Amsterdam (Van Halen song)

"Amsterdam" is a rock song written by the group Van Halen for their 1995 album Balance. It was released as single to mainstream rock radio and peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart during the summer of 1995.[1]

"Amsterdam"
Single by Van Halen
from the album Balance
B-side
Released1995 (1995)
Recorded1994 (1994)
GenreHard rock
Length4:45
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Bruce Fairbairn
Van Halen singles chronology
"Not Enough"
(1995)		 "Amsterdam"
(1995)		 "Humans Being"
(1996)

Chuck Klosterman of Vulture.com ranked it the 89th-best Van Halen song, noting that it "resides on the other side of good, though I do like the way Sammy rhymes the word “Amsterdam” with “You don’t have to worry about the Man.”"[2]

Background

The song was written primarily by their lead singer Sammy Hagar, but was credited to a songwriting partnership of all four members of the band — as was usual in all original Van Halen's songs — at a time when the musical differences between him and his bandamates were increasing. According to a 1995 interview on Dutch radio, the song is based upon Sammy's tourist impression of Amsterdam, such as the freedom he felt in the city.

According to Ian Christe's book Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga, Eddie and Alex Van Halen didn't like the lyrics, feeling the song did one of the major cities of their country of origin a disservice, due to its explicit references to cannabis use (with lines such as "roll an Amsterdam", clearly it refers to "roll a joint" ) and to its little content. Sammy, however, wouldn't budge, as it was about his tourist impression over the memories of the Van Halen family homeland. About this, Eddie Van Halen said to Guitar World in 1996:

“Well, I wasn't sober before, and I wasn't even listening to the lyrics! It's not like I suddenly wanted Sammy to be my puppet or anything, but once in a while I would take issue with a specific lyric or line. For example, I always hated the words ‘wham, bam, Amsterdam,’ from Balance, because they were all about smoking pot – they were just stupid. Lyrics should plant some sort of seed for thought, or at least be a little more metamorphical." [3]

Music video controversy

A music video was shot for "Amsterdam" in January 1995 during their promotional tour in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. After the finishing touches was completed in April, Warner Bros. sent the video to MTV, who sent it back due to the song's references to marijuana, specifically the lyric, "Score me some Panama Red, yeah." They altered the lyrics for the video for airplay, but MTV still refused to play it. The altered video eventually aired on MuchMusic in Canada.

References
  1. Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks - Chart Listing For The Week Of Jun 24 1995
  2. Klosterman, Chuck (October 6, 2020). "All 131 Van Halen Songs, Ranked From Worst to Best A look back at the band's formidable legacy". Vulture.com. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
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