Two musicians from The Netherlands are known as Frank Boeijen:

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.

Steppewolf
Frank Boeijen Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

De sneeuw valt uit de grijze lucht
De wind waait over de vlakte
Hij volgt dat wat onzichtbaar is
De lijn van een gedachte

Zijn sporen worden uitgewist
En niemand die hem volgt

Steppewolf
Steppewolf

Is hij een engel die is gevallen
Verloren of bevrijd
Is het een vloek of een verlangen
Die de weg wijst door de tijd

Hij zoekt de stilte van de vlakte
Het licht dat hem verblindt
Hij voelt zich veilig in de leegte
Hij kent de stemmen in de wind

Zijn woorden worden uitgewist
Niemand die hem volgt

Steppewolf
Steppewolf

Steppewolf
Hij wil als helder water zijn
Steppewolf
Van buiten naar binnen
Steppewolf
Terug naar de oorsprong
Recht naar het midden

Steppewolf
Hij zoekt de stilte van de vlakte
Steppewolf
Hij zoekt het licht dat hem verblindt
Steppewolf
Voelt zich veilig in de leegte
Steppewolf
Hij kent de stemmen in de wind
Stemmen in de wind

Zoekt geen waarheid
Zoekt geen vijand
Zoekt geen vrijheid
Zoekt geen weerstand

Hij gaat alleen
Weet niet waarom
Tegen de stroom in
Terug naar de bron

Steppewolf

Overall Meaning

The song “Steppewolf” by Frank Boeijen is a lyrical representation of a wanderer looking for his place in the world. The snow is falling and the wind is blowing over the empty, barren plains as the Steppewolf follows a line of thought that only he can see. The song’s lyrics are a reflection of the Steppewolf’s state of mind; he is searching for something intangible and intangible. He is a lost angel or a free spirit, and his journey is taking him through time and space.

The Steppewolf is searching for something pure and true. He finds solace in the emptiness of the land around him and the voices that whisper in the wind. He is a lone wolf, who is not concerned with finding the truth, an enemy, freedom or resistance. He is simply following his own path back to his origins, where he can be like fresh water, pure and pristine.

In conclusion, the song “Steppewolf” is a beautiful composition that speaks to the wanderers of the world – those who yearn for the open road and a long-lost truth. The lyrics describe the Steppewolf’s physical journey through the wilderness, but also his spiritual journey in search of a pure truth. It’s a song about finding oneself, one’s place in the world, and ultimately being at peace with the journey.

Line by Line Meaning

De sneeuw valt uit de grijze lucht
Snow falls from the dreary sky

De wind waait over de vlakte
Wind blows over the plain

Hij volgt dat wat onzichtbaar is
He follows what is invisible

De lijn van een gedachte
The line of a thought

Zijn sporen worden uitgewist
His tracks are erased

En niemand die hem volgt
And no one follows him

Is hij een engel die is gevallen
Is he a fallen angel

Verloren of bevrijd
Lost or freed

Is het een vloek of een verlangen
Is it a curse or a longing

Die de weg wijst door de tijd
That guides the way through time

Hij zoekt de stilte van de vlakte
He seeks the silence of the plain