1. Johan is a Dutch … Read Full Bio ↴There are at least three artists called Johan.
1. Johan is a Dutch indie rock band, established in 1990 in the town of Hoorn, The Netherlands, by singer, guitarist and songwriter Jacob de Greeuw, who initially named the group Visions Of Johanna (after the Bob Dylan song of the same name).
The name was changed into Johan in 1996. That same year the band put out their début album, Johan, to overwhelming acclaim from the Dutch music press. The band underwent several personnel changes. De Greeuw soon was the only permanent member. Johan recorded and released three more studio albums of melodic, crafty, Beatle-esque guitar pop with English lyrics that often touched on De Greeuw's personal life. The frontman suffered several bouts of serious clinical depression, the subject of many songs on the Dutch indie classic Pergola (2001) as well as THX JHN (2006). By 2006 De Greeuw had re-located to Amsterdam and formed an Amsterdam-based line-up of the band.
The album 4 (2009) would be thought to be Johan's swan song: the band - to the surprise of many fans - decided to call it a day after a sold-out 'farewell show' at Amsterdam's Paradiso in December 2009. In 2018 they released their 5th studio album Pull Up(2018) All five of Johan's albums (particularly the first three) are regarded as Dutch indie gems, but Johan never made a mark outside of The Netherlands, which is why they are regarded by many (in spite of their domestic success and 'gold' certification for Pergola) as criminally underrated.
Frontman Jacco (or Jacob) de Greeuw is the only permanent Johan member. The first Johan line-up (the 'Hoorn line-up' of 1996) was completed by Remco Krull, Niels de Wit and Wim Kwakman.
The 'Amsterdam line-up' line-up that called it a day in late 2009 consisted of De Greeuw, Maarten Kooijman (guitar, vocals), Diets Dijkstra (guitar, bass guitar, vocals) and Jeroen Kleijn (drums).
De Greeuw's decision to call it quits was perhaps more of a surprise than his decision to re-form the band in 2018 after nine years of absence. The comeback album, Pull Up was regarded by most critics as 'just as good as the first three'. A long string of Dutch festival shows and sold out club gigs followed. The current line-up of Johan is the 'Amsterdam line-up' of 2009, with the exception of guitarist Maarten Kooijman, who penned several songs on 2009's 4. Robin Berlijn (previously in Fatal Flowers, Moke and Kane, amongst others) replaced him.
2. Johan is an American singer and music producer who, until 2010, had never seriously listened to any kind of popular music--he was fully immersed in the world of classical, as an award-winning composer and self-taught pianist. But then Johan was introduced to Kanye West's symphonic 2010 album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, while on acid at a house party in the suburban Massachusetts town where he grew up. Captivated, he immediately began teaching himself how to sing and produce contemporary songs.
In 2016, Johan became the composer for Yeethoven--a concert featuring the music of Kanye West and Beethoven juxtaposed and combined by a 50-piece orchestra. Johan's work soon caught the attention of Mike Dean and No I.D., both of whom he's worked with extensively since then on albums for Travis Scott (Astroworld), Teyana Taylor, Nas, Kanye West, Vic Mensa and others. His contributions on these records range from writing & production, to composing & singing grandiose choral atmospheres to orchestrating symphonic interludes.
Now, Johan is releasing new music of his own, featuring the same vocal and orchestral textures he contributed to these artists. They appear not as background components in his work, but as a central compositional feature--something Kanye West personally encouraged him to consider when working on Teyana Taylor's album.
Johan's songs, which he produces largely himself, explore a feeling of suburban ennui and anxiety about growing up, often viewed through a darkly humorous, self-deprecating lens.
3. Johan is also a Dutch folk/pub singer. His full name is Johan Hengeveld, 'Jij hebt de hemel verdiend' (2009) his best known song.
Time and Time Again
Johan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All of these things
'cause what you see is what you get,
Now can you live with that?
Oh deny, this way
You won't feel the embarrassment.
She said she wanted to
Throw it away, and leave me all alone, she said.
All this crazy shit?
You call it love, call it what you want
No matter how, I can't explain,
She always knew, but couldn't say,
So much for all the efforts made
To make it understood
It's been a while.
And nothing has changed,
It's still the same old silly doubts
I can do without.
Oh, I try
To fall in love,
Try to calm me off
No matter what I do or say,
She's always worried in a way,
Too much of everything it gives to me
To understand
Time and time again, I want to hide myself
Far away from you.
Tell me what to do.
And tell me how to find my way
To work it out, by myself,
Stay away from you,
But can't you see me through?
So you gotta go.
I got to know, I got to feel
The way you feel, the way you think
I need to know, every little thing
About you and me I want to know
How much you mean to me and
Time and time again, I want to hide myself
Far away from you.
Tell me what to do.
Tell me how to find a way
To work it out, all by myself,
And stay away from you
Time and time again, I want to hide myself
Far away from you.
Tell me how to find a way
To work it out, all by myself,
And stay away from you
The lyrics to Johan's song Time and Time Again explores the complex nature of love and relationships. The first stanza seems to be directed at someone who is hesitant to see the reality of a situation, perhaps a relationship. The singer acknowledges that what they see is what they get and asks if the other person will be able to live with that truth. They caution that denying reality won't make things any better and ultimately will be more embarrassing. The second stanza explores the singer's frustration with a partner who seems to understand the situation but cannot articulate their feelings. They express that despite efforts to make things work, things still feel the same with lingering doubts. The singer seems to be seeking answers on how to move forward and express the depth of their feelings but is still struggling to understand.
The chorus of the song speaks to the desire to escape and hide from the situation but acknowledges an inability to stay away. The repetition of the phrase "time and time again" emphasizes the cyclical nature of relationships and the inevitable repetition of patterns. The singer acknowledges their need to work things out but expresses difficulty in doing so when their partner cannot express themselves fully. Overall, the song explores the struggles of communication and understanding within relationships and the desire to escape while acknowledging the difficulty in doing so.
Line by Line Meaning
Just think about
Take a moment to consider
All of these things
All aspects of the situation
'cause what you see is what you get,
The current state is what it is
Now can you live with that?
Are you able to cope with it?
Oh deny, this way
Avoid the awkward outcome
You won't feel the embarrassment.
You'll escape the shame
She said she wanted to
She expressed a desire to
Throw it away, and leave me all alone, she said.
End the relationship and leave me behind
Do you mind if I don't get
Would it bother you if I didn't understand
All this crazy shit?
The confusing situation
You call it love, call it what you want
Name it what you will
No matter how, I can't explain,
Unable to clarify through any means
She always knew, but couldn't say,
She had an intuition but couldn't express it
So much for all the efforts made
All the attempts accomplished very little
To make it understood
To bring clarity to the situation
It's been a while.
A considerable amount of time has passed
And nothing has changed,
The situation remains the same
It's still the same old silly doubts
The doubts are trivial and repetitive
I can do without.
Don't need it
Oh, I try
Attempt to
To fall in love,
Experience romantic feelings
Try to calm me off
Attempt to alleviate anxiety
No matter what I do or say,
Regardless of my actions or words
She's always worried in a way,
She's constantly anxious
Too much of everything it gives to me
Overwhelmed by excess
To understand
Cannot comprehend
Time and time again, I want to hide myself
Regularly feel the desire to withdraw
Far away from you.
Estranged from you
Tell me what to do.
Advise me on how to proceed
And tell me how to find my way
Guide me to a resolution
To work it out, by myself,
To solve the problem on my own
Stay away from you,
Keep my distance from you
But can't you see me through?
But can't you understand my situation?
So you gotta go.
You need to leave
I got to know, I got to feel
I have to comprehend, I have to experience
The way you feel, the way you think
Your emotions, your perspective
I need to know, every little thing
I want to be aware of every detail
About you and me I want to know
Our relationship details intrigue me
How much you mean to me and
The extent of my feelings for you
Tell me how to find a way
Inform me about the course of action
To work it out, all by myself,
Solve the issue on my own
And stay away from you
Avoid interaction with you
Contributed by Sophie K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.