White Hinterland is the artist name of Portland, Oregon based Casey Dienel … Read Full Bio ↴White Hinterland is the artist name of Portland, Oregon based Casey Dienel (born March 10, 1985), an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She released her debut album, Wind-Up Canary, in 2006 on Hush Records under her own name. Dienel presently performs and records as White Hinterland, whose first album, titled Phylactery Factory, was released on March 4, 2008, by the independent record label Dead Oceans.

In the two years following the release of Phylactery Factory, Casey Dienel and fellow band-mate Shawn Creeden moved from the east coast where they were previously based to Portland. During this time, Dienel was left without her piano where she recorded her sophomore album using various drum machines and synthesizers. On March 9, 2010, Kairos was released by Dead Oceans and the song Icarus has been featured in various commercials and films.

Amsterdam
White Hinterland Lyrics

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In the rain in Amsterdam
I thought I saw you
In a window looking back
Over your shoulder

In the rain in Amsterdam
I was writing to you
On a postcard

I never bothered to send

There were doves
Circling above me
And tulips all around
What were you trying to tell me?
I could not make it out.

In the rain in Amsterdam
I thought I caught you
Bent over the canals
Gazing at your own reflection

In the rain in Amsterdam
I saw little of the city
Only water, so much water
Falling in a veil around me

Who's to say how long
'til this rain is done?

Overall Meaning

The song “Amsterdam” by White Hinterland is a melancholic and introspective piece that explores themes of lost love and the yearning for closure. The lyrics describe the singer's experiences in Amsterdam during a rainy day. The song's opening lines introduce the idea of a chance encounter as the singer claims to have seen someone who appears to be their past lover in a window looking back over their shoulder. However, the singer seems hesitant to approach this person and instead prefers to write them a postcard that they never send.

Throughout the song, the lyrics describe various landscapes and natural elements such as doves circling above and tulips all around, emphasizing the sheer magnitude of the singer's surroundings. Yet, the singer remains fixated on this past lover, questioning what they were trying to tell them when they couldn't make it out. In the second verse, the singer yells out to the person they think they recognized and in a second, they disappear -- leaving the singer to continue their exploration of Amsterdam alone.

The song's closing line, ‘Who's to say how long 'til this rain is done?’ is interesting to note since it is unclear whether the rain represents the singer's sadness or mourning as a result of their lost love or if it’s a reflection of the literal rain falling in Amsterdam.

Overall, “Amsterdam” by White Hinterland is a deeply emotional and introspective song that captures the feeling of being lost in thought and exploring a foreign city hoping to find answers to life’s big questions.

Line by Line Meaning

In the rain in Amsterdam
During the time when it was raining in Amsterdam

I thought I saw you
I believed that I saw you

In a window looking back
You were in a window and looking back at me

Over your shoulder
While looking back at me, you had your shoulder turned towards me

I was writing to you
I was composing a message for you

On a postcard
Using a postcard as the medium for my message

I never bothered to send
However, I did not take any action to send that message to you

There were doves
Doves were present in my surroundings

Circling above me
These doves were flying in circles above me

And tulips all around
Additionally, I was surrounded by tulips

What were you trying to tell me?
I was confused about the message that you were trying to convey to me