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
De Peel In Brand
Rowwen Hèze Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Toen ik nog hiel klein waas
En van 't leave niks begreep
Allien mar speulde oot en sleep
Toen ik nog zo klein waas
Dat ik op de tiene mos goan stoan
Um te kieke nar de moan
De witte streepe in de lucht
Elke wolk waas 'n gezicht
Refrein: en 's oaves laat de hoar nog naat
Nog efkes en nar bed
De raam wiet oap genne sloap
En d'n hemel waas veurroej
Mist hing op 't land
's oaves laat da stong de piel in brand
Ge kost oore droeme
Ge waart d'n baas van iederien
Vocht met de sterkste allien
Langoet ligge in 't graas
Ge rookt d'n asfalt en de zwaj
Als 't pas gereagend haj
Ge had 't mar met ien ding druk
Groeter weare mar wat ge ok deed
Echt veul alder woorde neet
Refrein
The song De Peel In Brand by Rowwen Heze is a nostalgic piece that explores the innocence of youth and the memories of growing up in the countryside. The lyrics describe the singer's childhood, when he was too young to understand the complexities of life, and only concerned with playing in the fields and exploring the world around him. He reminisces about staring at the moon and staring at the clouds, seeing shapes and faces in them. The nights were still and beautiful with the sky above alive with stars. As the night progressed the mist would rise, and the fields were left bathed in a haunting hazy light.
The chorus reflects upon the dream-like wonder of those nights. As a child, it was easy to feel like the master of the world, with no problem that couldn't be solved with a bit of youthful imagination. It paints a picture of a perfect night, the perfect oasis of tranquility that is created when the world is still and silent. The song culminates in a memory of the peel (peat) fires that would occasionally break out in the area near where the singer grew up. These fires would spread as quickly as the mist, and the memory of them adds depth to the singer's nostalgia, adding a dark note to the idyllic imagery of his childhood.
Line by Line Meaning
Toen ik nog hiel klein waas
When I was very young
En van 't leave niks begreep
And didn't understand anything about life
Allien mar speulde oot en sleep
Just played outside all day
Dat ik op de tienen mos goan stoan
That I had to stand on my toes
Um te kieke nar de moan
To look at the moon
De witte streepe in de lucht
The white stripes in the sky
Ge kneept ow oege half dicht
You squinted your eyes half closed
Elke wolk waas 'n gezicht
Every cloud was a face
En 's oaves laat de hoar nog naat
And late at night the hair was still wet
Nog efkes en nar bed
Just a little while longer and then to bed
De raam wiet oap genne sloap
The window wide open, no sleep
En d'n hemel waas veurroej
And the sky was red
Mist hing op 't land
Mist hung on the land
's oaves laat da stong de piel in brand
Late at night the Peel was on fire
Ge kost oore droeme
You could hear dreams
Ge waart d'n baas van iederien
You were the boss of everyone
Vocht met de sterkste allien
Fought with the strongest alone
Langoet ligge in 't graas
Laying in the grass for a long time
Ge rookt d'n asfalt en de zwaj
You smelled the asphalt and the hay
Als 't pas gereagend haj
When it had just rained
Ge had 't mar met ien ding druk
You only had one thing to worry about
Groeter weare mar wat ge ok deed
It didn't matter what you did
Echt veul alder woorde neet
Words didn't really matter
En 's oaves laat de hoar nog naat
And late at night the hair was still wet
Nog efkes en nar bed
Just a little while longer and then to bed
De raam wiet oap genne sloap
The window wide open, no sleep
En d'n hemel waas veurroej
And the sky was red
Mist hing op 't land
Mist hung on the land
's oaves laat da stong de piel in brand
Late at night the Peel was on fire
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
JoeyPsych
Wat mij betreft het beste nummer van Rowwen Heze. Ben zelf opgegroeid in Venray, dus de in de Peel ligt mijn hart. Dit nummer beschrijft goed hoe ik mijn jeugd heb ervaren. Na al die jaren is dit toch het nummer wat me steeds weer terug doet denken aan mijn Peel.
Revolting Kittah
Maastricht. Rothem sinds 1400 en daar voor. Een van de.
Harry Versteege
Of je het nou helemaal verstaat of niet, het is gewoon een mooi nummer. Het staat voor nostalgie en fijne herinneringen aan vroeger.
Inese
I live in Latvia and still I must say - this is something GREAT!
meraki.
Yes, that's music. That's music from Limburg
kurt Van Avondt
prachtig...,ben naar slotconcert geweest.....,daar kunne wij Belgen nog een lesje van leren....jullie weten wat feesten is, k'ga volgend jaar 2 dagen meegenieten. groetjes uit Belgie
Alexander
Donderdag 20- augustus, Nacht van Steenwijk, altijd geweldig, mijn woonplaats, ik sta vooraan !!! Hoop dat ze mijn favoriete nummer ook spelen, De Peel In Brand. Geeft me kippenvel !! Ik mis Eindhoven en Limburg wel. Binnenkort vakantie, dus maakt een hoop weer goed, America ik kom eraan !!
Branco077
T mooiste nummer dat ik ooit in mijn eigen taal heb gehoord.
Ties Van aarle
Prachtig nummer van deze Topband !!!
Miiekeeee
Super nummer. Slotconcert waar ok geweldig! <3