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
Nacht
Rowwen Hèze Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
D'r zien dinge die ik anders zij, umdat 't anders verleep.
Want de pien, de pien, di geej het gekend,
De legte die mar ni went, probleme zaate hiel deep.
En dan 's nachts gingde nar hoes, terwijl iedereen sleep.
Allien op de werlt en geej leept, geej leept, geej leept, geej leept.
Lat 't alsteblif anders zien, want zoe giet 't neet mier.
Oh nacht, geej lacht, geej lacht mar kiek meej nou stoan.
't Is vul beater um weg te goan, allien ik wet ni wannier.
't Geproat, 't geproat, 't waas toen al te laat.
Al die vroage woar geej mei zaat, mar van ow genne last.
En din daag, din daag,ok al hadde 't gezagd,
Kwaam verschrikkelijk onverwacht, ow besloet stong al vast.
En dan 's nachts gingde nar hoes, terwijl iederien sleep.
Ellien op de werlt en geej leept, geej leept, geej leept, geej leept.
Oh nacht, geej lach, mar van binne veul ik de pien.
Lat 't alsteblif anders zien, want zoe giet 't neet mier.
Oh nacht, geej lacht, geej lacht mar kiek meej nou stoan.
't Is vul beater um weg te goan, allien ik wet ni wannier.
Oh nacht, ohoo nacht, lach mar, lach mar lat meej mar stoan.
't Is vul beater um weg te goan, allien ik wet ni wannier.
The lyrics to Rowwen Hèze's "Nacht" tell a story of pain and heartbreak experienced by the singer. There are things in life that he wished were different, but they happened the way they did. The pain he feels is deep and unrelenting, and he feels alone in the world. At night, he goes home while everyone else sleeps, and he is left to deal with his emotions on his own. The night seems to mock him, as it laughs while he feels his pain on the inside. He wishes things could be different, but he is unsure of when or how that will happen.
The second verse talks about regret and missed opportunities. The singer wishes they had spoken up sooner and asked the right questions. But even if they had, it may have been too late to make a difference. The decision was already made, and the consequences were inevitable. Once again, at night, the singer feels alone and burdened with their pain. The night seems to be taunting them as it laughs, but the singer knows that it's better to leave and move on, even if they don't know when that will happen.
Overall, the lyrics of "Nacht" convey a sense of despair and longing for change. The singer's pain is palpable, and the night seems to be a constant reminder of their sorrow. However, the song ends on a note of hope, as the singer chooses to leave and find a better way forward, even if they don't know when that will be.
Line by Line Meaning
't Leave, 't leave dat giet vurbeej.
Don't go, don't go, time keeps moving forward.
D'r zien dinge die ik anders zij, umdat 't anders verleep.
There are things I would have done differently, if only things had gone differently.
Want de pien, de pien, di geej het gekend,
Because the pain, the pain that you have felt,
De legte die mar ni went, probleme zaate hiel deep.
The weight that never goes away, problems that run deep.
En dan 's nachts gingde nar hoes, terwijl iedereen sleep.
And then at night, you went home while everyone else slept.
Allien op de werlt en geej leept, geej leept, geej leept, geej leept.
Alone in the world and you keep walking, walking, walking, walking.
Oh nacht, geej lacht mar van binne veul ik de pien.
Oh night, you laugh but inside I feel the pain.
Lat 't alsteblif anders zien, want zoe giet 't neet mier.
Let things be different, because this can't go on like this anymore.
't Is vul beater um weg te goan, allien ik wet ni wannier.
It's much better to leave, but I don't know when.
't Geproat, 't geproat, 't waas toen al te laat.
The talking, the talking, it was already too late then.
Al die vroage woar geej mei zaat, mar van ow genne last.
All those questions you had, but they didn't matter to you.
En din daag, din daag,ok al hadde 't gezagd,
And that day, that day, even though you had said it,
Kwaam verschrikkelijk onverwacht, ow besloet stong al vast.
It came as a terrible surprise, your decision had already been made.
Oh nacht, ohoo nacht, lach mar, lach mar lat meej mar stoan.
Oh night, oh night, laugh, just let me be.
Contributed by Ian P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ruud ter Braake
Wat een heerlijk nummer, qua tekst maar ook de muziek !
F. van Dijk
Een van de beste nummers ooit van RH.
F. van Dijk
Die accordionist is sfeerbepalend.
Ruud ter Braake
Nee de tekst is bepalend!! Bij dit nummer dit keer.