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.
Fantasie
Frank boeijen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Het is niet moeilijk
Altijd schijnt de zon
Gebruik je fantasie
Er is niemand die je ziet
Probeer het in te zien
Want je bent niet ziek
Je hebt geen verdriet
Doe je ogen dicht
In het donker
Schijnt licht
Van deze flat
Maak je een strandbad
De autoweg
Wordt een horizon
En aan de muur
Plak je een palmstrand
En je wordt bruin
Onder de hoogtezon
Gebruik je fantasie
The song "Fantasie" by Frank Boeijen starts with an invitation to use your imagination. The singer invites the listener to see the world in a different light and to use their imagination to change their surroundings. Nothing is impossible with imagination, and even the sun always shines, so the singer says with a hopeful tone. The message of the song is that one should use their fantasy to escape from the reality if it becomes too challenging to handle. The singer assures the listener that there is no need to fear because they are not sick, lost, or grieving. The mind has the power to overcome any obstacle, and imagination is the key.
The rest of the song gives examples of how one can use their imagination to change their surroundings. The flat can become a beach, the road a horizon, and the palm trees can decorate the walls. The high sun can even turn our skin brown, all through imagination. The song encourages listeners to believe in the power of imagination and to use it to change their world for the better.
Overall, the song has a positive, uplifting tone that appeals to the power of imagination to transform our surroundings and our mental state. It reminds us that we are not alone, and we have the power to create our own reality.
Line by Line Meaning
Gebruik je fantasie
Encouragement to use one's imagination and creativity
Het is niet moeilijk
Imagination is easy and accessible
Altijd schijnt de zon
Positive outlook on life; seeing the good in everything
Er is niemand die je ziet
Imagination provides a private, personal escape
Probeer het in te zien
Encouragement to look deeper and understand the power of imagination
Want je bent niet ziek
Reassurance that one is healthy and capable
Je hebt niets verloren
Acknowledgement that one has not lost anything valuable
Je hebt geen verdriet
Acknowledgement that one is not currently experiencing sorrow
Doe je ogen dicht
Instruction to close one's eyes for visualization
In het donker
Setting the scene; providing context for the visualization to come
Schijnt licht
Highlighting the power of imagination to bring light to darkness
Van deze flat
Reference to the environment; acknowledging a less desirable setting
Maak je een strandbad
Instructions for using imagination to transform the environment into a desirable location
De autoweg
Another reference to the environment; acknowledging a common, mundane sight
Wordt een horizon
Instructions for using imagination to transform a mundane sight into something beautiful and expansive
En aan de muur
Another reference to the environment; acknowledging a blank wall
Plak je een palmstrand
Instructions for using imagination to transform the blank wall into a beautiful beach scene
En je wordt bruin
Indication that the power of imagination is so strong, it can create physical sensations
Onder de hoogtezon
Further description of the imagined beach scene and vivid imagination
Contributed by Christian R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.