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.
Hoe lang kun je samen
Frank boeijen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Het verlangde geluk
Een roos op een vuilnisbelt
Pas op voor de doorns liefste
Nu niet zichtbaar
Maar straks vloeit er bloed
En dan is het maar de vraag of jouw nieuwe ridder
Een lafaard is met moed
Hoelang kun je samen
Hoelang kun je samen
Niet gelukkig zijn
Laat mij nu de muze dienen
Trouwe dienaar van de godin
Die alleen maar geeft
En niets vraagt in het begin
Misschien vrijwillig
Onze liefde heeft geofferd
Was het dat waard
Het ga je goed
Dat je maar kracht krijgt
En vreugde en begeerte
En die verdomde passie en wijsheid
Hoelang kun je samen
Hoelang kun je samen
Gelukkig zijn
Natuurlijk waren wij op weg
Naar de ondergang
Natuurlijk hebben wij
Onze liefde levend begraven
In alledaagsheid
En die verdomde werkelijkheid
Van iedere dag opstaan
En een jarenlange poging
Een poging tot geluk
Vergeefs, vergeefs, vergeefs
Hoelang kun je samen
Hoelang kun je samen
Gelukkig zijn
Onvoorwaardelijke vriendschap
Die alles overstijgt en overwint
Het ga je goed
Dit is geen afscheid
Dit is geen vaarwel
Het is een begroeting
Een voorbereiding
Van de gedeelde eenzaamheid
De oude ridder scherpt zijn zwaard
Gaat met open vizier
De toekomst tegemoet
De toekomst tegemoet
Hoelang kun je samen
Hoelang kun je samen
Gelukkig zijn
The first verse of the song talks about finding happiness after a long search, but with a warning that it may come with pain. The second verse speaks of the singer serving the muse, and a sacrifice may have been made for love, wishing the best for the listener and for them to find strength and passion in life. The third verse admits to the reality of everyday life, burying love and happiness, and that trying to achieve happiness together may have been futile. The song concludes with a farewell that is not quite a farewell, but rather a preparation for shared loneliness, as the old knight sharpens his sword and faces the future with honesty.
The song appears to be about the struggle of maintaining a long-term relationship and finding happiness while acknowledging the realities and complexities of everyday life. The singer contemplates the worthiness of the sacrifice made for love, as well as the possibility of their not being strong enough to face the future together as partners.
Line by Line Meaning
En nu het gevonden is
Now that it's been found
Het verlangde geluk
The desired happiness
Een roos op een vuilnisbelt
A rose on a garbage dump
Pas op voor de doorns liefste
Beware of the thorns, my love
Nu niet zichtbaar
Not visible now
Maar straks vloeit er bloed
But later there will be bloodshed
En dan is het maar de vraag of jouw nieuwe ridder
And then the question remains whether your new knight
Een lafaard is met moed
Is a coward with courage
Of een held van vlees en bloed
Or a real flesh and blood hero
Hoelang kun je samen
How long can you stay together
Hoelang kun je samen
How long can you stay together
Niet gelukkig zijn
And not be happy
Laat mij nu de muze dienen
Let me serve the muse now
Trouwe dienaar van de godin
Faithful servant of the goddess
Die alleen maar geeft
Who only gives
En niets vraagt in het begin
And asks for nothing in return at first
Misschien vrijwillig
Maybe voluntarily
Onze liefde heeft geofferd
Sacrificed our love
Was het dat waard
Was it worth it
Het ga je goed
May you fare well
Dat je maar kracht krijgt
That you may gain strength
En vreugde en begeerte
And joy and desire
En die verdomde passie en wijsheid
And that damned passion and wisdom
Gelukkig zijn
To be happy
Natuurlijk waren wij op weg
Of course we were on our way
Naar de ondergang
Towards the downfall
Natuurlijk hebben wij
Of course we have
Onze liefde levend begraven
Buried our love alive
In alledaagsheid
In everyday life
En die verdomde werkelijkheid
And that damned reality
Van iedere dag opstaan
Of waking up every day
En een jarenlange poging
And an attempt for years
Een poging tot geluk
An attempt at happiness
Vergeefs, vergeefs, vergeefs
In vain, in vain, in vain
Onvoorwaardelijke vriendschap
Unconditional friendship
Die alles overstijgt en overwint
That transcends and conquers everything
Dit is geen afscheid
This is not a farewell
Dit is geen vaarwel
This is not a goodbye
Het is een begroeting
It is a greeting
Een voorbereiding
A preparation
Van de gedeelde eenzaamheid
Of shared loneliness
De oude ridder scherpt zijn zwaard
The old knight sharpens his sword
Gaat met open vizier
Goes with an open visor
De toekomst tegemoet
Towards the future
Gelukkig zijn
To be happy
Contributed by Austin K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.