After Beri-Beri, Jan spends a few years singing in theaters until 1986, when he meets singer Paul Michiels in a café in Heist-op-den-Berg (Jan, for his part, is a native of Wilrijk. Together, they record a single, "You Get to Me," which goes over well for Guy Brulez, an executive for EMI in Belgium. Brulez persuades the two to pursue a duo, and they do so under the name the Soul Sisters. They also record "Talk About It" and "Like a Mountain." In 1988, the group, now under the name SoulSister, releases their debut album, It Takes Two, which goes big with the hit single "The Way to Your Heart." It becomes a hit in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and even makes its way onto U.S. hit charts.
In 1990, SoulSister changes its moniker to Leyers, Michiels, and SoulSister for a while, but then reverts back to SoulSister. They release three more studio albums: Heat, Simple Rule, and Swinging Like Big Dogs (which Jan co-produced with Joey Balin, an EMI executive). In between, Jan pursues solo songwriting endeavours.
In 1997, SoulSister has officially dissolved with the release of a "Very Best Of" compilation album. Jan Leyers, now on a solo track, teams up with Filip Cauwelier and Joost Van den Broek to form the group My Velma. SoulSister had performed melodic pop, but My Velma (which takes its name from Velma, the girlfriend of a mob boss in the Raymond Chandler book Farewell, My Lovely) did harder rock, a much different form of music than was pursued by SoulSister. The group started off with two test singles: "Running a Bath" and "Shower of Love." In October 1997, the group recorded Exposed, and it was released in June 1998 by Mercury Records of the Netherlands.
In 2000, Jan scored a big hit in Belgium with the single "Only Your Love Will Do," which was featured in the soundtrack for the Jan Verheyen film Team Spirit. Ironically, there was also a hit on the soundtrack by his old SoulSister buddy Paul Michiels, and the following year he worked with Michiels on his Forever Young cover album. However, My Velma ultimately met its demise, and the group broke up at around the same time. Throughout these endeavors, he remains a music producer and also writes film music.
In 2003, Jan first tried his hand at solo work with the album Jan Leyers, which became popular with the hits "Crash and Burn" and "Don't Make Me Miss You." It also featured his hit from 2000, "Only Your Love Will Do."
On January 1, 2005, Jan released the single "The Long Road," and soon afterwards begins his 2005 tour in Belgium. Later that year, he releases the singles "Rolling On" and "Break My Heart." In September, he released In the Virgin Dark, which features these three singles along with "This One" and "The Remedy." "This One" is featured in the Jan Verheyen movie Buitenspel (Off-side).
In the fall of 2006, he released Songbook: 1996-2006, a compilation of his work with My Velma and his solo work.
Worlds Apart
Jan Leyers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Every word I used to bend
Every piece of myself crumbling
Through the cracks I didn't mend
Even if I tried twice as hard
I could not live up to you, not by far
And if I were to give all I got
Every fall and indiscretion
That I never meant to make
All the vows, all the promises
That I never meant to break
Even if I tried twice as hard
I could not live up to you, not by far
And if I were to give all I got
I could never unify worlds apart
Two worlds apart
Two worlds apart
Every fall and indiscretion
That I never meant to make
All the vows, all the promises
That I never meant to break
Even if I tried twice as hard
I could not live up to you, not by far
And if I were to give all I got
I could never unify worlds apart
Two worlds apart
Two worlds apart
I could not live up to you, not by far
Even if I gave you all I got
I could never realign the stars
In "Worlds Apart," Jan Leyers reflects on his own shortcomings in a relationship that has fallen apart. As he sings about lines of insincerity, words he bent to suit his purposes, and the pieces of himself that crumbled over time, he acknowledges that he has not done enough to keep his partner happy. He also wrestles with the idea of trying harder; even if he doubled his efforts, he knows he could never reach the expectations set by his partner. Ultimately, Leyers recognizes that he and his partner come from two different worlds, and no matter how much he may love her, he cannot realign the stars to make their relationship work.
The song is poignant in its exploration of the mistakes and misunderstandings that can doom a relationship, even when both partners care deeply for each other. But it also speaks to the limitations of love and effort; sometimes, no matter how much we want something to work, it simply can't.
Line by Line Meaning
Every line of insincerity
All of my words that lacked genuineness
Every word I used to bend
All the times I twisted my words to suit my own agenda
Every piece of myself crumbling
The parts of me that are weakening and falling apart
Through the cracks I didn't mend
Due to my negligence, the problems I had have only worsened
Every fall and indiscretion
All of the mistakes and errors I have made
That I never meant to make
Actions that were unintentional
All the vows, all the promises
The commitments and oaths I have made
That I never meant to break
Those commitments and oaths that I failed to honor unintentionally
Even if I tried twice as hard
Even with maximum effort
I could not live up to you, not by far
I could never match up to your standards, not even close
And if I were to give all I got
Even if I gave my absolute best
I could never unify worlds apart
I could never bring together things that are fundamentally different or incompatible
Two worlds apart
Things that are entirely different and separate
I could not live up to you, not by far
I could never match up to your standards, not even close
Even if I gave you all I got
Even if I gave it my all
I could never realign the stars
I could never change or alter things that are beyond my control
Contributed by Caden K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
yordiifym
Prachtige muziek, luister hier al jaren naar. En laat Team Spirit inderdaad maar terug komen!
Driezynater
team spirit moet gewoon terug komen (:
cisse115
team spirit is een prachtige film echt super ledje ook
Jan Smekens
geweldig nummer! zelf vond ik Team Spirit II niet zo goed. Team Spirit I is voor mij nog steeds de beste! Team Spirit De Serie vond ik niet zo goed. Team Spirit II eigenlijk ook niet. Team Spirit De Serie II vond ik nog wel de moeite.