☝️ Key Points
- The song 'Amsterdam' by Harris & Ford is an ode to traveling and experiencing different cities and cultures.
- Despite all the different experiences and places the singer visits, he feels most comfortable in Amsterdam.
- The song lyrics use the metaphor 'the grass is greener in Amsterdam' to refer to Amsterdam's tolerance towards marijuana.
- The song is a tribute to the beauty of the differences we discover in our travels.
Interpretation
The lyrics of 'Amsterdam' by
Harris & Ford are an ode to traveling and experiencing different cities and cultures. It is a song that highlights the beauty and individuality of each city, but at the same time portrays Amsterdam as the place where the singer feels most comfortable.
It starts by saying that there was too much snow for the singer's taste in Warsaw: 'In Warsaw, there was too much snow'. Then he goes to London, where the beer is 'pretty okay'. In Oslo, he appreciates the long nights: 'In Oslo, the nights are pretty long'.
But despite all these experiences and places, the singer concludes that 'the grass is greener in Amsterdam'. This phrase is a metaphor that usually means that conditions or circumstances seem better elsewhere, but in this song, it is taken literally and refers to Amsterdam's famous tolerance towards marijuana.
Overall, the lyrics of the song are a homage to traveling and the beauty of the differences we find on our journeys, with a special love for Amsterdam.