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.
De Vraag
Frank boeijen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ik dacht aan vergeten muziek en boeken
Hoe verder weg van huis
Hoe verder weg van huis
Hoe meer je je herinnert
Ik dacht ook aan jouw vraag
Ik denk dat het gaat
Over een verlangen
Over een verlangen
Over een verlangen
Naar iets dat niet kan bestaan
Over een verlangen
Naar iets dat niet kan bestaan
Dat niet kan bestaan
Misschien iets dat is verloren
Onderweg
Toen we druk bezig waren
Met het vinden van een richting
Met het vinden van een bestaan
Ach je weet hoe dat gaat
In onze wereld is er zoveel verloren
Maar ik heb het idee
Ik heb het idee
Dat jij iets geheim houdt
Voor iedereen
Een zanger vertelt zijn verhaal
Een schrijver zoekt een verhaal
De waarheid is lang geleden verdwenen
Lang geleden verdwenen
Een geheim is een kostbare schat
Een kostbare schat
Zoals vriendschap een mooie avond geeft
Zoals liefde rust en troost geeft
Zo waardevol is een herinnering
Aan wat je denkt dat komen ging
Er komt een mooie vrouw voorbij
En wat zou dat betekenen
Ik dacht aan jou
Ik dacht aan jou
In de morgen liep ik langs de zee
En ik dacht aan jou
Ik dacht aan jou
Ik dacht aan jou
In de morgen liep ik langs de zee
The lyrics of Frank Boeijen's song "De Vraag" (The Question) describe a person's reflections while walking along the sea. The singer thinks about forgotten music and books and how, paradoxically, the further away from home he gets, the more he remembers. The song then turns to the question asked by someone else, which the singer thinks is about a longing for something that cannot exist. The singer muses about how we lose things along the way while trying to find our way and establish our lives. He suggests that the person who asked the question may be keeping a secret from everyone.
The song speaks to a universal human experience of longing and searching for meaning. It also touches on themes of loss and the difficulty of finding truth in a world where so much is hidden or forgotten. The sea serves as a metaphor for this search for meaning, as it is vast and deep and often represents the unknown or the mysterious. Overall, the song encourages the listener to reflect on their own search for meaning and the things they may have lost or forgotten along the way.
Line by Line Meaning
In de morgen liep ik langs de zee
I took a morning walk by the sea
Ik dacht aan vergeten muziek en boeken
I thought about forgotten music and books
Hoe verder weg van huis
The farther away from home
Hoe meer je je herinnert
The more you remember
Ik dacht ook aan jouw vraag
I also thought about your question
Waar het allemaal over ging
What it was all about
Ik denk dat het gaat
I think it's about
Over een verlangen
A longing
Naar iets dat niet kan bestaan
For something that cannot exist
Misschien iets dat is verloren
Perhaps something that was lost
Onderweg
On the way
Toen we druk bezig waren
When we were busy
Met het vinden van een richting
Looking for a direction
Met het vinden van een bestaan
Finding a purpose
Ach je weet hoe dat gaat
You know how it goes
In onze wereld is er zoveel verloren
In our world, so much is lost
Maar ik heb het idee
But I have the feeling
Dat jij iets geheim houdt
That you keep a secret
Voor iedereen
From everyone
Een zanger vertelt zijn verhaal
A singer tells his story
Een schrijver zoekt een verhaal
A writer looks for a story
De waarheid is lang geleden verdwenen
The truth disappeared a long time ago
Een geheim is een kostbare schat
A secret is a precious treasure
Zoals vriendschap een mooie avond geeft
Just like friendship gives a lovely evening
Zoals liefde rust en troost geeft
Just like love gives peace and comfort
Zo waardevol is een herinnering
Just as valuable is a memory
Aan wat je denkt dat komen ging
Of what you thought was yet to come
Er komt een mooie vrouw voorbij
A beautiful woman passes by
En wat zou dat betekenen
And what would that mean
Ik dacht aan jou
I thought about you
In de morgen liep ik langs de zee
I took a morning walk by the sea
Ik dacht aan jou
I thought about you
Ik dacht aan jou
I thought about you
Ik dacht aan jou
I thought about you
Contributed by Eva C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.