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.
Hoe verschrikkelijk ik ben
Frank Boeijen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Die ik al heel lang ken
Hij kijkt me aan
En vraagt wie ik ben
Wat ik doe
Wat ik voel
Waar ik sta
Waarheen we gaan
Het is moeilijk te erkennen
Ik weet niet wat ik doe
Ik weet niet wat ik gedaan heb
En het doet er ook niet toe
Mijn herinnering bewaart
Wat ik niet vergeten wil
De minder leuke dingen
Verdwijnen diep binnenin
Waar geen mens komt
Waar het daglicht is verdwenen
Waar geen mens komt
Niemand komt te weten
Hoe ik werkelijk ben
Hoe verschrikkelijk ik ben
Men zei dat ik op zoek was
Naar iets dat niet bestond
Men zegt wel meer
Totdat ik het vond
Daarginds gaat de zon op
Die hier onder gaat
Het leven neemt een vlucht
Van wat ik achterlaat
Waar geen mens komt
Waar het daglicht is verdwenen
Waar geen mens komt
Niemand komt te weten
Hoe ik werkelijk ben
Hoe verschrikkelijk ik ben
The lyrics to Frank Boeijen's song "Hoe verschrikkelijk ik ben" explore the concept of self-identity and self-awareness. The singer sees a man in the mirror who he has known for a long time, but is unsure of who he is himself. The man in the mirror asks him questions such as "who am I, what do I feel, where am I going." The singer struggles to answer these questions, as he is not sure what he is doing or what he has done and believes it does not matter. He acknowledges that he has memories that he wants to keep but also that there are less pleasant memories that he would rather forget.
The chorus of "Hoe verschrikkelijk ik ben" emphasizes the singer's struggle with self-awareness. He sings of a place where no one goes, where daylight is absent, and no one will ever know how terrible he truly is. This idea of hiding one's self and avoiding self-reflection is contrasted with the idea of searching for something that does not exist, a theme that is explored in the second verse.
Overall, the song can be interpreted as an exploration of the human psyche and the struggle to understand oneself. The use of poetic language and imagery creates a haunting and introspective mood that invites listeners to reflect on their own sense of self and identity.
Line by Line Meaning
Er staat een man in de spiegel
The singer sees himself in the mirror
Die ik al heel lang ken
The singer has known this version of himself for a long time
Hij kijkt me aan
The reflection in the mirror makes eye contact with the singer
En vraagt wie ik ben
The reflection asks the artist who he really is
Wat ik doe
The reflection questions the artist's actions
Wat ik voel
The reflection questions the singer's emotions
Waar ik sta
The reflection questions the singer's current situation
Waarheen we gaan
The reflection questions the artist's direction in life
Het is moeilijk te erkennen
The artist finds it hard to admit
Ik weet niet wat ik doe
The artist is unsure of his actions
Ik weet niet wat ik gedaan heb
The singer is unsure of what he has done in the past
En het doet er ook niet toe
The artist feels like it doesn't matter
Mijn herinnering bewaart
The singer's memory holds on to
Wat ik niet vergeten wil
The memories the singer doesn't want to forget
De minder leuke dingen
The unpleasant memories
Verdwijnen diep binnenin
Disappear deep within the artist's mind
Waar geen mens komt
A place where no person goes
Waar het daglicht is verdwenen
A place where there is no light
Niemand komt te weten
No one will ever know
Hoe ik werkelijk ben
The true nature of the artist's being
Hoe verschrikkelijk ik ben
The artist feels terrible about who he is
Men zei dat ik op zoek was
Others told the artist he was searching for something
Naar iets dat niet bestond
But that something didn't actually exist
Men zegt wel meer
People make many claims
Totdat ik het vond
Until the singer found what he was looking for
Daarginds gaat de zon op
The sun rises in the distance
Die hier onder gaat
The sun sets where the singer is
Het leven neemt een vlucht
Life moves quickly
Van wat ik achterlaat
Leaving things behind
Contributed by Ellie A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.