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.

Tranen Van Geluk
Paul de Leeuw Lyrics

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Deze wereld is zo prachtig
Hij ontroerd me elke dag
In mijn hart en mijn gedachten
Zit verdriet maar ook een lach
Genieten van het leven
Van ieder jaargetij
Proeven van de liefde
En vrienden aan mijn zij

Soms is er wel
Wat tegenslag
Maar ik weet er komt altijd een nieuwe dag

Iedere morgen
Er voor gaan
Ook al sta ik soms alleen
Ik sla mijn armen om de wereld heen
Dus maak je geen zorgen om mijn tranen
Want ik kan echt niet meer stuk
En mijn tranen zijn de tranen van geluk

Het allermooiste liedje
Over film of schilderij
De dingen die me raken
Maken mijn gedachten vrij
De mensen en hun warmte
Elke vriendschap die ik sluit
De natuur en haar betovering
Zit diep onder mijn huid

Ik heb nooit echt
Zo erg geloofd
En op een dag heb ik mezelf beloofd

Iedere morgen
Er voor gaan
Ook al sta ik soms alleen
Ik sla mijn armen om de wereld heen
Dus maak je geen zorgen om mijn tranen
Want ik kan echt niet meer stuk
En mijn tranen zijn de tranen van geluk

Alle sterren aan de hemel
Er straalt er 1 voor ieder mens
Een heel gelukkig leven
Dat is wat ik wens

Iedere morgen
Er voor gaan
Ook al sta ik soms alleen
Ik sla mijn armen om de wereld heen
Dus maak je geen zorgen om mijn tranen
Want ik kan echt niet meer stuk
Ja mijn tranen zijn de tranen van geluk

Mijn tranen zijn de tranen van geluk

Overall Meaning

In Paul de Leeuw's song "Tranen Van Geluk" ("Tears of Happiness" in English), the lyrics describe the bittersweet nature of life. While the world around us can be beautiful and enchanting, there is also sorrow and pain that we must endure. The singer acknowledges that they experience both sadness and joy in their heart and thoughts, but they choose to enjoy and cherish life anyway. They make mention of the simple pleasures in life such as enjoying each season, tasting love, and cultivating friendships. The singer believes that every morning is a new opportunity to persevere, despite the challenges that may come their way. They wrap their arms around the world and accept both the good and bad experiences that come with it. They reassure others not to worry about their tears, which are in fact tears of joy, and express their wish for everyone to lead a happy life.

The song's message is quite uplifting, as it encourages listeners to embrace life and all its ups and downs. It suggests that one can find joy and happiness in the midst of pain and suffering, and that there is always hope for a new day. The lyrics remind us to appreciate the world around us and to surround ourselves with love and friendship, which can offer comfort during tough times.

Tranen Van GelukPaul de Leeuw Lyrics

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Tranen Van Geluk
Paul de Leeuw Lyrics