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.
Zondagskind
Frank Boeijen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Liefde bij de hand
Ben nooit alleen geweest
Alleen in gedachten
Roem is eenzaam
Iedereen kent jOU
En laat je met rust
En jij blijft achter
Met lege handen
Maar ik had altijd
Liefde bij de hand
Heel veel warmte
Heel veel geluk
Ook ik heb in mijn
Verleden gegraven
Aan de hand van iemand
Iemand die het weten kan
Op zoek naar
De pijnlijke plaatsen
Op zoek naar de oorzaken
Van mijn angsten
Maar ik had altijd
Liefde bij de hand
Heel veel warmte
Heel veel geluk
Ik kijk op de klok
Langzaam langzaam
Gaat de nacht voorbij
En wordt het licht
The lyrics of "Zondagskind" by Frank Boeijen reflects the loneliness that fame brings with it. The lines "Roem is eenzaam, Iedereen kent jou en laat je met rust en jij blijft achter met lege handen" (Fame is lonely, Everyone knows you and leaves you alone and you are left with empty hands) reveals that everyone knows the famous person, but no one really understands them, and they are left feeling hollow inside. The song also hints at the pain that the famous person has experienced and their search for its source. The lines "Op zoek naar de pijnlijke plaatsen, Op zoek naar de oorzaken van mijn angsten" (Searching for the painful places, Searching for the causes of my fears) reveals the desire to find the root of their pain.
Despite all of this, the song is ultimately a hopeful one. The line "Maar ik had altijd liefde bij de hand, heel veel warmte, heel veel geluk" (But I always had love at hand, a lot of warmth, a lot of happiness) suggests that through all of the trials and tribulations, the famous person has maintained a sense of love and happiness in their life. The song ends with the lyrics "Ik kijk op de klok, Langzaam langzaam, Gaat de nacht voorbij, En wordt het licht" (I look at the clock, slowly slowly, the night goes past, and the light comes) which can be interpreted as the start of a new day and a new beginning, a new opportunity to find happiness and peace.
Line by Line Meaning
Ik had altijd
I always had
Liefde bij de hand
Love at hand
Ben nooit alleen geweest
I have never been alone
Alleen in gedachten
Only in my thoughts
Roem is eenzaam
Fame is lonely
Iedereen kent jOU
Everyone knows you
En laat je met rust
And leaves you alone
En jij blijft achter
And you stay behind
Met lege handen
Empty-handed
Maar ik had altijd
But I always had
Liefde bij de hand
Love at hand
Heel veel warmte
A lot of warmth
Heel veel geluk
A lot of luck
Ook ik heb in mijn
I too have
Verleden gegraven
Dug in the past
Aan de hand van iemand
With the help of someone
Iemand die het weten kan
Someone who knows it
Op zoek naar
Searching for
De pijnlijke plaatsen
The painful places
Op zoek naar de oorzaken
Looking for the causes
Van mijn angsten
Of my fears
Ik kijk op de klok
I look at the clock
Langzaam langzaam
Slowly, slowly
Gaat de nacht voorbij
The night passes by
En wordt het licht
And it becomes light
Contributed by Grayson K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ina De Frankrijker
Blijft nog steeds een goed nummer vind ik.
Ina De Frankrijker
Blijft ook een leuk nummer.
Ina De Frankrijker
Wat heb ik dit gemist in dit jaar.
Ina De Frankrijker
Lekker nummer blijkt het.
Thomas Kamphuis
Wereldnummer. Kan deze gespeeld worden in de Rijswijkse Schouwburg aanstaande zaterdag 16 mei ? ;)
Thomas Kamphuis
Dank ! ;)