Paul de Leeuw (born March 26, 1962 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch television come… Read Full Bio ↴Paul de Leeuw (born March 26, 1962 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch television comedian, singer and actor.

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.

Blijf
Paul de Leeuw Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

M'n blik dwaalt af
Ik denk aan jou
Ik heb je al zo vaak gezien in mijn droom

Ik vraag me af
Waar ben je nou
Als jij eens wist wat ik je zeggen wou

Blijf bij mij blijf bij mij
Na zoveel goeds kan ik je niet meer laten gaan
Blijf bij mij blijf bij mij
Een mooier lot bestaat niet
Dus ik vraag je blijf bij mij

Je zoekt me op
Keer op keer
Langzaam aan geef jij je over
Meer en meer

Je blik dwaalt af
Je denkt aan mij
De buitenwereld heeft altijd gezegd dat wij
Bij elkaar horen als de zon en de maan
Maar nu jij hier bent en nu ik hier ben
Lijkt de wereld stil te staan

Blijf bij mij blijf bij mij
Na zoveel goeds kan ik je niet meer laten gaan
Blijf bij mij blijf bij mij
Een mooier lot bestaat niet
Dus ik vraag jeblijf bij mij

Zijn er fraaie woorden voor
Dan komen ze niet gauw
Alles wat ik zeggen kan
Ik hou van jou

Blijf bij mijblijf bij mij
Na zoveel goeds kan ik je niet meer laten gaan
Blijf bij mijblijf bij mij
Een mooier lot bestaat niet

Dus ik vraag je alstjeblieft
Blijf bij mij

Overall Meaning

These lyrics depict a deep longing for someone to stay with the singer. The first verse sets the scene of the singer's daydreams about this person, someone who they have seen often in their dreams. The singer wonders where this person is in reality and wishes they could convey their feelings.

The chorus expresses the singer's desperate plea to the person to stay with them. After experiencing so much goodness and joy together, the singer finds it impossible to let go. They believe that an even better fate awaits them if they stay together, hence the plea to remain by their side.

The second verse reveals that the person sought the singer out repeatedly and gradually surrendered themselves more and more to the connection between them. The singer notices the person's thoughts wandering towards them, and despite any outside opinions suggesting they are not meant to be, the singer feels a strong sense of belonging and it seems like the world stops when they are together.

The final verse highlights the difficulty in finding adequate words to express their emotions. The singer confesses their love, and again pleads for the person to stay with them. They believe that after experiencing so much goodness together, letting go is no longer an option. The singer sees no greater fate than the one they could have if the person stays with them. The repetition of the request to stay emphasizes the importance and urgency of their plea.

Overall, these lyrics convey a deep desire for companionship and a strong emotional connection. The singer believes their bond is undeniable, and they desperately want the person to stay with them, as they see no greater destiny than that.

Line by Line Meaning

M'n blik dwaalt af
My gaze wanders

Ik denk aan jou
I think about you

Ik heb je al zo vaak gezien in mijn droom
I have seen you so many times in my dream

Ik vraag me af
I wonder

Waar ben je nou
Where are you now

Als jij eens wist wat ik je zeggen wou
If only you knew what I wanted to tell you

Blijf bij mij blijf bij mij
Stay with me, stay with me

Na zoveel goeds kan ik je niet meer laten gaan
After so much good, I can't let you go

Een mooier lot bestaat niet
There is no better fate

Dus ik vraag je blijf bij mij
So I ask you, stay with me

Je zoekt me op
You seek me out