1. Fr… Read Full Bio ↴Two musicians from The Netherlands are known as Frank Boeijen:
1. Frank Boeijen is a Dutch singer/songwriter, who was the front man of popular (and eponymous) pop group De Frank Boeijen Groep from 1980 until 1991, the year he went solo. As leader of De Frank Boeijen Groep, Boeijen was one of the pioneers of Nederpop; along with the likes of Doe Maar en Het Goede Doel. After the peak of Nederpop passed, Boeijen broke new ground by touring theatres with his band and bringing pop music to new auditoriums and audiences. As a solo artist, he has kept to this theatre based approach of his music and maintained a productive pace.
Frank Boeijen was born in Nijmegen, The Netherlands on November 27, 1957, as the last in a family of ten children. His father was a typesetter in a factory. His older brothers were into American pop music; in the Boeijen household, Bob Dylan and Neil Young were often to be found on the record player (years later, Boeijen would write a song about this, appropriately titled Robbert Zimmerman). Young Frank learned to play the guitar. After finishing high school, Boeijen started a musical collaboration with guitarist Wout Pennings. Boeijen en Pennings released an album together in 1977. The songs of the album were re-recorded and the album was re-released a year later, with Rob de Nijs acting as producer. It was appropriately titled Boeijen en Pennings. To fulfil live engagements, drummer Henk Wanders en bass player Nels Busch joined the duo.
Pennings left the band in 1979 and was replaced with guitar player Wil Theunissen. The name was changed into the Frank Boeijen Groep. The b-side of their fist single, a song entitled Verjaardagsfeest was picked on up by radio disc jockey Frits Spits, who played the record a lot during his evening show. The group released their debut album, simply entitled Frank Boeijen Groep, album later that year. On the base of the airplay of Verjaardagsfeest, the album reached the Tipparade.
Nederpop, pop music with Dutch vocals, was becoming a mainstream success in the early eighties, and the Frank Boeijen Groep hitched a wagon to that train, when their single Linda, reached the Top Forty. Zwart Wit, another single, written after a racial murder had taken place in Amsterdam, became a number one hit. 1982's Twee and 1983's 1001 Hotel became big sellers.
In 1984, the Frank Boeijen Groep was awarded the Zilveren Harp by Conamus. In that same year, album Kontakt was released. Lead guitarist Wil Theunissen quit the group later that year and replaced with Maarten Peters, who himself was replaced two years later by Ger Hoeijmakers. In 1985, the group released Foto Van Een Mooie Dag. Single Kronenburg Park -- named after Kronenburger Park a park in Nijmegen, Boeijen's place of birth and residence -- became a huge success. Follow up, In Nature, released in 1986, didn't do as well, but still sold respectively.
Towards the end of the eighties, Boeijen's music fell somewhere in between het levenslied of André Hazes, the chansons of Ramses Shaffy and the pop of Doe Maar. According to Frank Boeijen and his manager Paul Schouwenaars the group had outgrown clubs and tents. With the release of album Welkom In Utopia in 1987, the group decided to tour Dutch theatres. The Welkom In Utopia tour started in the Stadsschouwburg in Amsterdam in September of the same year. Two more albums were released: studio album Een Zomer Aan Het Eind Van De Twintigste Eeuw (1989) and live album Hier Komt De Storm. During these years, Frank Boeijen dated Sky Channel presenter Amanda Redington. The two would marry in 1990. The album Dans In Slow Motion, released in 1988, was written for her. In juni 1994 scheidden ze weer van elkaar.
In the spring of 1991, Boeijen announced the ending of his group. In November of that year, he released his first solo album Wilde Bloemen. The musicians on the album were drummer Norman Bonink, guitar player Peter van Benthem and bass player Michel van Schie. Van Schie was replaced by touring bass player René te Voortwis, and pianist Ton Snijders was also recorded. Wilde Bloemen featured several duets with other well known Dutch musicians, among them were: Twee Gezichten, a song written and recorded with Henk Hofstede of The Nits); and Het IJs, written and recorded with Henny Vrienten of Doe Maar).
In the summer of 1993, Boeijen recorded Jazz in Barcelona; an album concerned with the break up between him and Amanda Redington. The subsequent theatre tour was a big success, with sold out shows every evening. Traces of Boeijen's break up were also to be found on next album De Ontmoeting (1994 - an even more spare and intimate affair than Jazz In Barcelona. De Ontmoeting also featured a single, Twee Mannen Zo Stil, with music and lyrics by Boeijen and Stef Bos. Although the single failed to mount the charts, over the years it became a Nederpop classic, often played at funerals. In the same year, Boeijen produced an album for Liesbeth List, the female voice of Ramses Shaffy's recordings. In 1995, another live album, Stormvogels, hit the shelves.
Boeijen returned with two new albums in 1997: a greatest hits compilation, Het Beste En Het Mooiste and an album of new material, Vaderland. The year before, Boeijen had travelled extensively through Asia, and a lot of the songs, although concerning Boeijen and The Netherlands, were written from a distant perspective. In 1999, De Ballade van de Dromedaris, recorded in Peter Gabriel's Real World Studio's appeared, followed by live album Door De Jaren Heen, containing several duets with Ramses Shaffy, Liesbeth List and Stef Bos. Both albums were big sellers. In 2001, Heden, was released. Drummer Norman Bonink left the group to join BLØF. He seat was filled by Oscar Kraal. Helder contained a collaboration between Boeijen and BLØF front man Paskal Jakobsen, single Geen Gevaar. The song was released in the summer of 2002. In the same year, Boeijen won an Edison award as best singer.
2. Frank Boeijen is also the name of the keyboardist for the Dutch group The Gathering.
Als Schelpen In Het Zand
Frank Boeijen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
De gedachten weg
De schildpad drinkt de tranen
Van het land zo ver
Waar de vader is verdwenen
Achter de horizon
Als een zwaluw opgestegen
In de nacht verschijnt hij
De ogen open zo wijd
In de morgen verdwijnt hij
Met de stralen van de zon
Het is in mijn hart geschreven
Die lange laatste dag
Toen wij samen achterbleven
Als schelpen in het zand
De monnik spreekt zijn gebeden
Voor de rusteloze ziel
Die de hemel niet kan vinden
Door de wolken niet kan zien
Er zijn ontelbare vragen
Geschreven in de lucht
Als de wind gaat waaien
Komt het antwoord terug
Dat alles is beschreven
In het water in het vuur
Als de angst is verdwenen
In het laatste uur
Het is in mijn hart geschreven
Die lange laatste dag
Toen wij samen achterbleven
Als schelpen in het zand
The lyrics of Frank Boeijen's song Als Schelpen In Het Zand paint a vivid picture of a land where the wind is blowing and the thoughts are scattered away. The first verse talks about a schildpad, which translates to a turtle, drinking the tears of the land. The turtle is often seen as a symbol of protection and longevity, implying that the land has been through a difficult time.
The second verse reveals that a father has disappeared beyond the horizon, possibly never to return. The comparison of the father to a flying swallow suggests that he has left voluntarily, with a cheerful demeanor. However, the pain of his absence is still felt, as he appears in the night with open eyes and disappears the next morning with the rays of the sun. The third verse is a monastic prayer for the restless soul who cannot find heaven because of the clouds.
The fourth verse refers to the wind blowing in questions that the sky has written. Once the wind subsides, the answer is back. The final verse says that everything has been written down in water and fire, and fear disappears in the last hour. When we are left behind, all that is left is the memory of that last long day when we were together, like seashells in the sand.
Line by Line Meaning
En de wind die waait
The wind is blowing
De gedachten weg
It helps clear the mind
De schildpad drinkt de tranen
The world is sad and animals are suffering too
Van het land zo ver
From a distant land
Waar de vader is verdwenen
Where the father has disappeared
Achter de horizon
Beyond the horizon
Als een zwaluw opgestegen
Like a bird taking flight
Hij met een glimlach vertrok
He left with a smile
In de nacht verschijnt hij
At night he appears
De ogen open zo wijd
His eyes wide open
In de morgen verdwijnt hij
In the morning he disappears
Met de stralen van de zon
With the rays of the sun
Het is in mijn hart geschreven
It's written in my heart
Die lange laatste dag
That long last day
Toen wij samen achterbleven
When we were left behind together
Als schelpen in het zand
Like shells in the sand
De monnik spreekt zijn gebeden
The monk speaks his prayers
Voor de rusteloze ziel
For the restless soul
Die de hemel niet kan vinden
Unable to find heaven
Door de wolken niet kan zien
Unable to see through the clouds
Er zijn ontelbare vragen
There are countless questions
Geschreven in de lucht
Written in the sky
Als de wind gaat waaien
When the wind starts blowing
Komt het antwoord terug
The answer comes back
Dat alles is beschreven
Everything is written
In het water in het vuur
In the water and in the fire
Als de angst is verdwenen
When the fear disappears
In het laatste uur
In the final hour
Contributed by Ava P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.