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
Kilomeaters
Rowwen Hèze Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Weej goan al zo lang op en neer
Weej zien ongeveer
Al twintig winters onderwaeg
Sloape en denke, stoppe en tanke
Knats vol, knats leag
Weej hebben d'r lang op gewacht
Eindelijk wir beater wear
En dat zet Smid
Dit wet hoe 't zit
Di geluuve weej gear
Kilomeaters, kilomeaters, kilomeaters
Bij 't tankstation is 't druk
Mar weej hebbe geluk
Heer kunde eate oet de moor
Maar neet vur Teej
Di leupt vurbeej
Hult neet van vet voor
Tren enne Nijje Revu
Poels din is muuj
En Flip wet alles beater
De motor di leupt
Rongen di sleupt
Kilomeaters
En de discussie gemist
't blieft onbeslist
Wir drie teage en drie veur
't is te dun of te dik
En wurrum altied ik
En miestal te deur
Roofvogels links in de wei
Vleege wir mei
En iene alde Vlaamse gaai
Zien os ni vergeate
Motte ok eate
'n stuk van de vlaai
Liedjesschrievers good opgelet
Enne tip vur als ge 't neet mier wet
Denk an wat moeis en gat terug nar bed
Luuster good nar wat ik ow zeg
Bij paniek, probleme of domme pech
Depressie trekt nar 't zuide weg
"Kilomeaters" is a song by the Dutch band Rowwen Hèze. The song is about a road trip that has been going on for years. The lyrics suggest that the travelers have been on the road for about 20 winters. They make stops to sleep, think, and refuel. The song talks about the joys and challenges of being on the road, including the excitement of finally arriving at the destination. The travelers pass by a gas station where they are lucky to find food, but one of them named Teej, who does not want anything fatty, skips it. They also talk about the discussion they had on the road where they had different opinions, and it ended up being unresolved. The song ends with a piece of advice for songwriters to think of something beautiful before going to bed.
The song highlights the challenges and joys of a long road trip. The travelers have been on the road for years, and they are still going. It shows that life is filled with ups and downs, and sometimes the journey can be tiring, but the destination keeps us going. The song also emphasizes the importance of friendships and having good company on a long journey.
Line by Line Meaning
Kilomeaters, kilomeaters, kilomeaters
The repetitively chanted phrase about the long distance traveled.
Weej goan al zo lang op en neer
We have been traveling back and forth for a long time.
Weej zien ongeveer
We are approximately a certain distance away.
Al twintig winters onderwaeg
We have been traveling for twenty winters.
Sloape en denke, stoppe en tanke
We sleep and think, stop and refuel.
Knats vol, knats leag
The vehicle sometimes has a full fuel tank, other times it is empty.
Weej hebben d'r lang op gewacht
We have been waiting for a long time for this moment.
D'r keumt nar vannacht
Finally, tonight is the night.
Eindelijk wir beater wear
Finally the weather has improved.
En dat zet Smid
Smid says so.
Dit wet hoe 't zit
This is the way it is.
Di geluuve weej gear
We believe it too.
Bij 't tankstation is 't druk
The gas station is crowded.
Mar weej hebbe geluk
But luckily we are fortunate.
Heer kunde eate oet de moor
There is food available at the gas station.
Maar neet vur Teej
Except not for Teej.
Di leupt vurbeej
He walks past it.
Hult neet van vet voor
He doesn't like greasy food.
Tren enne Nijje Revu
Reading a new magazine.
Poels din is muuj
Talking about a Dutch celebrity.
En Flip wet alles beater
Flip knows everything better.
De motor di leupt
The engine runs.
Rongen di sleupt
The tires roll.
Kilomeaters
Still traveling long distances.
En de discussie gemist
We missed out on the discussion.
't blieft onbeslist
The debate remains unresolved.
Wir drie teage en drie veur
Three against three.
't is te dun of te dik
It's either too much or too little.
En wurrum altied ik
Why is it always me?
En miestal te deur
Usually too expensive.
Roofvogels links in de wei
Birds of prey on the left in the field.
Vleege wir mei
They fly away with us.
En iene alde Vlaamse gaai
And a Belgian Jay bird.
Zien os ni vergeate
Doesn't forget about us.
Motte ok eate
Needs to eat too.
'n stuk van de vlaai
A slice of pie.
Liedjesschrievers good opgelet
Songwriters pay attention.
Enne tip vur als ge 't neet mier wet
A tip for when you no longer know what to do.
Denk an wat moeis en gat terug nar bed
Think about something beautiful and go back to bed.
Luuster good nar wat ik ow zeg
Listen carefully to what I am saying to you.
Bij paniek, probleme of domme pech
In panic, problems or dumb luck.
Depressie trekt nar 't zuide weg
The depression goes away to the south.
Contributed by Vivian V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
LimburgerVinny
Nar Boave steit erop. kiek effe op ut account van RowwenHezeUploader.
Daan Sanders
Hallo ik ben Daan Sanders