De Leeuw gained national fame in the late eighties and early nineties with television shows for the public broadcasting company VARA. Though satire was only a part of these shows and much of its humour was essentially harmless he came into publicity with satire about Dutch show business personalities who were often ridiculed.
Besides, many obscure musical acts were featured in his shows, many of which managed to gain national fame after they had been in De Leeuw's programme (e.g. Twarres and AIDS suffering singer Rene Klijn). VARA has since continued his shows apart from a few interruptions, often with considerable success.
In the early nineties, Paul de Leeuw also had some shows celebrating the new year. In the 1993-1994 show he ridiculed the new commercial television channel RTL 5 by announcing another new channel, "RTL 6" (RTL six, beter dan niks (at least better than nothing)). This led to a trial by the RTL company, who demanded that De Leeuw withdraw his joke.
He and his partner, Stephan Nuger, have adopted two children: son Kas (adopted in October 2001) and son Tobey (adopted in December 2002).
Paul de Leeuw has had many hit singles in The Netherlands. He is most famous for: Vlieg met me mee (#2), Ik wil niet dat je liegt / Waarheen, waarvoor (#1), and 'k Heb je lief (#3). Since the beginning of his television and singing career he released albums and singles, always becoming a big success.
In 2006, he recorded the song "Mijn Houten Hart" (My Wooden Heart) with Raffaela, which was later released as a single and peaked at #18 in the Dutch Singles Top 100, becoming one of his smallest hits.
Eurovision Song Contest 2006 incident
De Leeuw is, despite being famous for a long time in the Netherlands, best-known internationally for presenting the results of the Dutch televote in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. De Leeuw was supposed to present the televote by simply thanking the presenters, performers and fans, before giving the result but instead the openly gay De Leeuw gave his mobile number to the male presenter Sakis Rouvas live on-air, and made other comments which somewhat lengthened the Dutch results.
De Leeuw also made a reference to gay culture when he remarked that Rouvas and his female co-presenter Maria Menounos reminded him of Will & Grace. As the results were live and required for the contest to continue, De Leeuw could not be cut off until he finished giving the voting results.
De Leeuw's actions resulted in negative comments from the commentators, with the BBC's Terry Wogan calling the act "pathetic" and asking "Who selected this eejit?" during the United Kingdom coverage of the contest. Other commentators, like the Portuguese Eladio Climaco, didn't translate properly the gay remarks and said he was saying that they really look like Greeks. Parts of the dialogue were also shown on the German comedy show TV total.
The dialogue between De Leeuw and Rouvas
Rouvas: Hello Netherlands! Paul...
De Leeuw: Hello Greece, kalisperma everybody! [note that sperma means sperm in many languages, at least both in Dutch and Greek]
Rouvas: Kalispera Paul. [kalispera means 'Good evening', which was supposed to be said]
De Leeuw: You look like Will... [stops, likely due to the cheering of the crowd behind him] You look like Will & Grace, you two. So here are the votes, the Dutch votes. Let's come. [In an extremely high tempo] One, Ukreene (sic), two, Russia, Germany, three, Ireland, four, Greece, five, Lithuania, six, Finland, seven points! [resumes normal tempo]] Now the eight points. Are you ready Chaci, tzatziki, cichaci?
Rouvas: Yes, haha.
De Leeuw: Are you ready? Eight points... I like your blouse... The eight points are for Bosnia-Hoshegovina (sic). Yeah.
Rouvas: Bosnie-Herzegovine, huit points.
De Leeuw: Yes, I say. And the ten points, Zhacki, Zhicka, Chucka, are from (sic) Armenia!
Rouvas: Armenie, dix points.
De Leeuw: Ok, and Chacki, do you have my mobile number now or after twelve points?
Rouvas: Give it to me now. I bet it's 69 69 69. [In Greece, mobile numbers always begin with 69, but the rest of the 69's are a sexual innuendo, since Rouvas did not seem to like Paul's lines.]
De Leeuw: Ok, 00... [interrupted by Rouvas' remark] no no no no no... I'm not the French guy! [Probably refers that Rouvas was once interviewed for a French magazine, in which the interviewer assumed that Rouvas was gay and directed his questions accordingly.] Its 00 31 6 24 74 44 32 10 dial 1. Twelve points goes to, I'm very proud to say, Turkey! Twelve points.
Rouvas: Turquie, douze points.
Afscheid
Paul de Leeuw Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Huil dus om geen andere reden, dan dat je me mist
Als de ster die valt je toe wenkt, ben ik bij je in je hoofd
Elke keer dat je aan mij denkt, dat heb ik toen beloofd
Mag ik die paar laatste dagen, daar zijn waar ook jullie zijn
Samen zal de grens vervagen, tussen waar en schijn
Laat de kinderen er bij zijn, echt bij alles wat gebeurt
Dan is het of wij weer wij zijn en niet zo verscheurd
Deel je tranen en je wonden, niks word uitgewist
Doe alsof 'k er zelf nog bij was, zeg me waar 'k he tliefste hoor
Denk aan hoe je steeds bij mij was, ga zo met me door
Draag me zelf, al kan eht zwaar zijn, laat me dan ook niet alleen
Doe gewoon dan zal het waar zijn, ik blijf om je heen
Ga maar veel en lekker eten, maak geen heilige van mij
Je hoeft geen dingen te vergeten, blijf er altijd bij
Zing mijn liedjes denk aan dagen, dat de zon over ons scheen
Dan is alles te verdragen, ik blijf om je heen
Eigenlijk ben ik heel tevreden, als ik alles samenvat
Alles had een echte reden, 'k heb jullie toch gehad 'k heb jullie toch
Gehad
The lyrics to Paul de Leeuw's song Afscheid (Farewell) are both poignant and reflective. The song is about a person who is approaching the end of their life, and the emotions that surface as they prepare to say goodbye to their loved ones. The singer of the song is at peace with their impending death, having not made too many mistakes in their life. They encourage their loved ones to not cry unless they miss them, and to remember them fondly every time they think of them. The lyric "As the falling star beckons to you, I am in your head" is powerful, as it shows that even though the singer is gone, they will always be a part of their loved ones' thoughts and memories.
The singer also asks to be remembered in certain ways, such as wanting their children to be present at their passing, and wanting their loved ones to sing their songs and remember happy times. They encourage their loved ones to eat, and not to make a saint out of them after they are gone. The overall message of the song is to remind loved ones to keep the memories of the singer alive and to not let their passing be in vain.
Line by Line Meaning
Eigenlijk ben ik wel tevreden, 'k heb me niet zo vaak vergist
I am content with how I've lived my life, without many mistakes.
Huil dus om geen andere reden, dan dat je me mist
Cry only because you miss me, not for any other reason.
Als de ster die valt je toe wenkt, ben ik bij je in je hoofd
When you see a shooting star, remember that I am with you in your thoughts.
Elke keer dat je aan mij denkt, dat heb ik toen beloofd
I promised to always be with you in your memories whenever you think of me.
Mag ik die paar laatste dagen, daar zijn waar ook jullie zijn
Allow me to spend my final days with you, wherever you may be.
Samen zal de grens vervagen, tussen waar en schijn
Our time together will blur the line between what is real and what is not.
Laat de kinderen er bij zijn, echt bij alles wat gebeurt
Let the children be a part of everything that happens, so we can feel like a family again.
Dan is het of wij weer wij zijn en niet zo verscheurd
This will bring us back together as a united family, instead of being torn apart by grief.
Kom gerust met alle honden, schilder bloemen op mijn kist
Feel free to bring all the dogs, paint flowers on my coffin.
Deel je tranen en je wonden, niks word uitgewist
Share your tears and pain, nothing will be erased or forgotten.
Doe alsof 'k er zelf nog bij was, zeg me waar 'k het liefste hoor
Act as though I am still present, tell me where I would want to be.
Denk aan hoe je steeds bij mij was, ga zo met me door
Remember the moments when we were together, let that guide you as you move forward without me.
Draag me zelf, al kan het zwaar zijn, laat me dan ook niet alleen
Carry me with you, even if it's difficult, don't leave me alone.
Doe gewoon dan zal het waar zijn, ik blijf om je heen
Act naturally and it will feel real, I will always be near you.
Ga maar veel en lekker eten, maak geen heilige van mij
Go and eat delicious food, don't make me into a saint.
Je hoeft geen dingen te vergeten, blijf er altijd bij
You don't have to forget anything, just stay present.
Zing mijn liedjes denk aan dagen, dat de zon over ons scheen
Sing my songs, remember the days when the sun was shining on us.
Dan is alles te verdragen, ik blijf om je heen
With these memories, anything can be endured, and I will always be close to you.
Eigenlijk ben ik heel tevreden, als ik alles samenvat
All in all, I am content with my life.
Alles had een echte reden, 'k heb jullie toch gehad 'k heb jullie toch gehad
Everything had a true purpose, and I had you all in my life.
Contributed by Annabelle V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Marijke Van Es
Lied gespeeld bij de begrafenis van mijn broer. Erg mooi, luister het nu voor de eerste keer weer en mijn broer is al 10 jaar weg. Mis hem nog elke dag
Marcel Versteeg
Dat kan ik me heel goed voorstellen...Take care!
Henny Rienstra
Prachtig lied, 21 jaar geleden bij de crematie van mijn moeder gespeeld en ik wil.ook graag dat ze het bij mijn crematie zullen laten spelen ..
bas de groot
22 jaar geleden op de crematie van me moeder gedraait lied maak me nog steeds emotioneel
hollandseindo
Ik vind dit liedje echt super mooi, en luister hem super vaak. een vriendin van me word een beetje gek van me! haha
Barbara
Dag lieve papa, je had de songtekst geprint en het laatste couplet dik gedrukt! Dáár ging het je om ;-)
Ada de Graaf
Voor Hans <3, ook een fan van Paul <3
Miss PETER
Traurig aber schön
lowie kuipers
lied nr 3
Ria Schippers
0