Learn DutchThrough Music: Part I - Bonus

Since the first playlist in the Learn Dutch Through Music series is all about music sung by my close harmony group, Divina, I thought it might be fun to do a bonus round. So here are a few numbers I was unable to find on Grooveshark as well as a few tunes by Divina (some including the all-male close harmony group The Dutchmen).

Now, here comes the fun part... I'm leaving the translating up to you (you may recognize some from other episodes in Learn Dutch Through Music: Part I)! Good luck :)

Divina sings this song by Brigitte Kaandorp (in Dutch): Ik Ben Hem Kwijt

Divina singing Maak 'es Wat Af from Jasperina de Jong on YouTube (unfortunately the first bit is cut off)

Please let me know what you thought about Part I of the Learn Dutch Through Music series. Had you heard any of these songs before? Are there some you enjoyed more than others? Do you have any other suggestions on songs to include in future editions of Learn Dutch Through Music?

Learn Dutch Through Music: Part I - BLØF

BLØF is without a doubt the most popular band on the Learn Dutch Through Music: Part I playlist. This four-piece rock band is also one of the most well-known Dutch band outside of the Netherlands due to their many collaborations with other bands from all over the world. In fact, a friend of mine recently emailed me asking for some tips and advice on learning Dutch and confessed that her reason for wanting to learn the language was to be able to understand BLØF's Dutch songs as it's one of her favorite bands. Two-time winners of the Edison Award for "Best Band" in the Netherlands, the group got it's start in 1992 and consist of bassist Peter Slager, guitarist Paskal Jakobsen, drummer Henk Tjoonk, and Bas Kennis on keyboards.

Their hit Omarm is my favorite of the Dutch language songs we perform with Divina Close Harmony. The first time I actually heard BLØF's version of the song was when I began compiling the playlist for Learn Dutch Through Music: Part I. It's a beautiful piece with beautiful lyrics. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

 

Here are the lyrics to Omarm. Read the translation first (to come soon) and compare it to the Dutch version. Are there words that look familiar to you or that resemble their English equivalents? Look up words if you need to in order to get an idea of what the song is about. Read through the lyrics a few times (reading aloud is most helpful) before you play the music. When you play the song, follow along and once you're feeling comfortable, try singing along! For more hits and artists, check out the Learn Dutch Through Music Page!

Hoe ver je gaat
Heeft met afstand niets te maken
Hoogstens met de tijd
En ik weet niet hoe het komt
Dat ik weg wil
Maar het treft me hard en zuiver
En het houdt hardnekkig stand
Dus hier sta ik
Met een uitgestoken hand


Lief, ga dan mee
Omarm me
Omarm me, omarm me
Lief, ga dan mee
Omarm me
Omarm me, omarm me
En breng me nergens heen


Hoe diep je gaat
Heeft met denken niets te maken
Hoogstens met een wil
En het voelt alsof ik weet
Waar ik heenga
Het leidt me in het donker
En het spot met mijn verstand
Hier sta ik
Met mijn uitgestoken hand


Lief, ga dan mee
Omarm me
Omarm me, omarm me
Lief, ga dan mee
Omarm me
Omarm me, omarm me
En breng me nergens heen


Lief, ga dan mee
Omarm mijn lijf en leden
Omarm mijn waanideen
Omarm me, omarm me
Lief, ga dan mee
Omarm heel mijn verleden
Omarm mijn zeven zeen
Omarm me, omarm me
En breng me nergens heen


Hoe recht je staat
Heeft met zwaarte niets te maken
Hoogstens met de wind

Learn Dutch Through Music: Part I - Spinvis

Erik de Jong is Spinvis. When he decided to take his music on the road, he brought on a few musicians. However, Spinvis is primarily a one-man-band. Spinvis' specialty is experimental pop and he has won numerous awards and distinctions for his music.

Divina Close Harmony sings one song by Spinvis - Astronaut - and it appears on my Learn Dutch Through Music: Part I playlist.  I also like his song Ik Wil Alleen Maar Zwemmen, introduced to me by A Flamingo in Utrecht.

Here are the lyrics to Astronaut. Read the translation first (to come soon) and compare it to the Dutch version. Are there words that look familiar to you or that resemble their English equivalents (I can already think of one!)? Look up words if you need to in order to get an idea of what the song is about. Read through the lyrics a few times (reading aloud is most helpful) before you play the music. When you play the song, follow along and once you're feeling comfortable, try singing along! For more hits and artists, check out the Learn Dutch Through Music Page!

Goeie reis
je hebt nu geen gewicht
astronaut
ga sneller dan het licht


De planeten zingen zacht
van het wonder dat je wacht
kijk niet om, ga steeds vooruit


Goeie reis en houd je haaks
en kijk goed uit


Astronaut, als traan verzilverd kind
Astronaut, door duisternis omringd


En als je soms verdwaald
Ga rechtdoor en wees niet bang
Geef de liefde wat ze vraagt
Eet de vruchten die ze draagt
Kijk niet om ga steeds vooruit
Kijk niet om ga steeds vooruit


Goeie reis en houd je haaks
en kijk goed uit


Astronaut
Astronaut
Astronaut
Astronaut
Astronaut
Astronaut
Astronaut

Learn Dutch Through Music: Part I - Acda en de Munnik

Acda en de Munnik are two people: Thomas Acda and Paul de Munnik. The pop duo began in 1997. Other band members include Diederik van Vleuten, David Middelhof and Dave Van Beek. Acda en de Munnik also does cabaret and theater. The two actually met at the Amsterdamse Toneel & Kleinkunstacademie (Theater and Cabaret Academy of Amsterdam) in 1991.

Divina Close Harmony sings one hit by Acda en de Munnik: Wat Ik Zie Moet Ik Hebben, winning this song a place on my Learn Dutch Through Music: Part I playlist.

Here are the lyrics to Wat Ik Zie Moet Ik Hebben. Read the translation first (to come soon) and compare it to the Dutch version. Are there words that look familiar to you or that resemble their English equivalents? Look up words if you need to in order to get an idea of what the song is about. Read through the lyrics a few times (reading aloud is most helpful) before you play the music. When you play the song, follow along and once you're feeling comfortable, try singing along! For more hits and artists, check out the Learn Dutch Through Music Page!

Ik weet niet wat het is
Maar 'k wil het hebben
Ik denk dat het iets kan
Dus laat dat wat het kan
Dat doen voor mij
Ik weet niet wat het is
Maar het ziet er echt geweldig uit
Kopen!
En we zien wel waar het voor is

Ik weet niet wat het is
Maar 'k heb het nodig
Ze gooien als het niks is
Echt zo'n ding niet
In zo'n dure folder
Ik weet niet wat het is
Maar 'k kan het betalen!
Kopen!
En we zien wel wat het doet
Wat ik zie moet ik hebben
Wat ik nodig heb is...
Is nergens te zien

Ik weet niet wat het is
Maar het is nuttig
Nuttig en bovendien is het
Veel beter dan dat and're ding
Dat andere ding was prachtig
Maar voldoet niet meer zo goed
Of wel maar dit is beter
Ik wil het hebben!
Ik wil het ook! Ik wil het nu. Nu!

Wat ik zie moet ik hebben
Wat ik nodig heb...
Is nergens te zien

Natuurlijk weet ik wat het is
Of wat jij zeggen gaat
't Is niks, 't is lucht
't Is compenseren
Leegte, luxe, surrogaat
Natuurlijk weet ik wat het is
Maar liefde is te duur
Dingen zijn altijd duur
Als men niet zegt wat het kost

Dingen zijn altijd duur
ALs men je niet zegt wat het kost

Learn Dutch Through Music: Part I - Marco Borsato

Marco Borsato is probably one of the most famous singers here in Holland. He was born on December 21 1966 and began his career singing in Italian before switching to Dutch in 1994. In fact, most of his songs are Dutch covers and/or adaptations of Italian songs. He and his wife Leontine Ruiters have three children.

Much of the Dutch music we sing in Divina Close Harmony are arrangements of Marco's songs, which explains why so many of the songs on the Learn Dutch Through Music: Part I playlist are his (the playlist was inspired by Dutch language songs covered by Divina after all).

Here are the lyrics to the three Marco Borsato hits on the playlist as well as the English translations. Read the translation first and compare it to the Dutch version. Are there words that look familiar to you or that resemble their English equivalents? Look up words if you need to in order to get an idea of what the song is about. Read through the lyrics a few times (reading aloud is most helpful) before you play the music. When you play the song, follow along and once you're feeling comfortable, try singing along! For more hits and artists, check out the Learn Dutch Through Music Page!

Learn Dutch Through Music: Part I

One of the best ways I have found to learn Dutch is through listening to Dutch music. Particularly if it's something catchy, you can find yourself singing along without even realizing it. You pick up the words, find out what they mean and see how they're supposed to be used grammatically. There are so many wonderful Dutch artists, it's not hard to find a great song to learn.

To improve my Dutch, back in September 2009, I joined a close harmony vocal group called Divina Close Harmony. The only member of the group not fluent in Dutch is me. Every Monday from 7:30-10 I rehearse with the group and rehearsals are conducted completely in Dutch. Though most of our repertoire consists of English songs, we do have a few Dutch numbers (and Spanish and French, but that's another story). I cannot tell you how many vocabulary words I have picked up through learning the Dutch numbers and how the grammar usage has saved me on numerous writing assignments and tests.

For the first installment of my Learn Dutch Through Music series, I wanted to put together a playlist of some of the songs that we sing in Divina with accompanying lyrics and their English Translations. Enjoy Learn Dutch Through Music!

Marco Borsato and his hits on the playlist: Margherita, Lopen Op Het Water, Onbewoonbaar

Acda en de Munnik and their hit on this playlist: Wat Ik Zie Moet Ik Hebben

Spinvis and his hit on this playlist: Astronaut

BLØF and their hit on this playlist: Omarm
Special BONUS music!

Learn Dutch Through Music

This series, Learn Dutch Through Music aims to help you learn Dutch via the music of some of The Netherlands' best artists. Listening to and singing along with music is one of the best ways to learn a language. You get to hear popular language, correct grammatical usage and sentence structure, and learn new words.

By introducing you to some of the most popular songs from some of the best Dutch music artists and providing you with written lyrics and the English translation, I hope to help both you and myself further along our journey to learning Dutch.

Here is a breakdown of this series to make it easier for you to navigate through. Good luck and enjoy!

Learn Dutch Through Music: Part I

• Marco Borsato
• Acda en de Munnik
• Spinvis
• BLØF
• !BONUS!

Learn Dutch Through Music: Part II

Learn Dutch Through Music: Part III

Do you have some Dutch music or Dutch artists that you would like to recommend for this series? Please let me know in an email or a comment and I will be more than happy to add them to a "Reader Recommended" playlist!