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.
Doe iets
Frank Boeijen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Zondagsmensen wandelen hier
Zal ik ooit ook zo zijn
Deze onrust kwijt zijn
Rivieren stromen eindeloos
Mijn hart slaat rusteloos
Wanneer in de kou vroeg ik aan jou
Doe iets, van tederheid (van tederheid)
Doe iets, wat niemand begrijpt (wat niemand begrijpt)
Owowow
Doe iets, van tederheid (van tederheid)
Doe iets, doe lief, doe aardig, doe vrij
Maar doe iets (doe iets, doe iets)
Maar doe iets (doe iets, doe iets)
Voor 't leven rende jij, ah
Ik wou mee tot aan het eind
Die nacht deden wij de maan uit
Tot de zon opkwam
En in dat bleke ochtendlicht
Pakte ik jouw rode lippenstift
En schreef in de spiegel
Voordat ik wegging
Doe iets, van tederheid (van tederheid)
Doe iets, wat niemand begrijpt (wat niemand begrijpt)
Owowow
Doe iets, van tederheid (van tederheid)
Doe iets, doe lief, doe aardig, doe vrij
Maar doe iets (doe iets, doe iets)
Maar doe iets (doe iets, doe iets)
En ik schreef in de spiegel
Voordat ik wegging
Doe iets, van tederheid (van tederheid)
Doe iets, wat niemand begrijpt (wat niemand begrijpt)
Owowow
Doe iets, van tederheid (van tederheid)
Doe iets, wat niemand begrijpt (wat niemand begrijpt)
Doe iets
Doe iets, doe iets, doe iets
Doe iets
The song "Doe iets" by Frank Boeijen is a heartfelt and introspective reflection on the desire for tenderness and intimacy in the face of restlessness and uncertainty. The opening lines set the scene by describing a riverside where people walk on Sundays, and the singer wonders if he will ever find the same calm and contentment. The juxtaposition of the perpetual flow of the river with the singer's "restless heart" creates a sense of longing and unease.
The chorus, with its repeated plea to "do something of tenderness, do something no one understands," encapsulates the central message of the song. The singer is seeking a connection that goes beyond words or rational thought, something that is tender, loving, kind, and free. But at the same time, the message is a universal one- everyone desires tenderness and affection, but often struggle to express it or find it in their lives. The reference to writing on the mirror in lipstick at the end of the song suggests a moment of self-reflection and realization, as the singer leaves a message for himself to remember the importance of tenderness in his life.
Overall, "Doe iets" is a poignant and introspective song that speaks to the universal human need for tenderness and affection, and the struggle to find it in a world that often feels restless and uncertain.
Line by Line Meaning
Aan de kade van de rivier
On the bank of the river
Zondagsmensen wandelen hier
Sunday people stroll here
Zal ik ooit ook zo zijn
Will I ever be like them
Deze onrust kwijt zijn
Lose this unrest
Rivieren stromen eindeloos
Rivers flow endlessly
Mijn hart slaat rusteloos
My heart beats restlessly
Wanneer in de kou vroeg ik aan jou
When in the cold, I asked you
Doe iets, van tederheid (van tederheid)
Do something of tenderness
Doe iets, wat niemand begrijpt (wat niemand begrijpt)
Do something that no one understands
Owowow
Owowow
Doe iets, van tederheid (van tederheid)
Do something of tenderness
Doe iets, doe lief, doe aardig, doe vrij
Do something, be kind, be nice, be free
Maar doe iets (doe iets, doe iets)
But do something
Maar doe iets (doe iets, doe iets)
But do something
Voor 't leven rende jij, ah
You ran for life, ah
Ik wou mee tot aan het eind
I wished to come along until the end
Die nacht deden wij de maan uit
That night we turned off the moon
Tot de zon opkwam
Until the sun rose
En in dat bleke ochtendlicht
And in that pale morning light
Pakte ik jouw rode lippenstift
I took your red lipstick
En schreef in de spiegel
And wrote on the mirror
Voordat ik wegging
Before I left
Doe iets, van tederheid (van tederheid)
Do something of tenderness
Doe iets, wat niemand begrijpt (wat niemand begrijpt)
Do something that no one understands
Owowow
Owowow
Doe iets, van tederheid (van tederheid)
Do something of tenderness
Doe iets, doe lief, doe aardig, doe vrij
Do something, be kind, be nice, be free
Maar doe iets (doe iets, doe iets)
But do something
Maar doe iets (doe iets, doe iets)
But do something
En ik schreef in de spiegel
And I wrote on the mirror
Voordat ik wegging
Before I left
Doe iets, van tederheid (van tederheid)
Do something of tenderness
Doe iets, wat niemand begrijpt (wat niemand begrijpt)
Do something that no one understands
Owowow
Owowow
Doe iets, van tederheid (van tederheid)
Do something of tenderness
Doe iets, wat niemand begrijpt (wat niemand begrijpt)
Do something that no one understands
Doe iets
Do something
Doe iets, doe iets, doe iets
Do something, do something, do something
Doe iets
Do something
Contributed by Muhammad F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@jeroenvuyk5035
Een van de beste bands die ons land rijk is.Van de Nederlandstalige zowiezo de beste
@tropimalus
Geweldige muziek van een geweldige artiest!
@babyhousman3764
Zeker zeker
@ShelZahav
Geweldige tekst en geweldige formatie van de FBG was dit. Live nog beter dan op de plaat. Een heel groot fenomeen deze band.
@mariaoliveira5865
Mooi nederlandse band 🌻❤️☘️👍
@g.j.koster1986
Het allerbeste van nederlandse bodem in het genre. Prachtige zachte 'zuidelijke' tongval ook.
@maussie76
Je bedoelt een oostelijke tongval, want ze kwamen uit Gelderland😉
@Zetep
Geweldige tijd was dat. Ik had een vriendinnetje in 83 die er echt precies uitzag als het meisje in deze clip.
@marcvanvliet9386
beste zanger van nederland gr mark
@markhoijtink4868
Mooi