"Amsterdam" is a song by American rock band Van Halen. It was primarily written by Sammy Hagar, the band's lead singer at the time for the band's 1995 studio album Balance. It was released as a single to mainstream rock and peaked at number nine on the US BillboardHot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart during the summer of 1995.[2]
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 their birthplace 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
A music video was shot for "Amsterdam" in January 1995 during the band's promotional tour in Amsterdam. After the finishing touches were 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
^Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. p. 866. ISBN9780862415419.
^Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks - Chart Listing For The Week Of Jun 24 1995
^"Interviews – Eddie Van Halen". Guitar World. Vhlinks.com. December 1996. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
January 30, 2023
amsterdam, halen, song, amsterdam, song, american, rock, band, halen, primarily, written, sammy, hagar, band, lead, singer, time, band, 1995, studio, album, balance, released, single, mainstream, rock, peaked, number, nine, billboard, mainstream, rock, tracks,. Amsterdam is a song by American rock band Van Halen It was primarily written by Sammy Hagar the band s lead singer at the time for the band s 1995 studio album Balance It was released as a single to mainstream rock and peaked at number nine on the US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart during the summer of 1995 2 Amsterdam Single by Van Halenfrom the album BalanceB side Finish What Ya Started live When It s Love live ReleasedJune 1995 1995 06 1 Recorded1994 1994 GenreHard rockLength4 45LabelWarner Bros Songwriter s Michael Anthony Sammy Hagar Alex Van Halen Eddie Van HalenProducer s Bruce FairbairnVan Halen singles chronology Not Enough 1995 Amsterdam 1995 Humans Being 1996 Background EditThe 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 their birthplace 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 EditA music video was shot for Amsterdam in January 1995 during the band s promotional tour in Amsterdam After the finishing touches were 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 Edit Strong Martin Charles 1995 The Great Rock Discography p 866 ISBN 9780862415419 Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart Listing For The Week Of Jun 24 1995 Interviews Eddie Van Halen Guitar World Vhlinks com December 1996 Retrieved October 21 2013 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Amsterdam Van Halen song amp oldid 1135491154, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
