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.
Dromedaris
Frank Boeijen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
En hoorde jouw hese stem
Je zat te eten aan de tafel
Het was toen al bekend
Je hebt zolang voor haar gezorgd
Elke dag weer opnieuw
Ik bezocht je geboortestad
Wilde weten waar je vandaan kwam
Volgde het spoor naar het noorden
Daar vlakbij die grote stad
1914 - 1996
Een leven in één eeuw
Hoor de golven ruisen
Bij de Dromedaris van Enkhuizen
Een baken op het land
Voor de verdwaalden in de nacht
Een haven voor de schepen
Terug van de zeven wereldzeeën
Het was een plotseling afscheid
Op die heldere zondagmorgen
Ik ben geen zoon meer
Maar koester het kind
In bezit van zoveel woorden
Die ik verlies in de wind
De tekening van de Dromedaris
De droom die daar is
Voor alle broeders en zusters
Voor alle vrienden en bekenden
Voor alle geliefden en minnaressen
Voor alle voorbijgangers en bewonderaars
Voor alle zielsverwanten en elke drinkebroeder
Voor alle weldoeners en luisteraars
Hoor de golven ruisen
Bij de Dromedaris van Enkhuizen
Een baken op het land
Voor de verdwaalden in de nacht
Een haven voor de schepen
Terug van de zeven wereldzeeën
Ik zou verliefd kunnen zijn
Wat we delen is de liefde
Voor de taal en de tekens
Van de ziel denk je niet
Iets verderop praat een Amerikaan
Over geweld en aandelen
We kunnen hem hier verstaan
En mijn lief spreekt haar vriendin
Het regent in Holland
Vanmiddag hebben wij vrienden gemaakt
We kenden niet eens de taal
Maar met handen en voeten
En een betoverende glimlach
Werd ons hart veroverd
Ik hoor overal muziek
Daarom is het beter als ik slaap
En droom van stille landen
Of van Holland waar een huis staat
Dit is een uitnodiging
Je bent welkom
Je weet waar je me kunt vinden
In 't Paleis bij Frank
Naast de bar van Anita
In de benedenstad
Misschien zingen we een lied
The song "Dromedaris" by Frank Boeijen is a reflection on family, loss, and the power of music to connect people across languages and cultures. The singer of the song wakes up in the middle of the night and hears the voice of someone he loves who has passed away. He reminisces about this person's life and how they took care of others every day. The singer then travels to the birthplace of this person, following a trail north to a large city. He notes that this person lived through an entire century, from 1914 to 1996.
The chorus of the song brings the listener to the Dromedaris, a historic building in Enkhuizen, Netherlands. The structure served as a navigation aid for ships returning from years at sea, a symbol of hope and safety for those lost in the night. The singer draws a comparison between this beacon and the power of music to guide people home. The song moves back and forth between memories of the singer's loved one and present-day observations of people from different cultures.
Line by Line Meaning
Vannacht werd ik wakker
I woke up last night
En hoorde jouw hese stem
And heard your hoarse voice
Je zat te eten aan de tafel
You were sitting at the table eating
Het was toen al bekend
It was already known then
Je hebt zolang voor haar gezorgd
You have taken care of her for so long
Elke dag weer opnieuw
Every single day
Ik bezocht je geboortestad
I visited your birthplace
Wilde weten waar je vandaan kwam
I wanted to know where you came from
Volgde het spoor naar het noorden
Followed the trail to the north
Daar vlakbij die grote stad
Near that big city
1914 - 1996
1914 - 1996
Een leven in één eeuw
A life in one century
Hoor de golven ruisen
Hear the waves rustling
Bij de Dromedaris van Enkhuizen
At the Dromedaris of Enkhuizen
Een baken op het land
A beacon on the land
Voor de verdwaalden in de nacht
For the lost in the night
Een haven voor de schepen
A harbor for the ships
Terug van de zeven wereldzeeën
Returning from the seven seas
Het was een plotseling afscheid
It was a sudden goodbye
Op die heldere zondagmorgen
On that clear Sunday morning
Ik ben geen zoon meer
I am not a son anymore
Maar koester het kind
But cherish the child
In bezit van zoveel woorden
In possession of so many words
Die ik verlies in de wind
That I lose in the wind
De tekening van de Dromedaris
The drawing of the Dromedaris
De droom die daar is
The dream that is there
Voor alle broeders en zusters
For all brothers and sisters
Voor alle vrienden en bekenden
For all friends and acquaintances
Voor alle geliefden en minnaressen
For all lovers and mistresses
Voor alle voorbijgangers en bewonderaars
For all passers-by and admirers
Voor alle zielsverwanten en elke drinkebroeder
For all kindred souls and every drinking buddy
Voor alle weldoeners en luisteraars
For all benefactors and listeners
Ik zou verliefd kunnen zijn
I could fall in love
Wat we delen is de liefde
What we share is love
Voor de taal en de tekens
For the language and the signs
Van de ziel denk je niet
You don't think of the soul
Iets verderop praat een Amerikaan
A little further an American talks
Over geweld en aandelen
About violence and stocks
We kunnen hem hier verstaan
We can understand him here
En mijn lief spreekt haar vriendin
And my love speaks to her friend
Het regent in Holland
It's raining in Holland
Vanmiddag hebben wij vrienden gemaakt
This afternoon we made friends
We kenden niet eens de taal
We didn't even know the language
Maar met handen en voeten
But with hands and feet
En een betoverende glimlach
And an enchanting smile
Werd ons hart veroverd
Our hearts were conquered
Ik hoor overal muziek
I hear music everywhere
Daarom is het beter als ik slaap
That's why it's better if I sleep
En droom van stille landen
And dream of quiet lands
Of van Holland waar een huis staat
Or of Holland where a house stands
Dit is een uitnodiging
This is an invitation
Je bent welkom
You are welcome
Je weet waar je me kunt vinden
You know where you can find me
In 't Paleis bij Frank
In the Palace with Frank
Naast de bar van Anita
Next to Anita's bar
In de benedenstad
In the lower town
Misschien zingen we een lied
Maybe we'll sing a song
Contributed by Mason P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.