Back then, endlessly long ago
We Frisians began squatting at the waterfront
The years went by as the winds of time blow
But we Frisians of today still look drunk1
[Chorus:]
On the coast of the North Sea, at the Low-German beach,
The fish are in the water and seldom on the land
High tide is followed by low tide, and low tide is followed by high tide
The dikes hold up, sometimes they do, sometimes they don't
The dunes, they wander back and forth on the beach
From Greenland to Flanders, more or less
[Chorus]
The seals sing their lament
Because they can't wiggle their tails, too bad
The sheep bleat like mad on the dike
And garnish it richly with black-green pellets
[Chorus, repeated]
1. in German it is a pun with a word they used line 2