BZN started out as a pop-rock band in their native Volendam in 1966, playin… Read Full Bio ↴BZN started out as a pop-rock band in their native Volendam in 1966, playing early-Bee Gees-like harmony pop. The initial line-up consisted of Jan Veerman (vocals), Cees Tol (guitar), Evert Woestenburg (guitar) Jan Tuyp (bass guitar) and Gerrit Woestenburg (drums).

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.

Joy To The World
BZN Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Joy to the world!
The Lord is come
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare him room
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven and heaven and nature sing
Joy to the world!

The Savior reigns
Let men their songs employ
While fields and floods
Rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy

(Repeat the sounding joy)
Repeat the sounding joy

(Repeat the sounding joy)
Repeat repeat the sounding joy

He rules the world with truth and grace
And make the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness
And wonders of his love
(And wonders of his love)
And wonders of his love
(And wonders of his love)
And wonders wonders of his love
And wonders of his love
(And wonders of his love)
And wonders of his love
(And wonders of his love)
And wonders wonders of his love
Joy to the world!
The Lord is come
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare him room
And heaven and nature sing
(And heaven and nature sing)
And heaven and nature sing

(And heaven and nature sing)
And heaven and heaven and nature sing

Overall Meaning

The song "Joy to the World" talks about the coming of the Savior, the Lord who comes to rule the world with truth and grace. It is a celebration of the arrival of the King to whom the earth should receive and prepare for. The first stanza opens with a declaration of joy as everyone is excited and thrilled for the coming of the Lord. The second stanza focuses on the reign of the Savior and how men should employ their songs to celebrate his arrival - while even the fields, floods, rocks, hills, and plains repeat the sounding joy. The third stanza speaks about how the Lord rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove the wonders of his righteousness and love.

Overall, BZN's version of "Joy to the World" is a beautiful and uplifting rendition of the classic Christmas song. It inspires us to celebrate the Christmas season with joy, love, and gratitude for the Savior who came to bring hope and salvation to the world.

Line by Line Meaning

Joy to the world!
Celebrate with joy and enthusiasm!

The Lord is come
The Lord has arrived.

Let earth receive her King
Let the world receive their ruler with open arms.

Let every heart prepare him room
Make space in your heart for him.

And heaven and nature sing
The angels in the heaven and nature sing in joy.

And heaven and heaven and nature sing
Even the heaven and nature together sing in joy.

The Savior reigns
The Savior takes control.

Let men their songs employ
Let people sing songs in praise of him.

While fields and floods
Even the fields and floods celebrate.

Rocks, hills and plains
Even the rocks, hills and the plains celebrate.

Repeat the sounding joy
Keep repeating the joyful sounds.