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.

Draag Ik Je Bij Me
Frank boeijen Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Geen grotere pijn
Dan geluk
De herinnering aan het gemis
Het comfort van het lijden

Ontbreken is comfortabel
Ontvangen is pijnlijk
Kwetsbaar is vertrouwd

Zelfvertrouwen onwennig

De huid van de slang
De vlinder en de rups

Eenzaamheid verloren
Als een in beslag genomen juweel

De cocon van de liefde
De zon in een winterjas

Ik draag jouw parfum
Zo ga je nooit meer weg
Zo blijf je bij me
Vandaag naar buiten
Draag ik jouw parfum

Jouw geur jouw lakens
Ik draag jouw lakens
Naar buiten om me heen
Jouw nacht jouw zuchten
In mijn armen

Draag ik je bij me
Loop je met me mee
In gedachten vandaag
En morgen en alle dagen
Tot het laatste zuchten

In jouw gezicht uitgeblazen
Het lot tarten
Dat kan best wel
Want ik draag je bij me
Ik draag je bij me

In een wolk van jou
Een wolk van overmoed
Met recht van spreken
En een hervonden schoonheid

Draag ik je bij me
Loop je met me mee
In gedachten vandaag
En morgen en alle dagen
Tot het laatste zuchten

In jouw gezicht uitgeblazen
Het lot tarten
Dat kan best wel
Want ik draag je bij me

Bij me

Ik draag jou
Bij me

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Frank Boeijen's song Draag Ik Je Bij Me are packed with emotional depth and powerful imagery. The opening lines "Geen grotere pijn dan geluk" immediately set the tone for the song. It speaks of the pain that comes with happiness, the bittersweetness that often tinged even the most joyful moments of our lives. The lines "De herinnering aan het gemis, het comfort van het lijden" highlights the idea that sometimes the memory of what we have lost can bring us solace even in our pain.

The next stanza of the song delves into the theme of vulnerability and self-confidence. It suggests that being vulnerable can be a comfortable thing while receiving love and affection can be a painful experience. The metaphor of the snake's skin and the butterfly and caterpillar alludes to the transformative process that takes place between vulnerability and confidence.

The chorus of the song is the most poignant part, where the singer talks about carrying the scent of his beloved with him, whether it be through their perfume or their sheets. He cherishes every moment that he has had with his lover and carries their memory with him through every day. The idea of "In jouw gezicht uitgeblazen, het lot tarten" is particularly striking, where he claims that he can defy fate because his lover's memory is always with him.

Overall, the song speaks to the power of memory and how the past can be a source of comfort even as we move forward. It also touches on the idea of vulnerability and how it can be a catalyst for growth and confidence.

Line by Line Meaning

Geen grotere pijn
There is no greater pain

Dan geluk
Than happiness

De herinnering aan het gemis
The memory of the loss

Het comfort van het lijden
The comfort of suffering

Ontbreken is comfortabel
Absence is comfortable

Ontvangen is pijnlijk
Receiving is painful

Kwetsbaar is vertrouwd
Vulnerability is familiar

Zelfvertrouwen onwennig
Self-confidence is uncomfortable

De huid van de slang
The skin of the snake

De vlinder en de rups
The butterfly and the caterpillar

Eenzaamheid verloren
Loneliness lost