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.
Onschuld
Frank boeijen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Aan die tijd waarin alles kon
Toen de wereld nog verdeeld was
In Oost en West
Het was zo duidelijk wie goed was
En zo duidelijk wie slecht
Maar nu de waarheid aan het licht komt
Er bestaat geen goed of slecht
Dan weet ik wat het is
Dan dringt het tot me door
Het is niet de wereld
Maar ik die de onschuld verloor
Wanneer kwam dat moment
Wanneer vond dat plaats
Wanneer ben ik onderweg
De onschuld kwijtgeraakt
Ik geloofde in waarheid
Ik geloofde in heldendom
En ik geloofde in vriendschap
En dacht dat eerlijkheid bestond
Maar natuurlijk ik leefde in dromen
Ik wou dat ik dat nog kon
Soms heel even als ik naar jou kijk
Zie ik dat het ooit bestond
Dan weet ik wat het is
Dan dringt het tot me door
Het zij niet de anderen
Maar ik die de onschuld verloor
Wanneer kwam dat moment
Wanneer vond dat plaats
Wanneer ben ik onderweg
De onschuld kwijtgeraakt
Was het de mislukking na een succes
Of het verraad van een goede vriend
Waren het de nachten van slapeloosheid
Na de dag dat jij mij verliet
Was het de vlucht in roekeloosheid
En in alles wat verboden is
Nee het was de aanblik op die morgen
In de spiegel mijn gezicht
Toen wist ik wat het was
Toen drong het tot me door
Dat ik door de jaren heen
Zo onschuldig ben geweest
Zolang bleek ik een kind
En het komt nog vaak terug
Maar over het algemeen
Verliest de onschuld haar geduld
Toen op dat moment
Was er geen weg terug
Want door de jaren heen
Verandert onschuld in schuld
The lyrics of Frank Boeijen's song "Onschuld" reflect on the loss of innocence and the loss of belief in truth and justice. The song starts with Boeijen reminiscing about the time when the world was divided into East and West, and it was easy to determine who was good and who was bad. However, as the truth about the world and people's intentions starts coming to light, Boeijen realizes that there is no absolute good or bad. It is him who lost his innocence and his belief in the world.
Boeijen then speaks about his belief in truth, heroism, friendship, and honesty. He admits that he lived in dreams, and he wishes to go back to that time. Boeijen questions when and how he lost his innocence. He thinks about the times of failure, betrayal, and uncertainty in his life, but he realizes that it was him who lost his innocence when he looked at his own reflection in the mirror.
Through the lyrics, Boeijen tries to come to terms with the fact that innocence is lost over time, and once lost, there is no going back. He is aware that throughout his life, he has been naïve, but he also understands that innocence is not sustainable in the real world.
Line by Line Meaning
Ik denk aan die tijd van idealen
I reminisce about the time when ideals existed
Aan die tijd waarin alles kon
The time when anything seemed possible
Toen de wereld nog verdeeld was
When the world was split into East and West
In Oost en West
Divided between two ideologies
Het was zo duidelijk wie goed was
It was clear who was right
En zo duidelijk wie slecht
And who was wrong
Maar nu de waarheid aan het licht komt
But now that truth is being revealed
Er bestaat geen goed of slecht
There is no definite right or wrong
Dan weet ik wat het is
Then I know what it is
Dan dringt het tot me door
Then it hits me
Het is niet de wereld
It's not the world
Maar ik die de onschuld verloor
But I who lost my innocence
Wanneer kwam dat moment
When did that moment come?
Wanneer vond dat plaats
When did it happen?
Wanneer ben ik onderweg
When did I lose my way?
De onschuld kwijtgeraakt
Lost my innocence
Ik geloofde in waarheid
I believed in truth
Ik geloofde in heldendom
I believed in heroism
En ik geloofde in vriendschap
And I believed in friendship
En dacht dat eerlijkheid bestond
And thought that honesty existed
Maar natuurlijk ik leefde in dromen
But of course, I was living in dreams
Ik wou dat ik dat nog kon
I wish I could still do that
Soms heel even als ik naar jou kijk
Sometimes, just for a moment when I look at you
Zie ik dat het ooit bestond
I see that it once existed
Was het de mislukking na een succes
Was it failure after a success?
Of het verraad van een goede vriend
Or the betrayal of a good friend?
Waren het de nachten van slapeloosheid
Were they the sleepless nights?
Na de dag dat jij mij verliet
After the day you left me?
Was het de vlucht in roekeloosheid
Was it the escape into recklessness?
En in alles wat verboden is
And everything that was forbidden?
Nee het was de aanblik op die morgen
No, it was the look in the mirror that morning
In de spiegel mijn gezicht
Seeing my face in the mirror
Toen wist ik wat het was
That was when I knew what it was
Toen drong het tot me door
That was when it hit me
Dat ik door de jaren heen
That over the years
Zo onschuldig ben geweest
I have been so innocent
Zolang bleek ik een kind
For so long, I was a child
En het komt nog vaak terug
And it still comes back often
Maar over het algemeen
But overall
Verliest de onschuld haar geduld
Innocence loses its patience
Toen op dat moment
At that moment
Was er geen weg terug
There was no turning back
Want door de jaren heen
Because over the years
Verandert onschuld in schuld
Innocence turns into guilt
Contributed by Nathan V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.