In that big city of Zaltbommel .... The lyrics of the song try to explain in a humorous way why the church tower of Zaltbommel has no spire. There is a flood where many people drown and several others try to keep themselves afloat in strange ways. The spire floats between them, as is clear from the chorus: And in the midst of that (n) junk, junk Floated the steeple of Bommel, Bommel And in the midst of that (n) junk, junk Floated around the spire. In reality, the spire burned down in 1696. [1] The song uses call and response, whereby the listeners can repeat the last word of each female line. The melodies of the verse and the chorus are rhythmically similar; both are accompanied by a simple I-IV-V-I progression twice. Wikipedia