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
Heilige Anthonius
Rowwen Hèze Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mien schoelbeuk mien tas en mien verstand
Die foto van ow en honderd andere dinge
Die ik neet mier kos vinge 't leep oet de hand
Of 't verdween of 't bleef urges ligge
Ik vong 't neet mier terug en dan doch ik mar
Dat wat ik in de joare soms inens bin verloare
Mar wat ik neet begreep dat 't oeit kos gebeure
Wurrum ginge geej weg zonder afscheid zo vlug?
En toen mien douve inens ginge move
Douve wiste de weg die kwaame altied terug
D'n Heilige Anthonius di mos 't wiete
Heej schreef meej terug beste vrind wette dat
Soms is 't beater iets moeis te verleeze
Beater verleeze dan dat ge noeit het gehad
Vanaf vandaag niks mier te vreeze
Vanaf vandaag wet ik vort dat
't neet erg is iets moeis te verleeze
Beater verleeze dan dat ge 't noeit het gehad
The lyrics of Rowwen Hèze's song Heilige Anthonius tell a story of someone who has lost important things in their life, such as their jacket, school bag, and even their mind. They have also lost a photo of someone they cared about, among many other things. They can no longer find these lost items, and it seems that they lost them simply because they had too much to handle.
The song then shifts to the theme of loss and acceptance. The singer wonders why the person they cared for left without saying goodbye, but they eventually receive a response from Saint Anthony, who suggests that sometimes it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. The chorus reiterates this message, saying that there is nothing left to fear and that it is better to have lost something beautiful than to have never had it at all.
Overall, the song is about accepting loss and finding comfort in the idea that having loved something or someone in the first place is what truly counts.
Line by Line Meaning
Ierst miene jas doarnoa 'n paar house
First my coat, then a couple of houses
Mien schoelbeuk mien tas en mien verstand
My school book, my bag, and my sanity
Die foto van ow en honderd andere dinge
That photo of you and a hundred other things
Die ik neet mier kos vinge 't leep oet de hand
That I couldn't find anymore, it slipped out of hand
Of 't verdween of 't bleef urges ligge
Whether it disappeared or stayed somewhere
Ik vong 't neet mier terug en dan doch ik mar
I couldn't find it anymore and then I just thought
Dat wat ik in de joare soms inens bin verloare
That which I sometimes suddenly lost in the years
Gewoen umdat ik teveul haj: doarnoa haj ik wir zat
Simply because I had too much; afterwards I had enough
Mar wat ik neet begreep dat 't oeit kos gebeure
But what I didn't understand was that it could ever happen
Wurrum ginge geej weg zonder afscheid zo vlug?
Why did you leave without saying goodbye so quickly?
En toen mien douve inens ginge move
And then my doves suddenly started to move
Douve wiste de weg die kwaame altied terug
The doves knew the way, they always came back
D'n Heilige Anthonius di mos 't wiete
St. Anthony had to know it
Heej schreef meej terug beste vrind wette dat
He wrote back to me, my best friend, you know that
Soms is 't beater iets moeis te verleeze
Sometimes it's better to lose something beautiful
Beater verleeze dan dat ge noeit het gehad
Better to have lost than to never have had
Vanaf vandaag niks mier te vreeze
From today on, nothing to fear anymore
Vanaf vandaag wet ik vort dat
From today on, I know for sure that
't neet erg is iets moeis te verleeze
It's not bad to lose something beautiful
Beater verleeze dan dat ge 't noeit het gehad
Better to have lost than to never have had
Contributed by Ian L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Cor Roelofs
Een van de beste liedje van jullie, heeft mij heel goed geholpen met het overlijden van mijn 30 jarige dochter in 2003.
Mieke Snel
Nog altijd een prachtig nummer.
mofert
een zeer mooi nummer!!!!, kippenvel!!!!!
Dora Agelink
Geweldig lied Het heeft mij geweldig geholpen bij het verlies van mijn Zoontje
En nog steeds als ik in de put zit BEDANKT
hjp schaab
Zelfde hier...ik hoorde het net voor het eerst
Milko Vermeer
Gouwe ouwe, maar hij blijft goed!
Jan van der Ben
zo mooi, vergeleken met blof, dit gaat verdomme ergens over, blof/jacobsen!
superhenk63
Bedankt, ben alles kwijt maar heb het tenminste gehad...
Jorens Wesselo
Was ik die Anthonius maar eerder tegen gekomen !
Thijs Beijers
antonius beste vrind zorgt dat ik een goede meid vind.