday morning we were all half cracked we dived into
The Kaisergracht
They fished us out, hosed us down and put us on the
Plane to Dublin Home to the Mammy again
The friends went swimming in a canal on their last day, but ended up needing to be rescued before catching their flight back home to Dublin
Contributed by Hunter P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Oisin feehilly
on By Barna
Hellow Lady, Can I borrow your teddy
Samuel Joseph Donnelly
on Whacker Humphries
Ask "whacker" about the Provo they marched on and set up for votes in council elections- set up by a brasser from the Barn named Lilly Healy- 18 fucking years in blocks/cages/ torture centres and back stabbed by wannabes from Dublin! Between Active service ( killing etc whacker in case you didn't know!!
Chloe Mcl
on Hey Paddy
Is that the words Brendan O'Carroll sing