Many of the lyrics are sketches of provincial everyday life: a young bird falling from its nest, a famous person in the village, a local funeral, scenes from the local pub or just waking up with a hangover.
Established in 1985, the band called themselves The Legendary Texas Four until Jack Poels joined as the new frontman. He joined on the condition that he wanted to add at least one song in the Limburg dialect to the band's repertoire. The other members agreed. Rowwen Hèze was born.
Rowwen Hèze translates loosely as 'Rough Hesen' and was the nickname of a notorious character from the village, Christiaan Hesen (1853-1947). Under this new name, the band started covering songs from Thin Lizzy. The band also wrote Dutch party songs for the annual carnival in the southern Netherlands.
The band saw two members leave in the early years. Mart Deckers (drums) and Geert Hermkes (accordeon) left the band. The line-up that was formed in 1991 is still intact today and has been unchanged for 29 years and counting.
- Jack Poels (lead singer, guitar)
- Tren van Enckevort (accordeon, piano, trombone)
- Jan Philipsen (bass)
- Theo Joosten (guitar, mandoline, tin whistle, percussion)
- Jack Haegens (trumpet, trombone, percussion)
The band's 1992 performance at Limburg's Pinkpop Festival was a breakthru moment. The band's set was shown live on Dutch television. At the time, the band had four studio albums under its belt: Rowwen Hèze (1987), Blieve loepe (1990), Boem (1991) and the live album, In de weiIn De Wei (1992). Their party anthem, Bestel mar (1992) hit #13 in the Dutch Top 40, still their highest charting single.
This pattern of three studio LPs and a live album repeated itself in the 1990s: Station America (1993), Zondag in het Zuiden (1995) and Water, lucht en liefde were followed by a 1999 live album entitled 't Beste van 2 werelden (1999), this time a recording of Rowwen Hèze semi-acoustic theatre incarnation.
The steady stream of albums continued in the 21st century.
Studio albums
Vandaag (2000)
Dageraad (2003)
Rodus & Lucius (2006)
Zilver (2010)
Manne van staal (2011)
Geal (2012)
Hemel op aarde: De liedjes (2013)
Vur altied: Ballades & Beer (2016)
De liefde, de muziek, de herinnering (2017)
Voorwaartsch (2019)
Onderaan beginne(2021)
Live albums:
D.A.D.P.G.S. (2003)
Andere wind (2004)
Saus (2008)
Wear of gen wear: Slotconcert 2019 (2019)
Compilation album:
Kilomeaters: 't beste van 20 joar Rowwen Hèze (2005)
Official site: www.rowwenheze.nl
't Roeie Klied
Rowwen Hèze Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Break ik bijna miene nek
Oh moeie daag 'k wos ni wat ik zaag
'T Is raar, hiel raar, ze vroog meej hoe 't ging
Ik haalde alles dor elkaar
'T Is woar, echt woa, 36 joar
Ik zo alt en zeej zo jong
Zeej kwaam op de fiets vurbeej
En lachte teage meej
Dat roeie klied di roeie mond
Ik stong vastgenaageld an de grond
Ik kleurde langzaam in de zon
De lente di begon
Jodele hietie
Verrek, da's gek, ik staj in de regel
Ni met enne volle bek
Enne mond zo groet geluid kwaam d'r ni oet
Mar hou, wat nou, zonne moeie daag
Keumt vurleupig ni mier gauw
'T Is woar, echt woar, mar iene kier per joar
'N Joar doarnoa zaag ik eur terug
Mar ze fietste vuls te vlug
Ze haj 'r roeie klied neet aan
Liefde van de baan
The Dutch song 't Roeie Klied by Rowwen Hèze is about the unexpected encounter between two people, who have a significant age difference, and the overwhelming feeling of love that one of them experiences. The singer is walking outside when he sees a young woman in a red dress ride past him on her bicycle. He is instantly attracted to her and feels captivated by her beauty. He is surprised by the intensity of his reaction and realizes that he is in love with her. The man is amazed that, at the age of 36, he is still capable of falling in love like a young man.
He sees her again a year later, but she is not wearing her red dress and she bikes past him too quickly for him to catch her. The love he felt for her is gone, and the singer realizes that he has missed his chance with her.
The song has a nostalgic tone, evoking memories of youth and lost love. It celebrates the power of love and the excitement and vitality it can bring to one's life, regardless of age. The red dress is a symbol of youth, passion, and vitality, and the song suggests that love can bring new meaning and joy to one's life, even when unexpected.
Line by Line Meaning
Verrek, ik wear gek, loep ik heer nar boete
Wow, I must be going crazy, walking out here like this
Break ik bijna miene nek
I nearly broke my neck
Oh moeie daag 'k wos ni wat ik zaag
Oh beautiful day, I didn't know what I saw
'T Is raar, hiel raar, ze vroog meej hoe 't ging
It's strange, very strange, she asked me how I was doing
Ik haalde alles dor elkaar
I got everything mixed up
'T Is woar, echt woa, 36 joar
It's true, really true, 36 years
Ik wos neet dat dat nog bestong
I didn't know that still existed
Ik zo alt en zeej zo jong
I am so old and she is so young
Zeej kwaam op de fiets vurbeej
She came by on her bike
En lachte teage meej
And laughed at me
Dat roeie klied di roeie mond
That red dress, that red mouth
Ik stong vastgenaageld an de grond
I was nailed to the ground
Ik kleurde langzaam in de zon
I slowly changed color in the sun
De lente di begon
Spring began
Jodele hietie
Yodeling here
Verrek, da's gek, ik staj in de regel
Damn, that's weird, I'm standing in line
Ni met enne volle bek
Not with a full mouth
Enne mond zo groet geluid kwaam d'r ni oet
And no big sound came out of my mouth
Mar hou, wat nou, zonne moeie daag
But hey, what now, such a beautiful day
Keumt vurleupig ni mier gauw
It won't come again soon
'T Is woar, echt woar, mar iene kier per joar
It's true, really true, but once a year
'N Joar doarnoa zaag ik eur terug
A year later I saw her again
Mar ze fietste vuls te vlug
But she cycled way too fast
Ze haj 'r roeie klied neet aan
She wasn't wearing her red dress
Liefde van de baan
Love off the table
Writer(s): D And Sullivan And Staribacher
Contributed by Benjamin K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@stoeipoes10
Heel mooi, zelfs tot in Suriname klinkt dat nog goed!
@wakuwaku333666
geweldig nummer! zovaak in de auto gedraaid, ect fantastisch!
@petrakuipers8696
Ik ben een rasechte eindhovense, maar ik versta elk woord hahahhhahaa ;-) Mooi nummer dit, een beetje over liefde die zomaar ineens voorbij kan gaan, en helaas is dat de waarheid. Ik vind rowwen heze geweldig, heerlijke muziek ;-)
@ramonbernhart5879
Heb ik ook ik kom dan zelfs voor jullie zuiderlingen van boven de rivieren (geboren en opgegroeid in Sliedrecht en wonend in Papendrecht)
Maar is en blijft goed nummer en versta het ook allemaal en waarheid in de tekst
@DoYouLoveU2
Ook in Utreg vinden we rowwen heze geweldig!
@MrBoebes
Very nice song!
@thecrazyfrenchfries3233
Beste nummer ever!!! :)
@SuperSmokeyBear
de beste groep ooit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! en van mij de groetjes uit de peel aan de band uit de peel
@ikkejasper
bijna niemand uit mijn klas kent rowwen heze wat een belediging
@jeansergeversteegh9549
voor altijd jong ... zij is de mooiste