Born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, Coenie was educated at University of the Free State in Bloemfontein majoring in media studies where he later on lectured in the Communications faculty. He has always viewed his musical career as his second vocation. He is also a classically trained pianist. Coenie is the anchor presenter in popular South African kykNET journal program "Kwela".
During the late 1980s, Coenie spent a few years in self-imposed exile in Cyprus. Coenie has also performed in New Zealand, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, and the United Kingdom.
Coenie signed with Mountain Records in 1983, and recorded his debut album, Skoppensboer, working with producer, Patrick Lee-Thorp and engineer, Kevin Shirley, in the same year. He subsequently recorded 4 albums for the label many of which won industry awards. In addition he contributed to label compilations of his work. Since leaving Mountain Records he has recorded a number of one off projects for different labels.
Coenie lived on the island of Cyprus during the eighties and nineties. He wrote, recorded and produced the album Amper Alleen in Cyprus and in Athens, Greece. Amper Alleen was the second SA album to be released on CD. Coenie and his family returned to South Africa after the release of Nelson Mandela and the unbanning of the ANC. He released Hartland, an album which included a vocal performance by Lesley Rae Dowling.
Stalag 17
Coenie De Villiers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Stalag 17 kamp oorleef het deur aan 'n besonderse
herinnering vas to kleef: 'n groep sigeuners het buite die
kamp verbygetrek. Hy het gesien hoe die sigeunermeisie
in haar rooi rok die dans van die sigeuners, die czarda,
dans. Sy was onbereikbaar vér anderkant die rolle
doringdraad; hier binne was dit slegs sneeu wat oor
die barakke neersif. Nou is hy oud en vergete; saans pak
hoog bo die besige strate van Hillbrow dink hy aan haar,
die sigeunerin van Stalag 17.
Hoog bo die stad
woon 'n man oorspronkilk uit Daljosafat
met net 'n stoel en 'n bed en medaljes wat
herinner aan dae lank vervloë
Lank reeds versoen
met die pyn en sy pensioen
'n veteraan van digby tagtig jaar
se oorlog en vrede
En soms as hy staar
deur die rookbeleë skemer waar
die aandverkeer 'n halssnoer bind
deur die stad se donker labrint
(koor)
Dink hy aan Stalag 17
waar hy eens deur die draad
'n sigeunerin kon sien
wat soos 'n bloedvlek teen
die somber woud se sneeu
'n laaste czarda dans...
Die foto vergeel
maar sy naam bly stees 'n belangrike deel
van 'n ou en 'n byna vergete verhaal
wat vertel van oorlog en vrede
Deur die donker beleër speel hy solitêr
om die gedagtes te keer wat telkens dwing
om deur sy skanse te dring
en die spel te verbreek
En soms as hy tuur
deur die masker van die donker uur
word die stad se lig 'n firmament
maar die flikkering bly onbekend
(koor)
The lyrics to Coenie De Villiers's song Stalag 17 tell the story of an old war veteran who survived the horrors of the German Stalag 17 camp by clinging onto a special memory. He recalls the sight of a group of gypsies passing by outside the camp, and how he saw the gypsy girl in her red dress perform the czarda dance. She was unreachable on the other side of the barbed wire fence, while inside, the barracks were covered in snow. The veteran is now forgotten and spends his evenings unpacking his old medals on his bed. In his small apartment high above the busy streets of Hillbrow, he thinks of her, the gypsy girl of Stalag 17.
The lyrics also describe how the old man now lives a simple life with just a chair, a bed, and his medals, and has already reconciled with his pain and pension. He reminisces about the memory of the gypsy girl, with her name an important part of an old and nearly forgotten story about war and peace. As he plays his solitary game through the dark hours, he tries to keep his thoughts at bay, but they keep creeping in, trying to break the barrier he has built. As he looks through the mask of the dark hour, he sees the city's light like a universe, but it remains unknown and flickering. The chorus repeats the memory of Stalag 17, where he once saw the gypsy girl through the wire and watched her perform the last czarda dance like a bloodstain against the snowy, somber forest.
Line by Line Meaning
Hy is 'n oorlogsveteraan wat die verskrikking van die Stalag 17 kamp oorleef het deur aan 'n besonderse herinnering vas to kleef
He is a war veteran who survived the horrors of the Stalag 17 camp by holding onto a special memory
'n groep sigeuners het buite die kamp verbygetrek
A group of gypsies passed by outside the camp
Hy het gesien hoe die sigeunermeisie in haar rooi rok die dans van die sigeuners, die czarda, dans
He saw the gypsy girl in her red skirt dancing the czarda, a gypsy dance
Sy was onbereikbaar vér anderkant die rolle doringdraad; hier binne was dit slegs sneeu wat oor die barakke neersif
She was unreachable far beyond the barbed wire; inside, there was only snow falling over the barracks
Nou is hy oud en vergete; saans pak hy sy medaljes uit op die bed
Now he is old and forgotten; in the evenings, he takes out his medals on the bed
In sy klein woonstelletjie hoog bo die besige strate van Hillbrow dink hy aan haar, die sigeunerin van Stalag 17
In his small apartment high above the busy streets of Hillbrow, he thinks of her, the gypsy girl of Stalag 17
Hoog bo die stad woon 'n man oorspronkilk uit Daljosafat met net 'n stoel en 'n bed en medaljes wat herinner aan dae lank vervloë
High above the city lives a man originally from Daljosafat with just a chair and a bed and medals that recall long gone days
Lank reeds versoen met die pyn en sy pensioen 'n veteraan van digby tagtig jaar se oorlog en vrede
Long reconciled with the pain and his pension, a veteran of almost eighty years of war and peace
En soms as hy staar deur die rookbeleë skemer waar die aandverkeer 'n halssnoer bind deur die stad se donker labrint
And sometimes as he stares through the smoky twilight where the evening traffic binds a necklace through the city's dark labyrinth
Dink hy aan Stalag 17 waar hy eens deur die draad 'n sigeunerin kon sien wat soos 'n bloedvlek teen die somber woud se sneeu 'n laaste czarda dans...
He thinks of Stalag 17 where he once could see a gypsy girl through the wire who danced a last czarda like a blood stain against the somber forest's snow...
Die foto vergeel maar sy naam bly stees 'n belangrike deel van 'n ou en 'n byna vergete verhaal wat vertel van oorlog en vrede
The photo fades, but her name remains still an important part of an old and almost forgotten story that tells of war and peace
Deur die donker beleër speel hy solitêr om die gedagtes te keer wat telkens dwing om deur sy skanse te dring en die spel te verbreek
Through the dark twilight, he plays solitaire to keep at bay the nagging thoughts that try to break through his defenses and disrupt the game
En soms as hy tuur deur die masker van die donker uur word die stad se lig 'n firmament maar die flikkering bly onbekend
And sometimes as he gazes through the mask of the dark hour, the city's light becomes a firmament but the flickering remains unknown
Contributed by Nathan V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.