BRIEF

With our upcoming Christmas gig in a couple months we were looking for a suitable melody and arrangement. The performance will take place in an elderly home.
We are both very big fans of Lawrence Oliver's Love Again. A gentle romantic song with a mood that is similar to what we were looking for.

Lawrence (Gruverider) gave us very kind permission to use his song in any way we'd see fit.
And we did ;-) Since we will be playing in front of a Dutch audience we wrote some Dutch lyrics for this. Next, we trimmed the song to about 3 minutes (original length 3.45) and changed the structure slightly.
Finally we added several harmony vocals.

Hope y'all like it and another big thanks to Lawrence!
For those looking for his original version, here it is.

Rob & Anne-Marie

ps, we don't have the working file, maybe Lawrence will post the RT's

Lyrics

Brief / Letter

Je schrijft, je schrijft me waar je nu bent, You’re writing me where you are now
Zo weinig mensen die je nog kent, There’s few people you still know
Dit is niet wat je voor je zag, This is not what you anticipated
of wat je had gewenst, or what you wished for
Buiten schreeuwt de storm, Outside the wind is howling
maar van binnen is het stil, but on the inside things are silent
De tijd die verstreek is vervreemdend soms, The time that went by, seems surreal at times
't Is iets dat niet meer went, Something you’ll never get used to
In deze tijd van 't jaar, This time of year
zijn and're mensen bij elkaar, other people are together
maar voor jou lijkt dat een eeuwigheid weg, to you that seems like a different world
zo anders dan vandaag, so different from today

Geen kinderen in de straat, No children in the streets
geen speelgeluiden meer, No more sounds of playing
Ach je weet het wel, maar 't is zo snel gegaan, Although you know, still it went so fast
die wereld van weleer, that world you used to know

Hij, hij was er altijd bij, He, he was always there
en de dingen die die zei, and the things he said
Ik laat je nooit meer gaan, I’ll never let you go
ik kan de wereld aan, I’m on top of the world
als je er voor me bent, as long as you’re there

En alle vrienden om jullie heen, And the friends that surrounded you
soms wel druk maar nooit alleen, crowded at times but never alone
En wat je'm nog graag zeggen wou, And what you still wanted him to know
M'n lief waar moet ik heen, My love where am I to go
Hier alleen, All alone

Ik schrijf, ik schrijf je 'n brief vandaag, I’m writing you a letter today
als antwoord op je vraag, to answer your question
Omdat ik weet dat jij er bent, Because I know you’re there
Zo weinig mensen die ik ken, There’s few people I still know

This song is sooo beautiful! Would you then consider this a collaberation with Lawrence, then, seeing as it was their working file? I love the way Dutch sounds when spoken. <3 Amazing job, all of you.

Beautiful, would you consider doing an English version if it's possible ?

Rob & Ann-Marie

Lovely work on a great song - beautifully sung and wonderful harmonies.

Peter

Rob & Anne-Marie,

Tender lyrics supported by a lovely melody-the feeling translates
beautifully.
Its very interesting to hear you sing in Dutch (love the sound of those consonants!).
Excellent harmonies (as we`d expect) and the cello is perfect.
I`m thinking your Christmas audience is going to want more like this!

Robert

Dear Mr. Meulman and Ms. Bovenkamp...

The lyrics for "Gruverider's" song seem rather melancholy in mood, but the musical arrangement almost dispels the sadness with a sound that is as pacific and quietly inspirational as an extended hand being grasped with silent gratefulness by someone in need.

On my first hearing of the song I did not bother to consult the translated lyrics because the words that form the countless languages spoken by the citizens of so many cultures in this world have their own emotional "codes" that can be unlocked by listening to the way they are expressed as well as by learning/knowing their literal meaning.

With that in mind, each of your alternately sung vocals and combined vocal harmonies convey enough feeling to leave no doubt in the listener's heart as to what the lyrics might be communicating to the mind. It's the sound of stillness, of the recollection of pain, and the hope of reconciliation.

"Brief" is a gorgeous, tentatively romantic song that seems to have been born in that space between light and darkness that all of us move into and out of at certain times in our lives, and that makes it something to re-visit no matter which side of that divide we happen to be standing on.

I'm not always comfortable using the word "art" because its meaning is as variable as the people who speak it, but if I was compelled to search for an example of it, I would certainly select the song, "Brief".

Sincerely,

LOREN

Thank you Ember,
Although not in the strict sense of the word this is a collaboration.
I can imagine how 'strange' the Dutch language must sound to people with an English language.
Since we usually write English lyrics (which I personally find easier to do), this took some work. The Dutch language has quite a lot of 'harsh' sounding words. We tried to avoid those wherever possible.

Thanks again!

Rob

Hey Rob and Anne-Marie!

This is really great. I am so glad to hear that Christmas will be here in October.

I always get sad when my wife forces me to take down the tree at Easter and can't wait to put it back up the day after Thanksgiving. Does this mean I can start getting the Christmas 2017 decorations out of the attic now??



Love the lyrics and side by side translation!!

When I heard Rob and Ann-Marie's version, something happened that took me right back to the summer of 2007. Me and the woman I wrote the song about were looking for a house and shopping for rings, then suddenly the relationship fell apart. And although ten years have all but erased the pain, listening to Rob and Anne-Marie - their beautiful voices singing in Dutch- all of the emotions of that time came flooding back. And I sat there listening in tears. There is a magic in the emotion of language that transcends words.

I consider it a wonderful gift from them. For what are we if not our strengths and weaknesses, our joy and our pain.

Thank you Rob and Ann-Marie.

Here are the RealTracks:

891 piano, 1543 synth pad, 1856 Cello, 366 Bass, 380 Acu Gtr, 1761 Acu Gtr, 1038 Acu Gtr

RealDrums: NashvilleEven 8

Beautiful interpretation of Lawrence's song Vocal and lyrics were excellent. Just loved this song. Loved listening the lyrics even though I did not understand them To me it is so true what Dave said The emotions that n the music and the heartfelt delivery tells the story

Perfect vocals and a wonderful melody.
Outstanding.
Rob

Rob/Anne Marie, Everything you bring us is great and this is no exception! Beautiful on every level! Thanks, Torrey

I couldn't have said it better than Torrey did. Everything you pst is excellent in every way. This was such a joy to listen to.

As you know, I also speak German and the vague similarities in the languages allowed me to understand some of it without the translation.

This is just so pretty!

And lawrence was so gracious by allowing you to rework his song for your need. A tip of the hat to him for that.

Simply beautiful!

Alan

Thank you Graham,

We could do an English version but we already compose the majority of our music in English. So singing in Dutch was a nice change.
Did you already listen to Lawrence's original version? You can find it in our post. It's truly beautiful!

Rob

Gorgeous song, super vocals

love the arrangement

thanks Lawrence for sharing your comments

and this great song

Kenny

Hi Rob and Anne-Marie.

What a fabulous power ballad, but gentle and romantic at the same time.

My knowledge of Dutch is strictly limited (ha) but it didn't alter my enjoyment of this super track.

You're showing your versatility once again with one.

Great backing, great vocals, great mix.

Cheers, ROG.

Rob & Anne-Marie,

Absolutely gorgeous.

Listening was a true joy.

floyd

Thank you Peter, appreciated!

Outstanding...RnAM interpreting a Gruverider song. Couldn't get much better.

floyd said it all: "Absolutely gorgeous. Listening was a true joy"

We also had the privilege of interpreting one of his tunes a couple of years ago. As Janice says his tunes are "so singable."

Great work!!

J&B

Wow, RnAM - this is absolutely breathtaking! As others have said - it's a beautiful song. The vocal delivery and melodies are flawless.

Thanks so much for sharing!