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.
Stil In De Stad
Frank boeijen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hoe ik kan ik dit zeggen
Dat morgen
Ik je verlaat
Hoe lopen de mensen
Rechtop op straat
Zonder
Hoe vliegen de vogels
Van hier naar daar
Waarom zeg je geen woord tegen mij
Wat heb ik gedaan
Hoe smaakt het laatste glas
Alleen aan de bar
Iedereen is verdwenen
Het is stil in de stad
Waar ben je bang voor
Hoe ver moet ik gaan
Zo diep
Zo diep in je
Wat zal daar gebeuren
Wat tref je daar aan
In het duister
Van het verleden
En je ziet je moeders mond
Ademen in de kou
En als je heel goed luistert
Zingt ze een lied voor jou
Een lied vol verlangen
Een lied vol met pijn
En jaren later
Zal het stil in de stad zijn
Zal het stil in de stad zijn
Zal het stil in de stad zijn
En nu ben je ouder
Er is niemand meer
Die jij wil vertrouwen
Je dacht dat je alles had
Je was er heel dicht bij
Je vond de verborgen schat
Ergens in de schaduw van mij
Er is maar één weg liefste
Om ooit vrij te zijn
Er is maar één weg liefste
En dat is weg bij mij
The lyrics of Frank Boeijen's song Stil In De Stad speaks of a somber contemplation of life, love, and loss. The first few lines talk about leaving someone behind and the struggle of finding the appropriate words to say goodbye. The following lines describe the world outside, posing a contrast between the straightforward existence of people walking on the street and birds flying from one place to another to the aching silence from someone dear who refuses to speak. The mood then shifts to a melancholic scene of being alone in a noisy bar, a temporary escape from the irrefutable quietness of the city.
The lyrics then ask questions about one's fears and the lengths they have to go to satisfy them. The singer then asks what one can find in the darkness of the past, where memories reside. The last few lines paint a desolate image of someone who is now old, alone, and disillusioned. They thought they had everything while their partner discovered a buried treasure that was hidden in the shadows. The only way to find true freedom is to leave, hence the repetition of the final lines, emphasizing the painful truth and the inevitable end.
Overall, Stil In De Stad is a heartbreaking reflection of two people growing apart and the realization that sometimes, the best way to move on is to accept what has been lost and step away from it.
Line by Line Meaning
Hoe kan ik veranderen
How can I change
Hoe ik kan ik dit zeggen
How can I say this
Dat morgen
That tomorrow
Ik je verlaat
I am leaving you
Hoe lopen de mensen
How do people walk
Rechtop op straat
Upright on the street
Zonder
Without
Om te vallen
Falling
Hoe vliegen de vogels
How do birds fly
Van hier naar daar
From here to there
Waarom zeg je geen woord tegen mij
Why won't you say a word to me
Wat heb ik gedaan
What have I done
Hoe smaakt het laatste glas
How does the last glass taste
Alleen aan de bar
Alone at the bar
Iedereen is verdwenen
Everyone has disappeared
Het is stil in de stad
It's quiet in town
Waar ben je bang voor
What are you afraid of
Hoe ver moet ik gaan
How far must I go
Zo diep
So deep
Zo diep in je
So deep within you
Wat zal daar gebeuren
What will happen there
Wat tref je daar aan
What will you find there
In het duister
In the darkness
Van het verleden
From the past
En je ziet je moeders mond
And you see your mother's mouth
Ademen in de kou
Breathing in the cold
En als je heel goed luistert
And if you listen very carefully
Zingt ze een lied voor jou
She sings a song for you
Een lied vol verlangen
A song full of longing
Een lied vol met pijn
A song full of pain
En jaren later
And years later
Zal het stil in de stad zijn
It will be quiet in town
Zal het stil in de stad zijn
It will be quiet in town
En nu ben je ouder
And now you are older
Er is niemand meer
There is no one left
Die jij wil vertrouwen
That you want to trust
Je dacht dat je alles had
You thought you had everything
Je was er heel dicht bij
You were very close
Je vond de verborgen schat
You found the hidden treasure
Ergens in de schaduw van mij
Somewhere in my shadow
Er is maar één weg liefste
There is only one way, my love
Om ooit vrij te zijn
To ever be free
Er is maar één weg liefste
There is only one way, my love
En dat is weg bij mij
And that is away from me
Contributed by Elizabeth N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.