Perhaps most famously, Van Veen was the creator of the Alfred Jodocus Kwak children's animation series of worldwide fame. Van Veen is an ambassador for UNICEF Nederland and a founding member of Colombine, Stichting Alfred Jodocus Kwak, Stichting Roos, and the Herman van Veen Foundation. All of these foundations are active for children's rights. In 2004 he received the World Peace Flame, a symbol of peace, freedom, unity and truth, inspired by the eternal flame, burning at the residence of Mahatma Gandhi. Since 2005 Herman van Veen has been ambassador for the 'Music in the Middle East' foundation.
In the 1960s, Van Veen studied the violin, singing and theory of musical education at Utrecht Conservatory. His career as a recording artist started in 1968. Some of his biggest Dutch hits are Opzij (1979), Hilversum 3 (1984), Anne (1986), Zo vrolijk (1986), Toveren (1987) and Blauwe plekken (1990), but he very rarely performs them live anymore. Most of his theatre concerts focus on recent material, as there always is plenty of it.
Amsterdam's famous Carré theatre is Van Veen's 'second home': he has more than 600 headline Carré shows to his name.
Van Veen lives with his wife Gaetane Bouchez, a female dancer, in Soest, The Netherlands. He has four children from previous mariages.
De Bom Valt Nooit
Herman van Veen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
ik voel me overboord gegooid,
vandaag las ik dit nieuwsbericht:
"De bom valt nooit."
Maar zal de bom echt niet vallen?
Wat moeten we dan met z'n allen?
Zolang een toekomst ons ontbrak
Wij keken met omfloerste blik
nog maar voortdurend naar de grond,
nu is tot onze grote schrik
de hele wereld kerngezond.
Met het nu uit zijn met die kater?
Moeten wij denken over later?
Acht, dat gezeur van "Het heeft geen zin"
daar trapt geen schoolmeester meer in.
Nu keert men heel ons leven om
en brengt paniek in onze tent.
Wij hielden zo van onze bom,
we waren zo aan hem gewend.
On leven is totaal ontwricht
door dit beroerde nieuwsbericht:
"De bom blijft liggen waar hij lig."
De bom blijft liggen waar hij ligt.
The lyrics of Herman van Veen's song "De bom valt nooit" ("The Bomb Never Falls") express the anxiety and confusion felt by the singer and others after reading a news item that claims the bomb will never fall. The singer's life feels completely disrupted and tossed aside by this news. He questions whether the bomb will actually never fall and wonders what will happen to everyone else in that case. He laments that while they were living without a future, they were existing in a comfortable death. They had been staring at the ground in muted resignation, only to find out to their shock that the whole world is healthy with nuclear warheads pointing.
The singer wants to know if they should stop worrying and end their obsession with the idea of nuclear warheads. He questions if they should think about the future now that they have learned that they will live under a seemingly everlasting shadow of suspicion. He argues that there is no longer room for the tired old refrain that "it's all futile" and that it falls on deaf ears. The singer reflects on how their lives have been completely upended, describing it as a "hangover". They mourn the loss of their affection for the bomb, as it had become their familiar companion.
Line by Line Meaning
Mijn leven is totaal ontwricht,
My life is in complete disarray and chaos,
ik voel me overboord gegooid,
I feel like I have been thrown overboard and left to drown,
vandaag las ik dit nieuwsbericht:
Today I read this news article:
"De bom valt nooit."
"The bomb will never fall."
Maar zal de bom echt niet vallen?
But will the bomb truly never fall?
Wat moeten we dan met z'n allen?
What are we supposed to do then as a collective?
Zolang een toekomst ons ontbrak
As long as we lacked a future,
leefden wij dood op ons gemak.
We lived our lives without purpose or meaning.
Wij keken met omfloerste blik
We used to look around with a veiled gaze,
nog maar voortdurend naar de grond,
Constantly staring at the ground,
nu is tot onze grote schrik
Now, to our great horror,
de hele wereld kerngezond.
The whole world appears to be healthy and thriving.
Met het nu uit zijn met die kater?
Is it the end of the hangover now?
Moeten wij denken over later?
Should we start thinking about the future?
Acht, dat gezeur van "Het heeft geen zin"
Oh, that whining about "It's all pointless"
daar trapt geen schoolmeester meer in.
No teacher would fall for that anymore.
Nu keert men heel ons leven om
Now, everything we knew is turned upside down
en brengt paniek in onze tent.
Instilling panic and chaos in our midst.
Wij hielden zo van onze bom,
We had such an affection for our bomb,
we waren zo aan hem gewend.
We were so accustomed to it.
Ons leven is totaal ontwricht
Our lives are in complete disarray
door dit beroerde nieuwsbericht:
Due to this wretched news article:
"De bom blijft liggen waar hij ligt."
"The bomb remains where it is."
Contributed by Jackson W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Gnomelotte Whatsername
De Bom Val Nooit.
Lyrics translation into English.
(With notes)
My life is totally out of wack.
I feel like I've been cast aside (1).
Today I read this announcement in the newspaper:
'The bomb 'll never drop.'
But shall the bomb truly never drop ?
Then what are we going to do ?
So long as a future eluded us (we had no future)
did we live our lives with a deadly calm.
All of us, quite confused
kept staring at the ground.
Now to our biggest shock
the entire world seems to be
healthy to the core. (2)
Must this be the end of this hangover ? (3)
Must we start thinking about later/the future ?
Oh all that whining about “Nothing matters”
no school teacher who will still buy into that excuse.
Now they turn our entire life around.
And there's panic/confusion everywhere. (4)
We loved our bomb so much.
We had goten used to him a lot.
Our life is totally out of wack
because of this terrible news:
“De bomb will be in the exact same spot” (5)
My life is totally out of wack.
I feel like I've been cast aside.
Today I read this announcement in the newspaper:
'The bomb 'll never drop.'
Today I read this announcement in the newspaper:
'The bomb 'll never drop.'
…............
Notes:
1) More correct translation: I feel like I've been thrown overboard.
2) Kerngezond: Healthy to the core. In Dutch a nuclear weapon is called a kernwapen (core weapon because of the nuclei).
3) Kater is the Dutch word for hangover. It is also the Dutch word for a male cat.
4) Translates to 'panic in our joint/hangout'.
5) More correct translation: 'The bomb keeps lying where he lies.'
Birgit Melchior
My life has flipped upside down
I feel totally upheaveled
Today i read this newsreport:
"The bomb will never be dropped"
But will the bomb really never be dropped?
What are we supposed to do now?
As long as we didn't have a future
We lived carefree
We only looked to the ground
With a haze in front of our eyes
But now we find out, to our horror,
that the whole world is totally healthy
Is this hangover now supposed to be over?
Do we have to think now about the future?
Really, this constant "it s all useless"-nagging
will not work any more, not on any teacher
All of our lives have turned upside down
Panic has entered our minds
Cause we so loved our dear bomb,
and we were so used to her
Our lives have totally flipped upside down
Because of this unfortunate newsreport
"The bomb will stay where it has always been"
Gregor Hagedorn
I have created a somewhat poor English translation. Ideas for Improvement are most welcome!
The news has truly shocked me
My knees they are still shaking
I was reading, black on white:
The atom bomb will never fall!
What about the consequences?
The future was so clear!
But now — if we can plan again —
What on this Earth shall we do?
We felt quite nicely menaced
And, God knows, with good reason.
But now this idiot is writing:
The world's as healthy as can be!
Will there be a tomorrow now?
Coming with new sorrows now?
Will we now wander aimlessly
Like a lemming — without a sea?
Folkert Hulzebos
Ik begon dit nummer zomaar uit het niets te zingen op afgelopen vakantie in Oostenrijk. Ik weet nog steeds niet waarom. Maar heel bijzonder lied. Herman is een wijs man.
Bart
Wat een prachtig nummer en zooo mooi gezongen! Dit raakt mij echt in mijn hart
Frank Deruyck
Mooie dagen voorgoed voorbj
Jos van Soest
Prachtig nummer!!
detonations from the EOD gld
Echt een mooie nummer
Evert Kap
De laatste dagen zingt dit nummer door mijn hoofd.
Sandra
Ja wij zijn heel dichtbij nu... ☢☢
Sandra
@hoi woi Europa heeft wel even te kampen met een kleine fallout het is koud hier omdat Rusland de kerncentrale in chernobyl heeft geblokkeerd de boel wordt wel weer gesust
Almuric
Laat maar vallen. Hopen dat het direct afgelopen is. De natuur zal ons dankbaar zijn.
Gnomelotte Whatsername
De Bom Val Nooit.
Lyrics translation into English.
(With notes)
My life is totally out of wack.
I feel like I've been cast aside (1).
Today I read this announcement in the newspaper:
'The bomb 'll never drop.'
But shall the bomb truly never drop ?
Then what are we going to do ?
So long as a future eluded us (we had no future)
did we live our lives with a deadly calm.
All of us, quite confused
kept staring at the ground.
Now to our biggest shock
the entire world seems to be
healthy to the core. (2)
Must this be the end of this hangover ? (3)
Must we start thinking about later/the future ?
Oh all that whining about “Nothing matters”
no school teacher who will still buy into that excuse.
Now they turn our entire life around.
And there's panic/confusion everywhere. (4)
We loved our bomb so much.
We had goten used to him a lot.
Our life is totally out of wack
because of this terrible news:
“De bomb will be in the exact same spot” (5)
My life is totally out of wack.
I feel like I've been cast aside.
Today I read this announcement in the newspaper:
'The bomb 'll never drop.'
Today I read this announcement in the newspaper:
'The bomb 'll never drop.'
…............
Notes:
1) More correct translation: I feel like I've been thrown overboard.
2) Kerngezond: Healthy to the core. In Dutch a nuclear weapon is called a kernwapen (core weapon because of the nuclei).
3) Kater is the Dutch word for hangover. It is also the Dutch word for a male cat.
4) Translates to 'panic in our joint/hangout'.
5) More correct translation: 'The bomb keeps lying where he lies.'