I love this song. And the 'slaap zacht' (sleep tight) is very sweet the first time. But every time he sings that line, the feel he puts into it gets more and more vicious. It also shows in the music itself. The more progress in the song, the more sarcastic it becomes. I LOVE the song.
I recall my mother turning up the volume when this song was on the radio the morning after the USA, along with England, started the war on Iraq. The best part were an angry neighbour banging on the walls with the thoughts their cause was justified! The song is timeless.
I remember the song well. I was 11 yrs old in 1966. It was a big hit here in the Netherlands, and indeed a protest against the Vietnam war, led by Johnson.
If I remember correctly this song was not really appreciated by the people in power and by the older generation. The younger generation loved it. We were not supposed to criticize the american president. One of the reasons being that the Americans had liberated us. Actually for a large part Canadian soldiers had liberated us. The Americans did their part somewhere else. The Swedish people have kept us basically alive during the hunger winter of 1944 - 1945 by dropping bread and other food. I grew up in the 60ths and a lot has changed. It were interesting times. Churches lost their power, shirts within politics, many demonstrations, feminism was back as was pacifism. Beat music was there, long hair also for men, women were wearing pants, flower-power, birthcontrol available also when not married, drugs, better access to higher education. Not everything was positive but much was about liberation from old norms and sometimes that went too far. Wild times. When I started in highschool, there wers clothing rules like pants only allowed if it was cold outside and you had a long bikeride. No parties with boys etc. After 6 years, when I left high school everything had changed.
I'm really from that sixties period, but one year after that song I was conscripted in the Dutch Army, so the song is a true oldie like me. I probably was not a brave soldier, because after the WW2 stopped in the Netherlands on 1945-05-05, I waited one full week to be born, to make sure WW2 was really finished :) In 1968 I was stationed in Germany. My biggest military achievement was, that I continued to sleep, while the two middle 105mm canons fired, they had to wake me up, when the whole battery had to join the fire.
from the Netherlands thanks for the video HXC . so you see HXC again how direct a Dutchman is. even to a president you see and that already in 1966 haha
I was a young girl (i am 70 ) !! When this song came out! There where a lot of people arrested wen they demonstrated for a week prison against that war!! Later it was more accepted we Dutch are not easy to get silenst!
I absolutely love how this song is timeless, because while it is about the Vietnam war, the same things still happen in conflicts around the world today. There is another version of this song about the Afghanistan war on my channel, which is directed at then Dutch prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende. The question what the politicians think about when innocent people are losing their lives in conflicts has also been asked in many other songs. A few good ones are Black Sabbath - War Pigs and Metallica - Disposable Heroes
I love Boudewijn de Groot, I hope you react to a few more of his songs. His song Testament (will), and verdronken vlinder (drowned butterfly) are also very beautiful imo.
the anger is his music during the last verse, but meanwhile staying polite whilst absolutely roasting him...different time, they were so well spoken back then.
I remember the songs from Boudewijn de Groot, i was 8 years old in 1966, he was more of a troubadour, long time ago that i listened to this song, at least 10 or 15 years ago but it is still current in our time. Thanks highly, see you, bye
Great song written by my neighbor Lennaert Nijgh. Boudewijn de Groot is (like his last name suggests) one of the greats of dutch music, and I love almost every single song he made. (Especially when it was written by the brilliant Nijgh)
@@racingweirdo Yes, I know. He died in 2002. I lived just behind his 'De Jonge Jacob', a small fishing vessel. I still love his song 'het spaarne' which is the river that runs through Haarlem. Great memories.
I can’t say I remember this song from when it was released (I was one year old) but it hit me when I was a bit older and understanded the circumstances it was about. And it’s still so true ….
Yes, this is Dutch pride. Textwriter Lennaert Nijgh wrote many, many beautiful songs. If you like this kind of stuff you should also try Jaap Fischer (later he changed his name to Joop Visser). He even (far) more direct in his lyrics. When I find some time, i'll try to transelate some of his songs.
Ah Boudewijn de Groot. I'm a big fan of his. I played the guitar in my student years and loved playing and singing his songs. There are so many great ones. For me he is on par with Jacques Brel (know him? He was Belgium and sang in both French and Flemish). I went to a concert 20 years ago which he did with his son playing new song and some old classics.
De Groot was the superior composer. He wrote Rob de Nijs' best songs and thus saved his career (Malle Babbe, Jan Klaassen, Zuster Ursula) and also Hans de Booij's Annabel.
@@marknieuweboer8099 Funny, I didn't know but whenever I get in the mood for Boudewijn de Groot those songs usually aren't far away :') pretty much the only songs I know (really well) from Hans de Booijj and Rob de Nijs
@@vinniedus Actually, Lennaert Nijgh wrote most of his lyrics. Except picknick, which was written by Boudewijn, but he mentioned Lennaert twice in that song .😎
The song is about the Vietnam War and the responsibilities of US President Lyndon B. Johnson. BOUDEWIJN had a message to deliver. Hence this song, about the Vietnam War in 1966. The message is clear!! PEACE ✌🕊
Little comment; its not weak pacifists gut PALE (bleke) as in they were smoking pot (like the singer did) It was the generation of hippies that sparked a worldwide ban on 'drugs' weed and promotion of alcohol and sigarettes. Makes you more violent and tense, instead of wondering and relax. I love this video, VERY nice concept. Greetings from the birthplace of Boudewijn. (the most popular king of ours, also called Boudewijn) Belgium.
That would be a dumb law because then you get situations where we just let genocidal maniacs run their course and we don't do anything about it. Imagine if that law had been in place during the second world war, Churchill certainly wouldn't have declared war.
4:46 Black Sabbath - War Pigs explains also alot.. the European view of the Vietnam war..The Album Paranoid of Black Sabbath is a concept album where it stages every phase a disillusioned Vietnam Vetran goes through when coming home.. paria's in their own country.. resorting to herion..no good treatment for PTSD.. this album is the album that killed the hippy culture of love and peace..there wasn't any.. it showcased the hurtfull truth of sociaty back then..
I was 8 years old and remember this well. This is a song that you could sing even nowadays unfortunately. These stupid and useless wars can only be invented from behind a desk and in some theory, 'cause if they would be normal thinking and emotional people they wouldn't even think about starting a war. At least that's what I think
As A Dutch civilian I can't imagine that it's important and for some Americans a honor to be a soldier. Oké ... in the Netherlands we have also people who like to be a soldier. But it's not so important status as in the US. Or am I wrong?
and war is the killing of people you do not know and whom you do not hate, at the behest of people who know and hate each other, but do not kill each other.
I'm not a soldier myself, but, if you ask me, if I had to answer the question of "What goes through your head when you think back about that day?", I would most likely respond with "I did what I had to do, even though I'm not proud of what had to be done, if we had known it were innocent civilians, we wouldn't have attacked", but, I can't answer this question myself, it's just what I would say if I were a Soldier, I don't know what a real soldier would think, but, someone who DID work in the military had PTSD, and he still has problems with it from time to time, and, it's fine, we don't pressure him to continue unless he wants to...
Powerful song, so relevant still, and the translation is spot on . Love your reaction to it, consider as many said to check out Testament, a more soulful balance digging into his youth.
You have to understand, this was an enormous and terrible thing in The Netherlands (not so much the song as the idea). It was 1966, 21 years after world war 2. It was barely two decades since the Americans liberated us from Nazi occupation (we Dutch people are great ones for forgetting about the British, Canadians, Poles, French, Moroccans and others who fought here as well). And all of a sudden there was this idea washing around the country that there was a war in Vietnam and the Americans were in actual fact the bad guys. For many people who lived through the occupation you might as well have suggested carving up the Moon to solve world hunger because it's made of cheese after all. Whereas a lot of young people were protesting against the war, social injustice, demanding social changes, all that stuff. This song (amongst others) gave a voice to the Dutch version of the societal and generational rift that was going on all over the West.
The key question is: why could songs like these made by then, but after 1985 this is IMPOSSIBLE. And in ALL countries. How many songs do you know against covid-measures ? zero. How many songs to stand by the farmers? zero.
Maybe because it's not really customary anymore to make songs about stuff you don't like and because way less people actually care about the farmers or are anti covid. You people are a loud minority, while at the time of this song almost everyone was against the Vietnam War.
can you please make a video commenting on the song testament of this singer this is a really nice song and i know you will like the lyrics i really love your channel i subscribed and have the bell on so i don't miss any video really like how you talk about the netherlands in your videos respect to you and the time you work on this channel greetings from tilburg in brabant hope that you can visit my city once
Hi Dennis, Misschien is het beter als je een andere keer schrijft om dit in het engels te doen. Hij spreekt geen Nederlands. Hier zijn ze details Highly Combustible PO Box 7568 Fremont, CA 94537 USA
You should react to System of a Down's "BYOB" (Bring your own bombs) which was about the invasion of Iraq, which President George W Bush presented as a great big party. The song opens with the statement "WHY DO THEY ALWAYS SEND THE POOR?"
The are both great. Yes Lennaert wrote lots of lyrics for him. They also wrote together and Boudewijn wrote on his own. Besides Lennaert also wrote for the likes of Liesbeth List, Rob de Nijs en Ramses Shaffy (and for way more artists). And they were/are also great.
Because I am not one of those people who sits there and bobs his head and calls it a reaction. We are here to dissect and talk about the video. The link is always in the description if people wish to watch it without the talking.
