1. Fr… Read Full Bio ↴Two musicians from The Netherlands are known as Frank Boeijen:
1. Frank Boeijen is a Dutch singer/songwriter, who was the front man of popular (and eponymous) pop group De Frank Boeijen Groep from 1980 until 1991, the year he went solo. As leader of De Frank Boeijen Groep, Boeijen was one of the pioneers of Nederpop; along with the likes of Doe Maar en Het Goede Doel. After the peak of Nederpop passed, Boeijen broke new ground by touring theatres with his band and bringing pop music to new auditoriums and audiences. As a solo artist, he has kept to this theatre based approach of his music and maintained a productive pace.
Frank Boeijen was born in Nijmegen, The Netherlands on November 27, 1957, as the last in a family of ten children. His father was a typesetter in a factory. His older brothers were into American pop music; in the Boeijen household, Bob Dylan and Neil Young were often to be found on the record player (years later, Boeijen would write a song about this, appropriately titled Robbert Zimmerman). Young Frank learned to play the guitar. After finishing high school, Boeijen started a musical collaboration with guitarist Wout Pennings. Boeijen en Pennings released an album together in 1977. The songs of the album were re-recorded and the album was re-released a year later, with Rob de Nijs acting as producer. It was appropriately titled Boeijen en Pennings. To fulfil live engagements, drummer Henk Wanders en bass player Nels Busch joined the duo.
Pennings left the band in 1979 and was replaced with guitar player Wil Theunissen. The name was changed into the Frank Boeijen Groep. The b-side of their fist single, a song entitled Verjaardagsfeest was picked on up by radio disc jockey Frits Spits, who played the record a lot during his evening show. The group released their debut album, simply entitled Frank Boeijen Groep, album later that year. On the base of the airplay of Verjaardagsfeest, the album reached the Tipparade.
Nederpop, pop music with Dutch vocals, was becoming a mainstream success in the early eighties, and the Frank Boeijen Groep hitched a wagon to that train, when their single Linda, reached the Top Forty. Zwart Wit, another single, written after a racial murder had taken place in Amsterdam, became a number one hit. 1982's Twee and 1983's 1001 Hotel became big sellers.
In 1984, the Frank Boeijen Groep was awarded the Zilveren Harp by Conamus. In that same year, album Kontakt was released. Lead guitarist Wil Theunissen quit the group later that year and replaced with Maarten Peters, who himself was replaced two years later by Ger Hoeijmakers. In 1985, the group released Foto Van Een Mooie Dag. Single Kronenburg Park -- named after Kronenburger Park a park in Nijmegen, Boeijen's place of birth and residence -- became a huge success. Follow up, In Nature, released in 1986, didn't do as well, but still sold respectively.
Towards the end of the eighties, Boeijen's music fell somewhere in between het levenslied of André Hazes, the chansons of Ramses Shaffy and the pop of Doe Maar. According to Frank Boeijen and his manager Paul Schouwenaars the group had outgrown clubs and tents. With the release of album Welkom In Utopia in 1987, the group decided to tour Dutch theatres. The Welkom In Utopia tour started in the Stadsschouwburg in Amsterdam in September of the same year. Two more albums were released: studio album Een Zomer Aan Het Eind Van De Twintigste Eeuw (1989) and live album Hier Komt De Storm. During these years, Frank Boeijen dated Sky Channel presenter Amanda Redington. The two would marry in 1990. The album Dans In Slow Motion, released in 1988, was written for her. In juni 1994 scheidden ze weer van elkaar.
In the spring of 1991, Boeijen announced the ending of his group. In November of that year, he released his first solo album Wilde Bloemen. The musicians on the album were drummer Norman Bonink, guitar player Peter van Benthem and bass player Michel van Schie. Van Schie was replaced by touring bass player René te Voortwis, and pianist Ton Snijders was also recorded. Wilde Bloemen featured several duets with other well known Dutch musicians, among them were: Twee Gezichten, a song written and recorded with Henk Hofstede of The Nits); and Het IJs, written and recorded with Henny Vrienten of Doe Maar).
In the summer of 1993, Boeijen recorded Jazz in Barcelona; an album concerned with the break up between him and Amanda Redington. The subsequent theatre tour was a big success, with sold out shows every evening. Traces of Boeijen's break up were also to be found on next album De Ontmoeting (1994 - an even more spare and intimate affair than Jazz In Barcelona. De Ontmoeting also featured a single, Twee Mannen Zo Stil, with music and lyrics by Boeijen and Stef Bos. Although the single failed to mount the charts, over the years it became a Nederpop classic, often played at funerals. In the same year, Boeijen produced an album for Liesbeth List, the female voice of Ramses Shaffy's recordings. In 1995, another live album, Stormvogels, hit the shelves.
Boeijen returned with two new albums in 1997: a greatest hits compilation, Het Beste En Het Mooiste and an album of new material, Vaderland. The year before, Boeijen had travelled extensively through Asia, and a lot of the songs, although concerning Boeijen and The Netherlands, were written from a distant perspective. In 1999, De Ballade van de Dromedaris, recorded in Peter Gabriel's Real World Studio's appeared, followed by live album Door De Jaren Heen, containing several duets with Ramses Shaffy, Liesbeth List and Stef Bos. Both albums were big sellers. In 2001, Heden, was released. Drummer Norman Bonink left the group to join BLØF. He seat was filled by Oscar Kraal. Helder contained a collaboration between Boeijen and BLØF front man Paskal Jakobsen, single Geen Gevaar. The song was released in the summer of 2002. In the same year, Boeijen won an Edison award as best singer.
2. Frank Boeijen is also the name of the keyboardist for the Dutch group The Gathering.
Chateau de Fleury
Frank Boeijen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Een kleine tafel met een stoel
Voor het raam van de kamer
Daarachter ligt het meer
Een meer met rimpelloos water
Het water is de spiegel van de zon
In de bomen rond het meer
Wonen vogels in de schaduw de schapen
En de boer werkt op het land
In de morgen wachten de vissers
In de nevel laag bij het land
In de avond hoor je mensen praten
Je bent hier welkom
Hier in Châteaux de Fleury
Er ligt papier op tafel
En er is een vulpen
Er zal geschreven worden op de tafel
Over ver weg en heel dichtbij
Over de wereld en anders zijn
Over het water en de vissen en de pijn
The song Chateau de Fleury by Frank Boeijen paints a serene picture of a small table with a chair by a window overlooking a lake with calm water that reflects the sun. The trees surrounding the lake provide shelter to birds, sheep graze in the shadows, and a farmer works on the land. The fishermen wait for the morning fog to clear to catch fish. The evenings are filled with conversations among people. The overall tone conveys a sense of peacefulness and welcomes the listener to the Chateau de Fleury.
The lyrics evoke a sense of nostalgia for the simple joys of life and the importance of taking a pause in a world that moves so fast. The table represents a space to write, think, and reflect, and the tranquil surroundings make it an ideal spot for creative and spiritual pursuits. The song speaks of writing about distant and close things, the world and different experiences, the water that flows, the creatures that call it home, and the pain that life brings. The Chateau de Fleury represents a place of peace and repose, where one can slow down and find inspiration.
Line by Line Meaning
Er staat een tafel in de kamer
There is a table in the room
Een kleine tafel met een stoel
A small table with a chair
Voor het raam van de kamer
In front of the room's window
Daarachter ligt het meer
Behind it lies the lake
Een meer met rimpelloos water
A lake with ripple-free water
Het water is de spiegel van de zon
The water is the mirror of the sun
In de bomen rond het meer
In the trees around the lake
Wonen vogels in de schaduw de schapen
Birds live in the shadow of the sheep
En de boer werkt op het land
And the farmer works on the land
In de morgen wachten de vissers
In the morning, the fishermen wait
In de nevel laag bij het land
In the mist low near the land
In de avond hoor je mensen praten
In the evening, you can hear people talking
Je bent hier welkom
You are welcome here
Hier in Châteaux de Fleury
Here at Châteaux de Fleury
Er ligt papier op tafel
There is paper on the table
En er is een vulpen
And there is a fountain pen
Er zal geschreven worden op de tafel
Writing will be done on the table
Over ver weg en heel dichtbij
About far away and very close
Over de wereld en anders zijn
About the world and being different
Over het water en de vissen en de pijn
About the water, the fish, and the pain
Contributed by Hunter V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.