Boudewijn de Groot (born 20 May 1944, Batavia, Java, Dutch East Indies) is … Read Full Bio ↴Boudewijn de Groot (born 20 May 1944, Batavia, Java, Dutch East Indies) is a Dutch singer/songwriter who has enjoyed great popularity in The Netherlands and the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium since the 1960s. His work with his lyricist and partner-in-crime, Lennaert Nijgh (1945-2002).

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.

Het Spaarne
Boudewijn de Groot Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Het Spaarne stroomt,
het Spaarne stroomt,
het Spaarne stroomt voorbij.

Voorbij de stad waar niets meer wordt geladen,
er liggen voor de waag geen schepen meer.
Ze varen door want de bolders en de kaden
hebben plaatsgemaakt voor het verkeer.

En het Spaarne stroomt,
het Spaarne stroomt,
het Spaarne stroomt voorbij.

Zoals het steeds voorbij zal blijven stromen.
Het water gaat, wat blijft is de rivier.
En wat er ook voor andere tijden komen,
hij stroomt voorbij en blijft toch altijd hier.

Het Spaarne stroomt,
het Spaarne stroomt,
het Spaarne stroomt voorbij.

Het Spaarne stroomt,
het Spaarne stroomt,
het Spaarne stroomt voorbij.

Voorbij de brug, voorbij de laatste huizen,
voorbij de werven en het stoomgemaal.

Het Spaarne stroomt, maar niet voorbij de sluizen,
het eindigt naamloos in een zijkanaal.

Overall Meaning

The song "Het Spaarne" by Boudewijn de Groot speaks of the river Spaarne that flows through the town of Haarlem, Netherlands. The first stanza describes how the river flows past the town, where there are no more ships being loaded and the docks and bollards have been replaced by traffic. This is perhaps a reflection on how the river and the town have changed over time, from being a bustling hub of commerce to a more modern and developed place.

The second stanza reflects on the river's constant flow and how it remains the same despite the changes that may come with time. The singer recognizes that the river will continue to flow even as other things change around it, and that it will always be a part of the landscape. The final stanza speaks of the river's journey past the town and towards its end, where it flows into a canal.

Overall, the song seems to convey a sense of contemplation and reflection on time and change, as well as the importance of nature and the environment in a world that is often so focused on progress and development.

Line by Line Meaning

Het Spaarne stroomt, het Spaarne stroomt, het Spaarne stroomt voorbij.
The Spaarne river flows continuously past everything and everyone.

Voorbij de stad waar niets meer wordt geladen, er liggen voor de waag geen schepen meer.
Past the city that no longer loads cargo, there are no more ships at the weighing station.

Ze varen door want de bolders en de kaden hebben plaatsgemaakt voor het verkeer.
Ships continue to pass by, as the docks and quaysides have given way to traffic.

Zoals het steeds voorbij zal blijven stromen. Het water gaat, wat blijft is de rivier.
The Spaarne river will always continue to flow past, the water may go but the river stays.

En wat er ook voor andere tijden komen, hij stroomt voorbij en blijft toch altijd hier.
No matter what the future may hold, the Spaarne river will always flow past and stay in its place.

Voorbij de brug, voorbij de laatste huizen, voorbij de werven en het stoomgemaal.
Past the bridge, past the last houses, past the shipyards and the steam pumping station.

Het Spaarne stroomt, maar niet voorbij de sluizen, het eindigt naamloos in een zijkanaal.
The Spaarne river flows but does not continue past the locks, and it ends namelessly in a side canal.

Contributed by Muhammad B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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