Biography
Willeke Alberti started her career at the early age of eleven in the musical Duel om Barbara and she recorded her first single in 1958 together with her father. During the 1960s, she was a well-known singer in the Netherlands and had at least one #1 hit with "De Winter Was Lang" ("The Winter Was Long"), however there was no official Dutch chart at the time. Willeke and her father had a television show between 1965 and 1969. Her singing career from 1970 onwards is less active, however Alberti still releases singles and albums at an irregular interval and plays minor roles in television programs and movies.
Alberti married John de Mol on July 24, 1976. Together they have one son Johnny de Mol, who is currently an actor and television personality. The couple divorced in 1980. She had a second marriage with Danish football player Søren Lerby and a second son was born from that marriage. Søren Lerby and Willeke Alberti separated in 1990.
In 1994, she represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Waar is de Zon" ("Where is the Sun"), which claimed a meagre four points from the international juries, all coming from Austria. The Netherlands beat only Estonia and Lithuania that evening.
De Winter Was Lang
Willeke Alberti Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
De winter was koud zonder jouw lach
Al sinds de herfst ben jij weg van mij zo ver hier vandaan
Zeg wanneer kom je weer, dan is het zomer voortaan
De winter was lang zonder jouw liefde
De winter was koud zonder jouw lach
Kom in de lente en geef mij je warmte zolang als ik leef
Kom in de lente en geef mij je warmte zolang als ik leef
De winter was lang, eenzaam en koud
De winter was lang, eenzaam en koud
The lyrics to Willeke Alberti's song "De Winter Was Lang" convey a sense of longing and loneliness experienced in the absence of someone's love and laughter. The singer expresses how the winter felt so long and cold without the presence of the person they miss. As they reflect on the fact that the person has been gone since the autumn and is so far away, they express a desire for summer to come and for the person to return to them. The singer hopes for the warmth and comfort that the person's love represents, and ultimately feels the sadness of a cold and lonely winter.
The lyrics to this song evoke a very specific setting and atmosphere. They portray a kind of emotional hibernation that happens during the winter. The language of the lyrics is simple and direct, which adds to the sense of emotional purity and sincerity. The song expresses a universal feeling of loneliness that many people can relate to.
Line by Line Meaning
De winter was lang zonder jouw liefde
The absence of your love made the winter seem endless and lonely
De winter was koud zonder jouw lach
Without your laughter, the winter was cold and lifeless
Al sinds de herfst ben jij weg van mij zo ver hier vandaan
Since the autumn, you have been gone from me, so far away
Zeg wanneer kom je weer, dan is het zomer voortaan
Please tell me when you will return, so that from then on it will always be summer
Kom in de lente en geef mij je warmte zolang als ik leef
Come back in the spring and give me your warmth for as long as I live
De winter was lang, eenzaam en koud
The winter was long, lonely, and cold
Contributed by Jonathan D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
rockymontana1951
De winter was lang zonder jouw liefde
De winter was koud zonder jouw lach
Al sinds de herfst ben jij weg van mij zo ver hier vandaan
Zeg wanneer kom je weer, dan is het zomer voortaan
De winter was lang zonder jouw liefde
De winter was koud zonder jouw lach
Kom in de lente en geef mij je warmte zolang als ik leef
De winter was lang, eenzaam en koud
Kom in de lente en geef mij je warmte zolang als ik leef
De winter was lang, eenzaam en koud
De winter was lang, eenzaam en koud
rockymontana1951
De winter was lang zonder jouw liefde
De winter was koud zonder jouw lach
Al sinds de herfst ben jij weg van mij zo ver hier vandaan
Zeg wanneer kom je weer, dan is het zomer voortaan
De winter was lang zonder jouw liefde
De winter was koud zonder jouw lach
Kom in de lente en geef mij je warmte zolang als ik leef
De winter was lang, eenzaam en koud
Kom in de lente en geef mij je warmte zolang als ik leef
De winter was lang, eenzaam en koud
De winter was lang, eenzaam en koud
Rama Monato
For those who study English phonetics, they will not feel surprised that English has the so-called "strong forms" and "weak forms". These can be found out when someone, for example, study the English pronunciation of the word "and". This word has two types of pronunciation: /ænd/ for strong form, /ən/ for weak form. To my surprise, Dutch has the same two types of pronunciation for the word "en": [ɛn] for strong form, [ən] for weak form. The proof for this can be heard in the last line of Willeke Albertie's "De Winter Was Lang", namely: De winter was lang eenzaam en [ən] koud.
constantfrancois
tres belle voix
Peter Kneepkens
heerlijk, deze liedjes
Olga Baudoin
Prachtig lied nog steeds ...en de Winter is pas net begonnen maar die kom ik nu wel door met dit liedje bedankt liefs Olga
Marajo Modjokutiko
Old sweet memories song
Cor P
nu weer hopen op een lange winter,de liefde is ook bij mij
Marc Govaerts
Winter is coming!
Henk Vos de
mooi nummer,lekker wegzwijmelen
Sjaak Kazenbroot
Dit nummer is zo oud als de weg naar Rome!