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.
Kindermeidslied
Boudewijn de Groot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
ik hoor ze op het veld.
Hun lachen klinkt bij de rivier.
En plotseling moet ik denken
aan de dagen van mijn jeugd.
Toen was ik nog niet hier.
het is al veel te laat.
De klok van de toren slaat elf.
Je lente, je daglicht
verspil je met spelen.
En je winter, je nacht,
als een ander dan jezelf.
Kom nu naar huis, mijn kinderen,
het is al veel te laat.
De klok van de toren slaat elf.
Je lente, je daglicht
verspil je met spelen.
En je winter, je nacht,
als een ander dan jezelf.
The song "Kindermeidslied" by Boudewijn de Groot is a poignant reflection on the joys of childhood and the inevitability of growing up. The verses speak of children playing and laughing in the fields, their carefree spirits unburdened by the troubles of the world. The singer, hearing their voices, is transported back to his own youth, a time when he too was free and innocent, unencumbered by the obligations and responsibilities of adulthood. The refrain, "Kom nu naar huis, mijn kinderen," which translates to "Come home now, my children," serves as a reminder that as much as we may long for the simplicity of our youth, we can never truly go back. Time marches on, and with it, we must embrace the challenges and opportunities of each new phase of life, even as we cling to the memories of the past.
Line by Line Meaning
Ik hoor de kinderstemmen,
I hear the voices of children playing,
ik hoor ze op het veld.
I hear them in the open field.
Hun lachen klinkt bij de rivier.
Their laughter echoes by the river.
En plotseling moet ik denken
And suddenly I think,
aan de dagen van mijn jeugd.
Of the days of my youth.
Toen was ik nog niet hier.
When I was not yet here.
Kom nu naar huis, mijn kinderen,
Come home now, my children,
het is al veel te laat.
It's already too late.
De klok van de toren slaat elf.
The clock in the tower strikes eleven.
Je lente, je daglicht
Your spring, your daylight,
verspil je met spelen.
You waste it playing.
En je winter, je nacht,
And your winter, your night,
als een ander dan jezelf.
As someone other than yourself.
Kom nu naar huis, mijn kinderen,
Come home now, my children,
het is al veel te laat.
It's already too late.
De klok van de toren slaat elf.
The clock in the tower strikes eleven.
Je lente, je daglicht
Your spring, your daylight,
verspil je met spelen.
You waste it playing.
En je winter, je nacht,
And your winter, your night,
als een ander dan jezelf.
As someone other than yourself.
Contributed by Callie W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.