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.

Zorgen
Frank Boeijen Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Hoe kan ik je zorgen wegnemen
Meenemen en begraven in nergens
Je ziel tot rust
Als dit voorbij is

Morgen zul je zien
Dat zorgen komen en gaan
Als de wind de regen

En dan weer licht zelfs
In de nacht van de maan

Je schouders kunnen dit dragen
Je geest kan het aan
Je handen zullen vrij zijn

Uiteindelijk is niets te behouden
Uiteindelijk vergezellen de sterren de maan
Uiteindelijk valt er één voor jou
En zijn de zorgen vergaan

De pijn verdreven
Het verdriet getroost

De zee van het verleden
De rivier van schuld
De oceaan van verloren dromen
Alles komt weer terug

Laat me voor je zorgen
Laat me je hand
Laat me je omhelzen
Ik wacht op je thuiskomst

Waar vecht je tegen
Zijn het de tranen
Zijn het de geesten
Van de nacht zonder slaap

Waar vecht je tegen
Zijn het de tranen
Zijn het de geesten
Van de nacht zonder slaap

Laat me voor je zorgen
Laat me je hand

Laat me je omhelzen
Ik wacht op je thuiskomst

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Zorgen" are about offering comfort and support to someone who is going through a difficult time. The song is an invitation to let go of worries and fears, to trust in the natural cycles of life, and to find peace and solace in the embrace of a caring friend. The opening lines express the singer's desire to take away the person's troubles and bury them in nowhere, to bring their soul to rest once the storm has passed. The second verse reassures the person that their troubles will eventually fade away like the wind and the rain, and that they have the strength to carry on, to face their fears and challenges, and to embrace life with open hands. The third verse speaks of the transience of all things, of the fleeting nature of joy and pain, and of the inevitability of death. The chorus repeats the plea to be there for the person, to hold their hand, to embrace them, and to wait for them to come back home.

The overall message of "Zorgen" is one of empathy, compassion, and hope. The singer acknowledges the struggles and suffering of the person, but also affirms their resilience, their capacity to overcome adversity, and their connection to the wider universe. The use of nature imagery (wind, rain, moon, stars) reinforces the theme of impermanence and cycles, while the repetition of the chorus ("Let me take care of you") creates a sense of intimacy and support. The song is a beautiful example of how music can convey complex emotions and ideas in a simple, heartfelt, and poetic way.

Line by Line Meaning

Hoe kan ik je zorgen wegnemen
How can I relieve you of your worries

Meenemen en begraven in nergens
Take them away and bury them in nothingness

Je ziel tot rust
Bring peace to your soul

Als dit voorbij is
Once this is all over

Morgen zul je zien
Tomorrow you will see

Dat zorgen komen en gaan
That worries come and go

Als de wind de regen
Like the wind and the rain

En dan weer licht zelfs
And then even light again

In de nacht van de maan
In the night of the moon

Je schouders kunnen dit dragen
Your shoulders can bear this

Je geest kan het aan
Your mind can handle it