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
Hebbe Hebbe
Rowwen Hèze Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
't is echt woar ik ken enne vent
heej is dertig joar en noeit content
heej is knettergek, heej is knettergek
en 't ergste van alles is heej liekt op meej
'n glaas beer in de hand of 'n sigaret
heej leet noeit vur twelf oor in bed
heej is knettergek, heej is knettergek
The lyrics of Rowwen Hèze's song Hebbe Hebbe tell the story of a man who is known by the singer and is about 30 years old. The man is never content and is deemed to be insane. The singer says that the man is crazy and that the worst part about it is that he looks like him. The man is always seen with a glass of beer or a cigarette in his hand, and he never goes to bed before midnight. Despite all of this, the man still looks like the singer.
The song seemingly tells the story of someone who sees himself in another person who exhibits different behaviors and habits than he does. The use of the phrase "heej liekt op meej" (he looks like me) emphasizes this observation. The lyrics also suggest that the man in question's dissatisfaction with his life could be tied to his mental state. The repetition of the phrase "heej is knettergek" (he is crazy) throughout the song further emphasizes this.
Line by Line Meaning
't is echt woar ik ken enne vent
This is true, I know a guy
heej is dertig joar en noeit content
He is thirty years old and never satisfied
heej is knettergek, heej is knettergek
He is crazy, very crazy
en 't ergste van alles is heej liekt op meej
The worst part of it all is he looks like me
'n glaas beer in de hand of 'n sigaret
A glass of beer in his hand or a cigarette
heej leet noeit vur twelf oor in bed
He never goes to bed before midnight
heej is knettergek, heej is knettergek
He is crazy, very crazy
en 't ergste van alles is heej liekt op teej
The worst part of it all is he looks like you
Contributed by Olivia G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.