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.
Zonder jou
Frank boeijen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Maar ik kan niet zonder jou
Soms wou ik dat ik alles kon
Maar ik kan niet zonder jou
In verloren uren
Als ik gelukkig ben
Of sta voor hete vuren
In een onbekende stad
Ik verlangde dat
Ik je zomaar tegenkwam
Dat ik je weer zag
Je weet ik ben tot alles in staat
Maar ik kan niet zonder jou
Ik zou nog wel veel verder willen gaan
Maar ik kan niet zonder jou
In de mooie uren
Als ik verdrietig ben
Of sta voor hete vuren
Of vraag naar de weg
In een onbekende stad
Ik verlangde dat
Ik je zomaar tegenkwam
Dat ik je weer zag
In een rivier schijnt de maan
In dit geheimzinnige land
En de muziek die ik hoor
Die lijkt wel van jouw hand
Of is het mijn verbeelding misschien
Maar voor mij
Ben je nu hier
Want ik kan je nu zien
In Frank Boeijen's song Zonder jou, the singer expresses his feeling of incompleteness in the absence of someone very special. He talks about how he never thought it would be possible to feel this way about anyone, but now he cannot imagine his life without that person. He admits that he wishes he had the power to do everything on his own but the truth is that he is helpless without her. Whether he is happy or in distress, whether he is standing in front of fiery obstacles or is asking for directions in unfamiliar territories, he always thinks of her. He longs for the moments when he could meet her again or see her. The song speaks of the intense dependence that a person can have on someone else, and how they can be the center of their existences.
The song's reflective tone is emphasized by the third verse, where the singer talks about the moon shining in a river, in a mysterious land, and how the music he hears seems like it is from her. He wonders if it's all in his head, or if she is really there. The song ends with the poignant confession that he can see her.
In summary, the song Zonder jou is a heartfelt expression of the singer's deep attachment to someone and his dependency on her.
Line by Line Meaning
Nooit gedacht dat het mogelijk was
I never thought it was possible
Maar ik kan niet zonder jou
But I cannot be without you
Soms wou ik dat ik alles kon
Sometimes I wished I could do everything
In verloren uren
In my lost hours
Als ik gelukkig ben
When I am happy
Of sta voor hete vuren
Or facing hot fires
Of vraag naar de weg
Or asking for directions
In een onbekende stad
In an unknown city
Ik verlangde dat
I longed for
Ik je zomaar tegenkwam
To randomly run into you
Dat ik je weer zag
To see you again
Je weet ik ben tot alles in staat
You know I am capable of anything
Maar ik kan niet zonder jou
But I cannot be without you
Ik zou nog wel veel verder willen gaan
I would still like to go much further
In de mooie uren
In my beautiful hours
Als ik verdrietig ben
When I am sad
Of sta voor hete vuren
Or facing hot fires
Of vraag naar de weg
Or asking for directions
In een onbekende stad
In an unknown city
In een rivier schijnt de maan
In a river the moon shines
In dit geheimzinnige land
In this mysterious land
En de muziek die ik hoor
And the music I hear
Die lijkt wel van jouw hand
Seems to be from your hand
Of is het mijn verbeelding misschien
Or maybe it's my imagination
Maar voor mij
But for me
Ben je nu hier
You are here now
Want ik kan je nu zien
Because I can see you now
Contributed by Adrian I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.