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.

Lissabon
Frank boeijen Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

En hier komen de harde werkers
Uit grote gaten in de straten
Ze lopen over de pleinen
Onder het standbeeld
Van een dichter of een zeevaarder

Het zal nog even duren
Voordat de eerste zonnestralen

De straten zullen strelen
Om over een paar uren
De kerken en gebouwen
En gevels te geselen

Het is nog vroeg te vroeg te vroeg
Jij ligt vast nog te slapen
Het is te vroeg te vroeg te vroeg
Om uit het zicht te verdwijnen

De bewakers van de openbare orde
Paraderen door de straten
De chauffeurs van het openbaar vervoer
Concentreren zich
Op het meedogenloze verkeer

Het is nog vroeg te vroeg te vroeg
Jij ligt vast nog te slapen
Het is te vroeg te vroeg te vroeg

Het is te vroeg te vroeg te vroeg
Jij ligt vast nog te slapen

Het is te vroeg te vroeg te vroeg
Om uit het zicht te verdwijnen

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Frank Boeijen's song "Lissabon" describe the early morning cityscape of Lisbon. The song begins by describing the hard workers emerging from the large gaps in the streets, walking through the town square where a statue of a poet or seafarer stands. The lyrics suggest that it will take some time before the sunrays will reach the streets and buildings, indicating that it is still early in the morning. The song continues by describing the officers who patrol the streets, and the public transport drivers who navigate the unforgiving traffic.

The second verse repeats the phrase "It is still early, too early, too early", suggesting that the singer's companion is still asleep. The phrase "Too early to disappear from sight" implies that the singer wishes to remain in the moment with their sleeping companion, and not move on to the later part of the day. The lyrics then repeat the description of the workers and the officers, emphasizing the early morning hustle of the city.

The overall mood of the song is serene and contemplative, reflecting the calmness of the early morning hours. The lyrics offer a snapshot of the urban landscape, emphasizing the workers and the officers who keep the city running. The repeated phrase "It is still early, too early, too early" suggests a desire to remain in the moment and appreciate the stillness of the morning.

Line by Line Meaning

En hier komen de harde werkers
People who work hard arrive here

Uit grote gaten in de straten
Emerging from big holes in the streets

Ze lopen over de pleinen
They walk across the squares

Onder het standbeeld
Beneath the statue

Van een dichter of een zeevaarder
Of a poet or a sailor

Het zal nog even duren
It will take a while

Voordat de eerste zonnestralen
Before the first rays of sun

De straten zullen strelen
Caress the streets

Om over een paar uren
In a couple of hours

De kerken en gebouwen
The churches and buildings

En gevels te geselen
Will be lashed