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.
Let's Go Rock 'N Roll
BZN Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Every midnight down the road
We ain't looking for a midnight special
All we're looking for is rock 'n roll
So we keep our motors running
And we keep them on the track
We ain't looking for some ballroom dancing
Oh mama - Rock 'n roll is the game, oh yeah
Oh mama - It's gonna drive you insane
Well, let's go rock 'n roll for tonight
We're messing around together
Well let's go rock 'n roll, it's all right
That's all I wanna do
Do you know what I mean if I say
That we're in love together
Well rock 'n rolling with you
Until the day I'm gonna die
No never draw the wrong conclusion
'Cause we ain't gonna rob the town
And we didn't plan a revolution
All we gonna do is have some fun
So we keep our motors running
And we keep them on the track
We are looking for
Yeah, for a Honky-Tonk
Oh mama - Rock 'n roll is the game, oh yeah
Oh mama - It's gonna drive you insane
Well, let's go rock 'n roll for tonight
We're messing around together
Well let's go rock 'n roll, it's all right
That's all I wanna do
Do you know what I mean if I say
That we're in love together
Well rock 'n rolling with you
Until the day I'm gonna die
For you know what I mean if I say
That we're in love together
Well rock 'n rolling with you
Until the day I'm gonna die
(Th. Tol/J. Tuijp/C. Tol)
In BZN's song "Let's Go Rock 'n' Roll," the band sings about their love for rock and roll and the joy it brings them while they ride down the highway. They sing about not seeking trouble or causing harm to anyone as they indulge in their love for rock and roll, a game that is sure to drive one insane. They keep their "motors running" and plan to hit the Honky-Tonk in search of some fun while they rock and roll.
As the song progresses, they emphasize that they are not trying to rob anyone, cause a revolution or draw any wrong conclusions. All they want is to have fun and enjoy the music they love. They are in love together and would continue to rock and roll until the day they die.
The message running through the lyrics of this song is quite simple - rock and roll is fun, and it brings people together in love and unity. The upbeat tune and catchy lyrics make it a song to dance to and enjoy.
Line by Line Meaning
Well we're riding along the highway
We are driving on the road.
Every midnight down the road
We travel late at night.
We ain't looking for a midnight special
We don't want any special event.
All we're looking for is rock 'n roll
We want to listen to rock 'n roll music.
So we keep our motors running
We keep our car engines running.
And we keep them on the track
And we keep our cars on the road.
We ain't looking for some ballroom dancing
We don't want to dance ballroom.
A number on my back
We don't want to compete in a race.
Oh mama - Rock 'n roll is the game, oh yeah
Oh mama, we love rock 'n roll music.
Oh mama - It's gonna drive you insane
It's so good it'll make you crazy.
Well, let's go rock 'n roll for tonight
Let's listen to rock 'n roll music tonight.
We're messing around together
We are enjoying each other's company.
Well let's go rock 'n roll, it's all right
It's okay to listen to rock 'n roll music.
That's all I wanna do
That's all I want to do tonight.
Do you know what I mean if I say
Do you understand what I mean?
That we're in love together
That we love each other.
Well rock 'n rolling with you
Listening to rock 'n roll music with you.
Until the day I'm gonna die
Until the day I die.
No never draw the wrong conclusion
Don't misunderstand me.
'Cause we ain't gonna rob the town
We aren't planning to rob the town.
And we didn't plan a revolution
And we aren't planning a revolution.
All we gonna do is have some fun
We just want to have fun.
We are looking for
We are searching for
Yeah, for a Honky-Tonk
A place to listen to live music.
For you know what I mean if I say
Because you understand what I'm trying to say.
That we're in love together
That we love each other.
Well rock 'n rolling with you
Listening to rock 'n roll music with you.
Until the day I'm gonna die
Until the day I die.
Writer(s): Johannes C. H. M. Jan Tuijp, Cornelis Tol, Thomas Tol
Contributed by Carter K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.