De Groot's most famous songs include Avond, Welterusten mijnheer de President, Het Land van Maas en Waal and Jimmy.
Boudewijn de Groot was born in a Japanese concentration camp in 1944. His mother died here in 1945. The family returned to The Netherlands in 1946. He first reached the music charts in 1965 with his song Meisje Van 16.
In these early years, De Groot was a Dutch equivalent of Jacques Brel; his songs were, lushly orchestrated 'chansons'. In the late 1960s he adopted more of a singer-songwriter style and his album, Picknick (1967) is a psychedelic sixties gem, generally regarded as one of the best Dutch albums ever.
Boudewijn de Groot recorded twelve studio albums in total and also released many live albums and compilations. Lennaert Nijgh wrote the lyrics for the majority of De Groot's work. Even after Nijgh's death in 2002, De Groot continued to use unfinished Nijgh lyrics on several songs on 2007's Lage Landen.
In 2005, De Groot's Avond (originally written in 1973, released in 1996) suddenly topped Holland's immensely popular Top 2000 end-of-year song chart on Radio 2, much to the surprise of De Groot, who reckons it's "not even my best song, let alone the best song of all time".
Boudewijn de Groot toured Dutch theatres for years and years on end, but decided to stop doing so in 2014, the year of his 70th birthday. He feels well and is in great shape, but doesn't want to play his hit songs night after night. He announced that he would continue to record and release music, but would only do the occasional live performance. 2015 saw the release of Achter Glas, his 12th studio album.
September 2016 saw him embark on a theatre tour under the moniker Vreemde Kostgangers, a collaboration with his long time friends and fellow legendary Dutch songwriters, George Kooymans (of Golden Earring) and Henny Vrienten.
De Slaap
Boudewijn de Groot Lyrics
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Hij wacht het donker af en slaat zijn slag
Hulpeloos lig je daar het is nog lang geen dag
De slaap glijdt als het maanlicht langs de muren
Hij jaagt jij bent zijn buit hij laat je niet ontkomen
Hij overweldigt je en ziet je angst
Naamloos lig je daar je bent zijn prooi zijn vangst
Je voelt je krachten langzaam uit je stromen
Hij legt je neer en draait je om en doet je ogen dicht
Jij delft het onderspit hij heeft je overmand
Hij lacht en jij beseft opeens: hij is een afgezant
In Boudewijn de Groot's song "De Slaap," the lyrics evoke a metaphorical personification of sleep as a thief. The opening lines describe sleep as a stealthy thief who captures the best hours of one's life, waiting for the darkness to descend before seizing the moment. The idea of helplessness is portrayed as the sleeper lies there, realizing that it is far from being morning yet. This imagery suggests that sleep takes hold of us when we are most vulnerable, stealing away our time and vitality.
The lyrics continue to depict sleep as a force that moves effortlessly, like moonlight gliding along the walls. Sleep is relentless in its pursuit, hunting down its victim and ensuring there is no escape. The imagery of overwhelm and fear is palpable as the sleeper lies there nameless, a mere prey in the clutches of sleep. The gradual loss of strength and energy is portrayed as something slowly seeping away, leaving the sleeper defenseless and at the mercy of the thief that is sleep.
As the night progresses, the lyrics suggest that sleep has all the time in the world until the break of dawn. It is portrayed as a patient predator, carefully laying the sleeper down, turning them over, and gently closing their eyes. The imagery of being overpowered and succumbing to the grasp of sleep is vividly portrayed, with the sleeper realizing their defeat as sleep triumphs over them. The realization that sleep is like an envoy, a messenger of rest and surrender, dawns on the sleeper as they come to terms with their submission to the inevitable cycle of slumber.
In conclusion, the song "De Slaap" by Boudewijn de Groot delves deep into the metaphorical aspects of sleep, portraying it as a thief that steals away our precious moments and vitality. The imagery of helplessness, fear, and eventual surrender to the seductive embrace of sleep is powerful and evocative. The lyrics invite contemplation on the nature of rest, surrender, and the cyclical rhythm of night and day. It serves as a poignant reminder of the inevitability of sleep and the acceptance of its role in our lives as a necessary and sometimes overpowering force.
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