Two musicians from The Netherlands are known as Frank Boeijen:

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.

De Sirenen
Frank Boeijen Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

De sirenen zingen
Betoveren mij
De sirenen zingen
Hier kwam niemand voorbij
Odysseus wist ervan
Bond zich vast

De sirenen zingen

's Avonds laat in de stad
De rode lichten
Ik rijd erlangs
In verlangen schuilt angst

Doe wat je hart zegt deze nacht
Ga naar ze toe deze nacht
Doe wat je hart zegt deze nacht

De sirenen zingen
Iedere avond weer
Ben ik een verdwaalde
In de twintigste eeuw
Op zoek naar
Wat je niet kopen kunt

De sirenen zingen
Veroveren mij
De sirenen zingen
Alleen voor mij
Ze roepen mij deze nacht

Doe wat je hart zegt deze nacht
Ga naar ze toe deze nacht

Doe wat je hart zegt deze nacht
Vergeet de branding deze nacht

Overall Meaning

In Frank Boeijen's song De Sirenen, he sings about the sirens, mythical creatures from Greek mythology known for their enchanting songs that would lure sailors to their death. The singer is captivated by their singing, and feels like he cannot resist their call, just like the sailors who could not resist the sirens' songs. He references Odysseus, who knew about the sirens and bound himself to his ship to avoid being lured to his death. The singer is also drawn to the red lights of the city at night, which symbolize temptation and danger. He knows that giving in to his desires could lead to harm, but he cannot resist the call of the sirens.

The singer encourages himself to follow his heart and give in to the temptation of the sirens, just for one night. He asks himself to forget about the dangers and consequences, and to seek out the sirens. He seems to be desperately searching for something he cannot buy, and sees the sirens as his only hope for finding it. The song ends with the singer hearing the sirens call out to him, urging him to follow his heart.

Overall, the lyrics of De Sirenen are about the struggle between desire and danger, between following your heart and the consequences that may come with it. The sirens, with their enchanting songs, represent temptation and the call of the unknown. The singer is torn between his desire to seek out the sirens and the knowledge that doing so may lead to his downfall.

Line by Line Meaning

De sirenen zingen
The sirens sing, luring and entrancing me

Betoveren mij
They enchant and mesmerize me

Hier kwam niemand voorbij
No one has ever passed by here before

Odysseus wist ervan
Even Odysseus knew of their allure

Bond zich vast
He tied himself to the mast

De sirenen zingen
The sirens sing, late at night in the city

Ik rijd erlangs
I drive past the red lights

In verlangen schuilt angst
Desire hides fear

Doe wat je hart zegt deze nacht
Do what your heart tells you tonight

Ga naar ze toe deze nacht
Go to them tonight

De sirenen zingen
The sirens sing every night