Willeke Alberti (February 3, 1945, Amsterdam, The Netherlands) (real name: Willy… Read Full Bio ↴Willeke Alberti (February 3, 1945, Amsterdam, The Netherlands) (real name: Willy Albertina Verbrugge) is a Dutch singer and actress, the daughter of entertainer and singer Willy Alberti.

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.

Het afgezaagde zinnetje
Willeke Alberti Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Ik zoek naar mooie zinnen
Over liefde en beminnen
Als ik denk aan jou
Ik droom van blauwe zeeën
Van de mooiste orchideën
En van eeuwige trouw

Ik maak voor jou gedichten

Waar je zeker voor zou zwichten
Als 'k ze zeggen zou
Maar dan bederf ik alles
Met dat afgezaagde zinnetje

Ik hou van jou

Op 't zelfde ogenblik
Bedenk ik dadelijk vol schrik
Ik heb je droom verstoord
Op 't spannendste moment

Wanneer je heel dicht bij me bent
Geef ik geen enkel woord

'K zou heel veel willen zeggen
Om je duidelijk uit te leggen
Hoeveel ik droom over jou
Maar alle mooie woorden
Die je duizend maal al hoorden
Klinken toch veel te flauw
Hoewel ik 't steeds weer probeer
'K vergeet toch iedere keer
Wat ik je zeggen wou
En dan bederf ik alles
Met dat afgezaagde zinnetje
Ik hou van jou

Ik hou van jou
Ik hou van jou

Overall Meaning

The song "Het afgezaagde zinnetje" by Willeke Alberti is about the struggle to express love in a unique and meaningful way. The singer of the song searches for beautiful phrases to describe their love for someone special, but every time they attempt to speak, they feel as though they are repeating the same tired old phrase: "Ik hou van jou" ("I love you"). The singer fears that this cliche sentiment will detract from the sincerity of their feelings and make their loved one feel unappreciated or misunderstood.

Despite their hesitation to use the overused phrase, the singer recognizes that their inability to express themselves may be causing more harm than good. They describe feeling anxious and tongue-tied in the presence of their loved one, struggling to find the right words to convey the depth of their emotions. The fear of spoiling a special moment or saying the wrong thing is so strong that, at times, the singer cannot speak at all.

Through this song, Willeke Alberti captures the delicate balance of vulnerability and intimacy that comes with expressing love. The lyrics show the tension between wanting to convey one's feelings in a meaningful way and the fear of coming off as cliche or inauthentic. Ultimately, the singer comes to realize that, no matter how many times the phrase has been said before, saying "I love you" is still an important gesture of affection.

Line by Line Meaning

Ik zoek naar mooie zinnen
I am searching for beautiful phrases

Over liefde en beminnen
Related to love and intimacy

Als ik denk aan jou
Whenever I think of you

Ik droom van blauwe zeeën
I dream of blue seas

Van de mooiste orchideën
And the most beautiful orchids

En van eeuwige trouw
And eternal loyalty

Ik maak voor jou gedichten
I compose poems for you

Waar je zeker voor zou zwichten
That you would certainly be swayed by

Als 'k ze zeggen zou
If I were to recite them to you

Maar dan bederf ik alles
But then I ruin everything

Met dat afgezaagde zinnetje
With that overused phrase