Het regent zonnestralen
Click to viewAls het vuur gedoofd is When the fire has gone out
Vrijdagmiddag in het Vondelpark, november en nat Friday afternoon in Vondelpark, November and wet
Vlakbij de vijver zit een man, Herman, en Herman is het zat A man sits close to the pond, Herman, and he's tired of it all
Heeft een kutjaar gehad He had a real fucked up year
Een man met alles wat je hebben kan, A man with everything you can possibly have
Vrouw, kind, huis, auto, baan, zo'n baan, zo'n baan Wife, child, house, car, job, such a job, such a job
Maar Herman wilde het ooit anders, en denkt daar nu al maanden aan But once Herman wanted something different, and he's been thinking about that for months
Hij denkt aan wat 'ie wou, en denkt ik was te laf He thinks about what he wanted and thinks he was a coward
Hij denkt is dit het nou, Herman denkt zichzelf in het graf He's thinking is this it, Herman thinks himself into his grave
Was het niet gisteren dat ik aankwam hier, pas 18 jaar jong, Wasn't it yesterday that I arrived here, only 18 years young?
Zou ik niet feesten, zuipen, reizen, zou ik niet doen wat ik ooit zong Wasn't I going to party, drink and travel, wasn't I going to do what I sang about?
Maar reizen kan niet meer, dat had 'ie mooi gedacht But travel isn't possible anymore, that's a stupid dream
Ja, reizen terug naar huis, want er wordt met het eten gewacht Yes, travel home, because someone is waiting for him with his dinner
Als het vuur gedoofd is, als het vuur gedoofd is, When the fire has gone out, when the fire has gone out
Dan komen de wolven The wolves will come
Vrijdagmiddag in het Vondelpark, en Herman staat op Friday afternoon in Vondelpark, and Herman gets up
Hij zwaait zijn tas ver de vijver in He swings his back into the pond
En zingt weer hardop And is singing aloud again
Alleen geen 18 meer, en het heldendom voorbij 18 was a long time ago, and he can no longer be a hero
Maar als ik nu niet ga, dan is voorgoed een droom voorbij But if I don't go now, a dream will forever be over
En wie ik pijn doe, vergeef me mijn gemis And those I hurt, please forgive me
Maar alles gaat verkeerd, en weet je wat het isBut everything is going wrong, and you know the problem
Als het vuur gedoofd is, als het vuur gedoofd is,
Dan komen de wolven
Dinsdagochtend op een grindpad, net weekend geweest Tuesday morning on a gravel path, the weekend just over
Men maakt zich op voor de wandeling, al ging men naar een feest People are getting ready to walk, as if they were going to a party
En Herman mag voorop, heeft het als enige niet koud And Herman is at the front, the only one who's not cold
Want hij gaat strak gekleed in een kist van gevoerd vurenhout As he is tightly clothed in a wooden coffin
Als het vuur gedoofd is, als het vuur gedoofd is,
Dan komen de wolven
The video makes no sense at all, really. So don't watch the scenes to try to understand what's going on, as it's completely different than the content of the song. :D
Het regent zonnestralen It's raining sunshine
Op een terras ergens in Frankrijk in de zon Outside a cafe somewhere in France in the sun
Zit een man die het tot gisteren nooit won Sits a man that didn't win anything until yesterday
Maar zijn auto vloog hier vlakbij uit de bocht But his car crashed closeby
Zonder hem, zonder Herman Without him, without Herman
Want die had hem net verkocht Because he had just sold it
Herman in de zon op een terras Herman sitting in the sun outside
Leest in het AD dat 'ie niet meer in leven was Reads in the newspaper he is no longer alive
Zijn auto was volledig afgebrand His car had burned down completely
En de man die hem gekocht had And the man who had bought it
Stond onder zijn naam in de krant Was in the paper under his name
Even rustig ademhalen, lijkt of het regent als altijd Breathe calmly, like always it seems to be raining
Maar het regent, en het regent zonnestralen But it's raining, and it's raining sunshine
Een week geleden in een park in Amsterdam A week ago in a park in Amsterdam
Had hij zijn leven overzien en schrok zich lam He had a look at his life and was scared shitless
Hij was een man wiens leven nu al was bepaald He was a man whose life had already been determined
En van al zijn jongensdromen And of all his boyhood dreams
Was alleen het oud worden gehaald He had only managed the getting old part
Even rustig ademhalen, lijkt of het regent als altijd
Maar het regent, en het regent zonnestralen
Op een bankje in het park kwam het besluit Sitting on a bench in the park he came to a decision
Noem het dapper, noem het vluchten,Call it brave, call it running away
maar ik knijp er tussenuit But I am leaving
Nu een week geleden, en hier zat hij dan maar weer Now a week ago and here he was sitting
Met meer vrijheid dan hem lief was With more freedom than he had wished for
En nu wist 'ie het niet meer And now he didn't know anymore
Herman leest wel honderd keer de krant Herman reads the paper a hundred times
Staat er echt, pagina 18, zwartomrand It really is printed, page 18, with a black border
Hield 'ie vroeger al zijn meningen en al zijn dromen stil He used to keep all his opinions and all his dreams quiet
Nu is hij niks niet niemand nergens meer Now he is nothing nobody nowhere anymore
En kan dus gaan waar hij maar wil And he can go where ever he wants to
Herman rekent af en staat dan op Herman pays the bill and gets up
Hij heeft eindelijk de wind weer in zijn kop He finally has the wind in his head again
Ik heb een tweede kans gekregen, en da's meer dan ik verdien I have gotten a second chance, which is more than I deserve
Maar als dit het is, is dit het But if this it, this is it
Als dit het is, is dit het
Als dit het is, is dit het
En we zullen het wel zien And we shall see what happens
Even rustig ademhalen, lijkt of het regent als altijd
Maar het regent, en het regent zonnestralen
Why these songs? Acda en de Munnik have been one of my favourite bands for a long, long time. They are very popular in the Netherlands and their shows are always sold out. They write rather simple tunes, with Paul de Munnik usually on piano, and Thomas Acda usually on guitar. Their lyrics are brilliant. They're very clever with words. Their songs usually revolve around several different themes, of which one is escapism. Escaping your life and looking for the solution anywhere but where you are right now. It's a topic I have dealt with all my life, and probably one of the reasons I love them so much. :D I've never seen them live. I don't know if I ever will, as the songs I know are mostly the old ones. I don't really know any of their new material. But the old songs, especially these two right here, mean the world to me. These are the songs that inspire me.
A bit of background: Acda en de Munnik are not just a band, they do a specific kind of theater that is known as cabaret in Dutch. It's nothing like the associations you might have with the word in English (though I do think it evolved from that), it's a bit more serious. It's similar to stand-up comedy, except there are also songs and often there's a sad part to it as well. It can be funny, but it can also be very sad, all together in one show. Anyway, so during the show there's this whole story about a guy called Herman, who nobody really knows and everyone is always forgetting his name. He doesn't stand out at all. When he dies people come to his funeral and make a lot of jokes at his expense and it's really just a very sad story. The song, "Als het vuur gedoofd is", is sung after the story of Herman is told, and makes it even sadder. Here is a man who wanted so much, and got so little out of life. Always afraid to do what he wanted, and now he's dead, after he had only just decided to make some big changes. The song, "Als het vuur gedoofd is", has always been a sort of warning to me, a reminder of what happens when you lose the spark, the guts to do the things you want to do.
On the next tour, Acda en de Munnik talked about how people always wanted to know what happened to Herman, and they came up with a sequel, "Het regent zonnestralen". In this song it becomes clear that Herman is not dead, that he actually went to live his dream, and by sheer coincidence gets a complete new start, a clean slate. He gets a new life, as everyone thinks he's dead, and he isn't. In the song, at first he's afraid, but then he decides to grab the chance with both hands and he goes on to live the life he's always wanted, or so I assume. This turns Herman into a hero, and an inspiration. Someone who has taken his life into his own hands and has broken free. The story of Herman and these two songs have always touched me deeply, and they are a significant part of who I am and who I try to be.
Lately I've been playing these songs a lot, because right now I am a little bit like Herman. I'm sitting on that bench in the park, thinking about my life as it is. I'm about to make a decision that will change my life, possibly forever. And I'm terrified. I've made and executed this decision several times before and it has made me who I am, no regrets. But this time, a lot is at stake. A lot more than there used to be and somehow the decision has gotten a lot more difficult to make. So I find myself, once again, turning to Acda en de Munnik and these two songs, to find inspiration and to find the courage to make that decision.
Stay tuned. A storm is coming.