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.
Sinds De Dag
Frank Boeijen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
De wind waait de zon draait mee
En dan valt de avond
In de Zuiderzee
Stop met het lezen van een slecht boek
Doe een poging tot een lied
Luister naar de oude zanger
En even is er geen verdriet
De wereld de wereld is anders
Het leven het leven verandert
Sinds de dag
God is dood verklaard
Heb je naaste geliefde lief
Zoek naar zeldzame woorden
Voor het zelfde gevoel
Dat je ooit hebt verloren
Verzoek beleefd de muze
Leer weer te wachten
Vind een melodie
In het ruisen van je gedachten
De wereld de wereld is anders
Het leven het leven verandert
Sinds de dag
God is dood verklaard
Het spoor bijster
De tijd raast maar door
Wie wijst de weg
En wie zegt het voort
Is het te zien bij dageraad
En het stil wordt in mijn gedachten
En de liefde wordt tastbaar
En ik wil verdwijnen in jouw armen
The first two lines of the song "Drink coffee, smoke a cigarette / The wind blows, the sun moves" set up a simple, repetitive rhythm which continues throughout the song, emphasizing the routine nature of everyday life. However, the subsequent line "And then evening falls / In the Zuiderzee" introduces a shift in tone, as the mention of the Zuiderzee hints at a sense of displacement or disorientation, and the jarring change from the present tense to the past tense suggests a rupture or break in time.
The next two stanzas encourage the listener to break out of their routine and seek solace in music and poetry. The line "Listen to the old singer / And suddenly there is no more sorrow" in particular suggests that music has the power to transcend grief or hardship. The chorus "The world, the world is different / Life, life changes / Since the day / God was declared dead" reinforces this sense of upheaval, linking the death of God with a larger cultural shift in values.
The final stanza returns to a more personal level, focusing on the idea of finding love and connection in the face of chaos and uncertainty. The lines "Find a melody / In the rustling of your thoughts" evoke the idea of creativity emerging from the chaos of everyday life, while the repeated refrain "The world, the world is different / Life, life changes / Since the day / God was declared dead" functions as a reminder that nothing can be taken for granted.
Line by Line Meaning
Drink koffie rook een sigaret
Take a break, enjoy the small things in life
De wind waait de zon draait mee
Time passes and the world keeps turning
En dan valt de avond In de Zuiderzee
Night falls and darkness surrounds
Stop met het lezen van een slecht boek
Don't waste your time on things that don't matter
Doe een poging tot een lied
Try to create something beautiful
Luister naar de oude zanger
Learn from those who came before you
En even is er geen verdriet
Find a moment of peace and happiness
De wereld de wereld is anders
The world has changed
Het leven het leven verandert
Life is constantly changing
Sinds de dag God is dood verklaard
Since the day God was declared dead
Heb je naaste geliefde lief
Love your neighbor as yourself
Zoek naar zeldzame woorden
Search for unique ways to express yourself
Voor het zelfde gevoel
To evoke the same feeling
Dat je ooit hebt verloren
That you once lost
Verzoek beleefd de muze
Politely ask for inspiration
Leer weer te wachten
Learn the importance of patience
Vind een melodie
Find a beautiful tune
In het ruisen van je gedachten
In the noise of your thoughts
Het spoor bijster
Lost and confused
De tijd raast maar door
Time moves quickly
Wie wijst de weg
Who will show us the way
En wie zegt het voort
And who will spread the message
Is het te zien bij dageraad
Is it visible at dawn
En het stil wordt in mijn gedachten
And silence fills my thoughts
En de liefde wordt tastbaar
And love becomes tangible
En ik wil verdwijnen in jouw armen
And I want to disappear into your arms
Contributed by Avery H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.