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.
Perhaps love
Paul de Leeuw Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A shelter from the storm
It exists to give you comfort
It is there to keep you warm
And in those times of trouble
When you are most alone
The memory of love will bring you home
Perhaps an open door
It invites you to come closer
It wants to show you more
And even if you lose yourself
And don't know what to do
The memory of love will see you thrue
Oh love to some is like a cloud
To some as strong as steel
For some a way of living
For some a way to feel
And some say love is holding on
And some say letting go
And some say love is everything
Some say they don't know
Perhaps love is like the ocean
Full of conflict full of change
Like a fire when it's cold outside
Thunder when it rains
If I should live forever
And all my dreams come true
My memories of love will be of you
And some say love is holding on
And some say letting go
And some say love is everything
Some say they don't know
Perhaps love is like the ocean
Full of conflict full of change
Like a fire when it's cold outside
Thunder when it rains
If I should live forever
And all my dreams come true
My memories of love will be of you
The song Perhaps Love by Paul de Leeuw is a heartfelt ballad that explores the various facets of love. The first verse describes love as a resting place, a shelter from the storm, that offers comfort and warmth during difficult times. The second verse compares love to a window or an open door that invites you to come closer and experience more. The third verse offers different perspectives on love - to some it is like a cloud, to some as strong as steel, a way of living, a way to feel, holding on or letting go, everything or simply unknown.
The final verse once again compares love to the ocean - full of conflict and change, like a fire that provides warmth on cold days and thunder that accompanies a rainy day. It concludes with the line "If I should live forever and all my dreams come true, my memories of love will be of you", emphasizing the importance of love in the singer's life.
The song's lyrics and melody evoke a feeling of nostalgia and romanticism, and its message is universal - that love can take on many different forms and means different things to different people, but ultimately it is an integral part of the human experience.
Line by Line Meaning
Perhaps love is like a resting place
Love is a place to rest when everything else is chaotic.
A shelter from the storm
Love protects you from the storms of life.
It exists to give you comfort
Love's reason for existing is to bring you comfort.
It is there to keep you warm
Love exists to keep you warm and safe.
And in those times of trouble
Love is crucial during hard times.
When you are most alone
Love is especially important when you feel lonely.
The memory of love will bring you home
Thinking of love can help guide you back to a safe, comfortable place.
Perhaps love is like a window
Love can be a window to a new, exciting world.
Perhaps an open door
Love is an invitation to explore something new.
It invites you to come closer
Love wants you to come closer to the person or thing you love.
It wants to show you more
Love desires to reveal more about itself to you.
And even if you lose yourself
Love can help you find yourself again.
And don't know what to do
Love can guide you when you feel lost.
The memory of love will see you through
Remembering love can help you persevere through tough times.
Oh love to some is like a cloud
Love is vague and undefined for some people.
To some as strong as steel
Others believe love is as strong as steel.
For some a way of living
Love can be a way of life for some people.
For some a way to feel
Love is simply an emotion for others.
And some say love is holding on
For some people, love is about holding on tightly.
And some say letting go
Others feel that love is more about letting go.
And some say love is everything
To some, love is the most important thing in the world.
Some say they don't know
Not everyone understands or can explain love.
Perhaps love is like the ocean
Love is vast and complex, like the ocean.
Full of conflict full of change
Love can be full of turmoil and uncertainty.
Like a fire when it's cold outside
Love can be a source of warmth and comfort during tough times.
Thunder when it rains
Love can be powerful and intense like thunder during a rainstorm.
If I should live forever
If I were to live forever...
And all my dreams come true
And all of my dreams were to come true...
My memories of love will be of you
I will remember loving you for eternity.
Contributed by Brody C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Monica S
😘