A Little Dutch Music
Posted on 03. Jan, 2010 by sarah in Dutch Language
Late last year one of the Netherland’s great singers passed away. Luckily for us he produced a great amount of songs for us to listen to and enjoy. Ramses Shaffy was a singer and actor who sang about life, politics, the world. His lyrics are beautiful, poignant and moving. An extra bonus is that listening to music is a great way to hear Dutch spoken by a Dutch person. I’ve found that finding music I enjoy listening to in Dutch is a great way to practice pronunciation, listening skills, and learn a bit about the culture too.
One of my personal favorites by Ramses Shaffy is the song “Zing, Vecht, Huil, Bid, Lach, Werk en Bewonder,”- “Sing, Fight, Cry, Pray, Laugh, Work and Admire.” I’ve included the lyrics below. Enjoy!
Zing, Vecht, Huil, Bid, Lach, Werk en Bewonder, door Ramses Shaffy
Voor degene in een shuilhoek achter glas
Voor degene met de dichtbeslagen ramen
Voor degene die dacht dat-ie alleen was
Moet nu weten, we zijn allemaal samen
Voor degene met ‘t dichtgeslagen boek
Voor degene met de snelvergeten namen
Voor degene die ‘t vruchteloze zoeken
Moet nu weten, we zijn allemaal samen
refrain:
Zing, vecht, huil, bid, lach, werk en bewonder
Zing, vecht, huil, bid, lach, werk en bewonder
Zing, vecht, huil, bid, lach, werk en bewonder
Zing, vecht, huil, bid, lach, werk en bewonder
Niet zonder ons
Voor degene met de slapeloze nacht
Voor degene die ‘t geluk niet kan beamen
Voor degene die niets doet, die alleen maar wacht
Moet nu weten, we zijn allemaal samen
Voor degene met z’n mateloze trots
In z’n risicoloze hoge toren
Op z’n risicoloze hoge rots
Moet nu weten, zo zijn we niet geboren
refrain
Voor degene met ‘t open gezicht
Voor degene met ‘t naakte lichaam
Voor degene in ‘t witte licht
Voor degene die weet, we komen samen
refrain
Niet zonder ons (15x)
Unfortunately, the quality of Dutch pop music is so low that I haven’t found anything near the enjoyable category. It’s a matter of taste, yet, …
Hello Peter,
Thank you for your comment!
I must admit, I have also found it…umm…difficult…to find music I enjoy here, but then again I don’t enjoy most pop music from home either. It is indeed a matter of taste. A lucky hit for me was the Belgian music scene. Maybe check out some of the music there, you might find something more to your liking.
For Dutch music I tend to genuinely enjoy some of these political folk singers from the 1960s through 1970s, but again, it’s always a matter of taste. I’m afraid Andre Hazes and I shall never quite agree with one another.
BLOF is in my opinion the best Dutch language musical group.
Most of the other stuff, I cannot stand. Maybe Marco Borsato.
The folk music or ‘boeren rock’ makes me want to stab myself repeatedly with a fork.
Yeah, I’ve heard a lot of people like BLOF but I just can’t get into it. If you like rock, I found the Belgian band Yevgueni to be decent, although a bit heavy with the lyrics sometimes.
Check out the 60′s group, The Outsiders (Dutch). I absolutely love them. Hearing their music on youtube was what drew me to Holland. Now, I’m planning my second trip for next Fall.
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for the great suggestion! I’ll definitely check it out.
Groetjes!
Oh! nice song. Thanks for posting…