In the early Seventies, the band switched to hard rock and had its first successes, including a brace of Top 40 hits. After original singer Veerman left and drummer Keizer took his place behind the microphone, the band made a musical U-turn and opted for commercial radio pop, adding female co-vocalist Annie Schilder and laying the foundation for their status as the most popular Dutch band ever (in terms of hit singles and albums). BZN has had over 50 hits in the Dutch hit parade to date.
BZN's claim to fame started with the song "Mon Amour" (1976), which held the #1 hit parade ranking for over 5 weeks. Outside of the Netherlands the band has had some success as well, amongst which several hits in South Africa (such as "Yeppa" in 1990) and minor successes with their French-language songs in Canada.
Through the years there have been many lineup changes, the most important of which have been the departure of Schilder in 1984 (replaced by Carola Smit) and in 1988 of the brothers Cees and Thomas Tol (keyboards), who until then had been responsible for most of the music and lyrics. The band remained nevertheless successful, making their last major change in strategy when they decided to write in Dutch instead of English as of 2003.
BZN are also responsible for the initial success of singer Jan Smit (singer), who was discovered by BZN at the age of 10 and went on to have pop and schlager successes in The Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.
On February 15 2006, BZN announced they would do one final tour and then call it quits. This goodbye tour is scheduled to last until June 2007.
Keep Smiling
BZN Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Uselessly killing the hours
You gaze at the corner, on that last bouquet
What's left is a bunch of dead flowers
refrain:
In the still of the night you are crying
In the still of the night you are dying
You wished we were here babe, to ease the pain
Remember this in your dark hours
Keep smiling, and let the sun shine, save all your tears for tomorrow
Keep smiling, let troubles be blown by the wind
Keep smiling, and let the sun shine, down on your fears and your sorrow
Keep smiling, you'd better stop crying my friend
You say "addio", with courage and grace
But deep in your eyes there is sorrow
I saw the tears rolling over your face
It's clear that your spirits are so low
refrain
Don't count on those tears babe, to ease your pain
You'd better take a chance on tomorrow
Keep smiling, and let the sun shine, save all your tears for tomorrow
Keep smiling, let troubles be blown by the wind
Keep smiling, and let the sun shine, down on your fears and your sorrow
Keep smiling, you'd better stop crying my friend
(2x)
Keep smiling, you'd better stop crying my friend
The lyrics to BZN's song "Keep Smiling" express a message of hope and encouragement to someone who is feeling lonely and heartbroken after a love has ended. The singer acknowledges the pain the person is feeling, as they are "uselessly killing the hours" and looking at "a bunch of dead flowers" left from their last love. In the still of the night, they are crying and dying inside.
However, the singer urges the person to keep smiling and let the sun shine, saving their tears for tomorrow. They encourage the person to let their troubles be blown away by the wind and not to count on their tears to ease their pain. Even though the person is saying their goodbyes with courage and grace, the singer can see the sorrow in their eyes, and the tears rolling down their face.
Ultimately, the message of the song is to keep hope alive and to look forward to a better tomorrow. The person is encouraged to take a chance on the future and to keep smiling, as the sun will shine again and bring an end to their fears and sorrow.
Line by Line Meaning
Feelin' so lonely, your love went away
You feel isolated and abandoned because the love you had is gone.
Uselessly killing the hours
You're not doing anything productive with your time - no sense of purpose.
You gaze at the corner, on that last bouquet
You're staring at the wilted flowers left over from the love you had.
What's left is a bunch of dead flowers
All that remains of the love you had are dead flowers.
In the still of the night you are crying
You cry yourself to sleep in the lonely, quiet hours of the night.
In the still of the night you are dying
You feel like a part of you is dying inside because of the pain of lost love.
You wished we were here babe, to ease the pain
You miss the person you loved and wish they were still around to comfort you.
Remember this in your dark hours
Remember how you feel at your lowest moments and use that as motivation to get through it.
Keep smiling, and let the sun shine, save all your tears for tomorrow
Stay optimistic and positive. Cry if you need to, but keep looking forward to better days ahead.
Let troubles be blown by the wind
Don't hold onto your problems so tightly. Let them go and let nature take care of them.
Down on your fears and your sorrow
Don't let your fears and sorrow consume you. Keep your head up and focus on the good things.
You say 'addio', with courage and grace
You're saying goodbye to your old love with strength and dignity.
But deep in your eyes there is sorrow
Even though you're trying to be strong, your sadness is still evident in your eyes.
I saw the tears rolling over your face
You're crying, despite trying to be courageous.
It's clear that your spirits are so low
Your mood is very down, and it's obvious based on your behavior.
You'd better take a chance on tomorrow
Don't give up hope. Take a leap of faith and try to move forward.
Keep smiling, you'd better stop crying my friend
Don't let your sadness overwhelm you. Keep up a positive attitude and keep moving forward.
Contributed by Elena A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.