A Balladeer (stylized as a balladeer) is the moniker of Dutch singer, songw… Read Full Bio ↴A Balladeer (stylized as a balladeer) is the moniker of Dutch singer, songwriter and musician, Marinus de Goederen.

Originally, A Balladeer was the name of band fronted by De Goederen. The group made melancholy ballads and catchy pop songs. After their début EP, Rumor Had It (2004), they started the long process of making their first album, for a long time without a record company and with their own money. Eventually signed by EMI, Panama hit the stores in May 2006. An extensive club tour of The Netherlands followed. In February 2007 A Balladeer won a Dutch Zilveren Harp ('Silver Harp') award.

Later that year Marinus, Tijs and Erik started working on their second album, which came out to critical acclaim in September 2008, entitled Where Are You, Bambi Woods?. Peaking at #16 in the Dutch album charts it is A Balladeer's highest charting album to this day. It was also the final album made in the original band line-up.

Today, A Balladeer is the solo moniker of Marinus de Goederen, who released his 2010 solo album Sorry, kid. as mr. a balladeer, but soon reverted to the old band name and released several more albums, including I Can't Keep Track of Each Fallen Robin (2012), A Wolf at the Door (2016) and the seasonal album, December (2017).

Blank
A Balladeer Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

so here we go again
straight into reverse
now that I have made these scenes
I could hardly make it worse

but I hate to see you 'happy'
how you've gotten on with life
and bored with me so quickly

it hurts, but I tell you that

it's that blank that kills me

so here we go again
if you think to know this tale
go on and roll your eyes
or bite a bitten nail

how I hate to see you like this
thinking that you're all that
yes, I hate to see you like this
it hurts, but I tell you that

it's that blank that kills me

yes, still

how I hate to see you like this
thinking that you're all that
yes, I hate to see you like this
it hurts, but I tell you that

it's that blank that kills me

I'm thinking that you're all that

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to A Balladeer's song Blank seem to express the singer's frustration and pain at seeing their past lover moving on with their life. The opening lines, "so here we go again/straight into reverse" suggest perhaps that the relationship has gone through a constant cycle of breaking up and getting back together, only to break up again. The singer seems to be admitting that they have caused some of the scenes that have led to this cycle, but even so, they still cannot bear to see their ex happy.

This is especially clear in the repetition of the line "how I hate to see you like this" which seems to show that the singer is struggling to cope with their jealousy and hurt at seeing their former partner moving on. The line "it's that blank that kills me" is particularly interesting because it is open to interpretation. It could refer to a blank expression on their ex's face when they see them, or perhaps it represents the emptiness and lack of fulfillment that the singer is feeling in their own life.

Overall, the lyrics to Blank are raw, emotional and honest, articulating the feelings of someone who is struggling to move on from a relationship that seems to be stuck in a cycle of breaking up and getting back together.

Line by Line Meaning

so here we go again
Starting something that was already done before

straight into reverse
Going back to the beginning

now that I have made these scenes
Acknowledging one's actions leading to the current situation

I could hardly make it worse
Feeling powerless to change the current situation

but I hate to see you 'happy'
Feeling jealous of the other person's happiness

how you've gotten on with life
Noticing the other person has moved on

and bored with me so quickly
Feeling hurt from being replaced easily

it hurts, but I tell you that
Acknowledging one's emotions towards the other person

it's that blank that kills me
Referring to the emptiness or lack of connection between them causing pain

if you think to know this tale
Challenging the other person's understanding of the situation

go on and roll your eyes
Implying the other person's dismissal or lack of empathy