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.
Laagland
Frank Boeijen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Daarginds in het Laag Land
Bijna vergeten
Bijna verdwenen
Niet één van hen
Samen nooit geweest
Misschien de grond de bodem
De schoot maar allang vaarwel
Vaderland zonder vader - onthoofd
Moederland zonder moeder - onthart
Geen reden meer
Geen liefde meer
Energie verloren
Verdwenen inspiratie
Het doet geen pijn
Het geeft zuurstof
Laat ademen
Laat groeien laat stromen
Laat zien
Op weg naar
Het zichtbare misverstand
Alles is meegenomen
Hier en beneden
Aan het eind van de rivieren
Daar waar alles vlak
Daar waar niemand
Daar waar onvrede
En voor wie de klokken luiden
Het laatste uur heeft geslagen
Have en goed
Huis en haard
Ren voor je leven nu het nog kan
Het verloren hart
De verdwenen bard
Het verlaten lage land
God en alleman
Het lege land
Onzichtbaar vol
Verzwolgen
Afscheid
Zonder om te kijken
Geen omkijken meer naar
Geen omkijken meer naar
In the song Laagland by Frank Boeijen, the lyrics describe a sense of loss and disconnection from a place that used to be familiar. The title itself means "low land," which could refer to a physical location, but also to a state of being or an emotional landscape. The first stanza speaks of an "invisible misunderstanding" that exists "over there" in the low land. It seems like something that has been forgotten or nearly disappeared, and it suggests a lack of connection or understanding between people.
The second stanza continues with this theme of disconnection, and introduces the idea of a fatherland and motherland that have been "beheaded" and "heartless." There is a sense of loss and absence, and the lines "no reason anymore, no more love" convey a kind of emptiness or apathy. The third stanza mentions lost energy and inspiration, but also suggests that this absence can be freeing in a way, and that there is a sense of relief or release.
Line by Line Meaning
Het onzichtbare misverstand
A confusion or misunderstanding that is not visible or obvious to others.
Daarginds in het Laag Land
Somewhere in the lowlands, a flat region at or near sea level.
Bijna vergeten
Almost forgotten, nearly faded from memory.
Bijna verdwenen
Almost disappeared, nearly gone.
Niet één van hen
Not one of the group or community.
Samen nooit geweest
Never together as a group.
Misschien de grond de bodem
Possibly the ground or soil, the place where something originated.
De schoot maar allang vaarwel
The womb or place of origin has been long left behind.
Vaderland zonder vader - onthoofd
A country or homeland without a leader or guidance - headless.
Moederland zonder moeder - onthart
A motherland or place of origin without nurturing or care - heartless.
Geen reden meer
No reason remains, no motivation or cause.
Geen liefde meer
No love remains, no passion or emotion.
Energie verloren
Lost energy, no longer vibrant or active.
Verdwenen inspiratie
Gone inspiration, no longer creative or full of ideas.
Het doet geen pijn
It doesn't hurt, there is no emotional or physical pain.
Het geeft zuurstof
It gives oxygen, there is a sense of refreshment or new life.
Laat ademen
Let it breathe, allow it to exist and grow naturally.
Laat groeien laat stromen
Let it grow and flow, allow it to develop and move forward.
Laat zien
Let it be seen or expressed, allow it to become visible.
Op weg naar
On the way to, moving towards.
Het zichtbare misverstand
A confusion or misunderstanding that is visible or apparent to others.
Alles is meegenomen
Everything has been taken or brought along.
Hier en beneden
Here and below.
Aan het eind van de rivieren
At the end of the rivers, where they meet the sea.
Daar waar alles vlak
Where everything is flat and level, with no variation or change.
Daar waar niemand
Where nobody is, a desolate or empty place.
Daar waar onvrede
Where there is discontent or dissatisfaction.
En voor wie de klokken luiden
And for whom the bells toll, a sign of death or impending doom.
Het laatste uur heeft geslagen
The final hour has come, the end is near.
Have en goed
Property and possessions, material goods.
Huis en haard
Home and hearth, the place of comfort and safety.
Ren voor je leven nu het nog kan
Run for your life while you still can, escape danger or peril.
Het verloren hart
The lost heart, the absence of love or emotion.
De verdwenen bard
The disappeared poet or musician, the absence of creativity or artistry.
Het verlaten lage land
The abandoned lowland, a forgotten and neglected place.
God en alleman
Everybody and everything, without distinction or order.
Het lege land
The empty land, a desolate and barren wasteland.
Onzichtbaar vol
Invisible but full, containing something that is not apparent.
Verzwolgen
Swallowed up or consumed, lost to the depths.
Afscheid
Farewell, a final goodbye or departure.
Zonder om te kijken
Without looking back, leaving the past behind.
Geen omkijken meer naar
No more looking back, no more dwelling on the past.
Contributed by Carson S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.