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.
Voor Een Zondaar
Frank Boeijen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Voor mijn ogen als een blinddoek
Ik zie niets meer maar
Ik voel jouw hand
Ik zou jou kunnen vertrouwen
Vertrouwen op jou
Wat kan ik meer doen dan
Waar gaan we heen
Je neemt me mee naar boven
Daar wacht een wonder
Beloofde jij
Om verricht te worden
Ik zou jou kunnen geloven
Geloven in jou
Het spijt me
Ik twijfel
Ze zeggen dat
Er geen hemel bestaat
Voor een hopeloze zondaar
Er geen hemel is
Voor een zondaar
En de wind steekt op
Er is storm op komst
En met de regen
Verdwijnt de zon
Vannacht sprak de stem
Van mijn geweten
Ik zag ze voor me
De goden en de geesten
Nu wil je me verleiden
Tot het ware paradijs
Maar er viel een schaduw
Op je gezicht
Maar het is nog geen tijd
Voor een gehaast afscheid
Wacht ik wil niet gaan
Ik heb nog een vraag
Is het waar
Er geen hemel zal bestaan
Voor de hulpeloze zondaar
Er geen hemel is
Voor een zondaar
Als ik
look at the lyrics of Frank Boeijen's song Voor Een Zondaar, I see a person who is lost, confused, and at a crossroads in his life. He is looking for guidance and direction from someone whom he trusts and whom he sees as having all the answers. The first verse talks about a shadow falling across the person's face, like a blindfold, and he cannot see anything anymore. But he can feel the presence of the person he is turning to for help. He wants to trust this person and ask for their advice, but he is uncertain and hesitant.
The second verse talks about the promise of a miracle and being led to a higher place where this miracle will be performed. The person is torn between wanting to believe in this offer and having doubts, fearing that it might not be true. The line "Ze zeggen dat er geen hemel bestaat voor een hopeloze zondaar" (They say that there is no heaven for a hopeless sinner) implies that the person might see themselves as unworthy of redemption. The final verse talks about the voice of the person's conscience speaking to him and warning him about being tempted by something that might not be true. The person wants to stay a little longer and ask one more question, hoping that there is some truth in what is being offered.
Overall, the song seems to be about a person's struggle with faith, hope, doubt, guilt, and the search for meaning and purpose in life. The person is looking for someone to show him the way, but he is also aware that the answers he is looking for might not be easy to find. The lyrics use metaphors such as shadow, blindfold, storm, rain, and voice of conscience to convey the person's internal turmoil and uncertainty. The song ends on an unresolved note, leaving the listener to wonder if the person found what he was looking for or if he is still searching.
Line by Line Meaning
Er valt een schaduw op mijn gezicht
A shadow falls upon my face
Voor mijn ogen als een blinddoek
Before my eyes like a blindfold
Ik zie niets meer maar
I can't see anything anymore, but
Ik voel jouw hand
I can feel your hand holding mine
Ik zou jou kunnen vertrouwen
I could trust you
Vertrouwen op jou
Relinquish control to you
Wat kan ik meer doen dan
What else can I do but
Vragen aan jou
Ask you for guidance
Waar gaan we heen
Where are we headed?
Je neemt me mee naar boven
You take me higher
Daar wacht een wonder
There a miracle awaits
Beloofde jij
So you promised me
Om verricht te worden
To be fulfilled
Ik zou jou kunnen geloven
I could trust you
Geloven in jou
Have faith in you
Het spijt me
I'm sorry
Ik twijfel
But I have doubts
Ze zeggen dat
They say that
Er geen hemel bestaat
There's no heaven
Voor een hopeloze zondaar
For a hopeless sinner
Er geen hemel is
There is no heaven
Voor een zondaar
For a sinner
En de wind steekt op
And the wind begins to blow
Er is storm op komst
A storm is coming
En met de regen
And with the rain
Verdwijnt de zon
The sun disappears
Vannacht sprak de stem
Last night, the voice spoke to me
Van mijn geweten
Of my conscience
Ik zag ze voor me
I saw them before me
De goden en de geesten
The gods and the spirits
Nu wil je me verleiden
Now you're tempting me
Tot het ware paradijs
Into a true paradise
Maar er viel een schaduw
But a shadow fell upon
Op je gezicht
Your face
Maar het is nog geen tijd
But it's not yet time
Voor een gehaast afscheid
For a hasty goodbye
Wacht ik wil niet gaan
Wait, I don't want to go
Ik heb nog een vraag
I have one more question
Is het waar
Is it true?
Er geen hemel zal bestaan
That no heaven will exist
Voor de hulpeloze zondaar
For the helpless sinner
Er geen hemel is
That there is no heaven
Voor een zondaar
For a sinner
Contributed by Hudson M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.