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.
Kom In Mijn Armen
Paul de Leeuw Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Jij die diep in zich verborgen houdt
Veilig op slot zodat niemand het weet
En wie niks doet is zeker dat hij niks verborgen houdt
Dat hij de weg naar de vrijheid vergeet
Kom in me armen
Kom in me armen
Kom in me armen
Angst waar het schip strandt
Is echt iets wat niet nodig is
Weet je we zien wel of dat ooit gebeurd
We gaan weg zonder balast
En al wat overbodig is
Onder de zon die de dagen weer kleurt
Kom in me armen
Kom in me armen
Kom in me armen
Kom twijfel niet meer
Laat je maar gaan
En we zien wel wat er komen gaat
Pak elke kans die het leven je schenkt
Staar je nu niet meer blind
Op de veiligheid van middelmaat
Durven is veel minder eng dan je denkt
Hmmm
Kom in me armen
Kom in me armen
Kom in me armen
Kom twijfel niet meer
Kom in me armen
Kom in me armen
Kom in me armen
Kom twijfel niet meer
Veel te benauwd
Om te weten hoe je groeien kan
Ramen en deuren, uit veiligheid dicht
Kom eruit en laat zien, hoe je zonder angst weer bloeien kan
Kom met me mee en dans in het licht
Doe een stap, en dan nog 1
En voor je het weet dan weet je het weer
Dans me naar morgen en twijfel niet meer
Kom en twijfel niet meer
The lyrics to Paul de Leeuw's song "Kom In Mijn Armen" talk about fear, hiding it within oneself, and the importance of breaking free from it. It suggests that everyone has fears they keep hidden deep inside, safely locked away so that no one knows. However, by doing nothing, one ensures that these fears remain hidden and forgets the path to freedom.
The song encourages the listener to come into the singer's arms, not to hesitate anymore, and not to doubt. It emphasizes that fear is unnecessary and that the shipwreck caused by fear is something that can be avoided. The lyrics suggest that it's better to leave without unnecessary baggage and anything that hinders progress. Instead, the singer invites the listener to come into their arms and leave their doubts behind.
The song encourages taking chances and embracing the opportunities life offers. It advises against being consumed by the safety of mediocrity and highlights that courage is less scary than one might think. The lyrics encourage the listener to let go, see what the future holds, and grasp every chance that life presents. By stepping out of the safety zone and dancing in the light, one can grow and bloom without fear.
Line by Line Meaning
Ieder heeft angst
Everyone has fear
Jij die diep in zich verborgen houdt
You who keeps it deeply hidden within
Veilig op slot zodat niemand het weet
Safely locked so no one knows
En wie niks doet is zeker dat hij niks verborgen houdt
And those who do nothing are certain they hide nothing
Dat hij de weg naar de vrijheid vergeet
That he forgets the path to freedom
Kom in me armen
Come into my arms
Kom twijfel niet meer
Come without hesitation anymore
Angst waar het schip strandt
Fear where the ship ends up stranded
Is echt iets wat niet nodig is
Is truly something that is not necessary
Weet je we zien wel of dat ooit gebeurd
You know, we'll see if that ever happens
We gaan weg zonder balast
We'll leave without baggage
En al wat overbodig is
And all that is unnecessary
Onder de zon die de dagen weer kleurt
Under the sun that colors the days again
Laat je maar gaan
Just let yourself go
En we zien wel wat er komen gaat
And we'll see what the future brings
Pak elke kans die het leven je schenkt
Seize every opportunity that life presents to you
Staar je nu niet meer blind
Don't blind yourself anymore
Op de veiligheid van middelmaat
On the safety of mediocrity
Durven is veel minder eng dan je denkt
Being daring is much less scary than you think
Kom in me armen
Come into my arms
Kom in me armen
Come into my arms
Veel te benauwd
Much too stifling
Om te weten hoe je groeien kan
To know how you can grow
Ramen en deuren, uit veiligheid dicht
Windows and doors closed for safety
Kom eruit en laat zien, hoe je zonder angst weer bloeien kan
Come out and show how you can bloom again without fear
Kom met me mee en dans in het licht
Come with me and dance in the light
Doe een stap, en dan nog 1
Take a step, and then another one
En voor je het weet dan weet je het weer
And before you know it, you'll know it again
Dans me naar morgen en twijfel niet meer
Dance with me towards tomorrow and don't doubt anymore
Kom en twijfel niet meer
Come and don't doubt anymore
Contributed by Owen O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.