Ik sta te blozen - Annie

'Ik sta te blozen' ('I'm blushing') is one of the least gloomy songs recorded by Annie, perhaps this is why the record company went for this song. It's the story of a woman who is blushing when she receives a bunch of red roses, which is quite innocent when you compare it to the ominous songs Annie sings on other single releases.

Both songs on this single were taken from Annie's album Liedjes van liefde en leven (Songs of love and life), an undisputed cult classic. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7334
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 September 2024
Tracks: 'Ik sta te blozen' / 'De strandjutter'

Mammie waar is pappa - Anny & Tosca

Tosca Verkooyen was born in 1969. She recorded her first single in 1979 together with Anny van de Ruit, the singer who would go on to record solo singles as Annie. I bought this single mostly as a curiosity, because it predates Annie's slightly legendary solo work.

Of course, there is an element of tragedy in this single as well: Tosca wonders where her dad is in this song, and Anny replies that he ran away with another woman. And so it fits in wonderfully with the repertoire we've come to know so well from Annie.

My collection: 7" single no. 7329
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 September 2024
Tracks: 'Mammie waar is pappa' / ''s Nachts langs de straat'

Mijn moesje - Annie

A lot has been written about Annie on this blog, particularly the lyrics of her Eighties singles which were a bit morbid at times. Those lyrics can't be followed by those of you who can't understand Dutch, which is why I try to describe them.

'Mijn moesje' ('My mum') is very different from previous singles, because it is a bit of a tribute to mothers. The singer expresses her love and gratitude to her mum, but in the last verse it turns out that mum is old and parked in a retirement home. The B-side, 'Je bent toch mijn zoon' ('You're still my son') sounds like a lament of a mum who has a son that never comes to visit. "Why don't you come and see me?", she complains.

This was Annie's last single, released in 1986. Annie passed away in 2013.

My collection: 7" single no. 7258
Found: Discogs.com, received 4 July 2024
Tracks: 'Mijn moesje' / 'Je bent toch mijn zoon'

Oude wonden - Annie

Having released one album and six singles on the WEA/Arti label, Dutch singer Annie found herself without a recording contract. No wonder: all of her releases failed to chart, as her repertoire was probably just too depressing for most.

But she persevered. 'Oude wonden' ('Old wounds') was released in 1985 on the small 'Audio records' label. The material she sang was as depressing as ever: 'Old wound never heal' she sings on the A-side, and the B-side, 'Waarom ging je heen' ('Why did you leave') is an ode to someone who committed suicide. It was another remarkable addition to an already remarkable repertoire. Unsurprisingly, this single, too, wasn't a hit.

My collection: 7" single no. 7229
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 June 2024
Tracks: 'Oude wonden' / 'Waarom ging je heen'

Eenzame nachten - Annie

'It's now or never', sang Elvis Presley once, and before that, some Italians would sing 'O Sole Mio'. Leave it up to Dutch singer Annie to give this song a dark turn: 'Eenzame nachten' ('Lonely nights') is sung from the perspective of a woman who has been left behind by her man, but she threatens him with blackmail. She sings: 'Ik ken je fouten / en ook jouw geheimen' ('I know your faults / and also your secrets') and this should coax the man back to her. In the meantime, she is spending lonely nights, waiting for him to return.

The Dutch repertoire is full of bad singers and weird songs, but somehow Annie managed to find her way into my collection because her singles are full of bizarre lyrics. They call it 'camp', I think...

My collection: 7" single no. 2870
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1985
Tracks: 'Eenzame nachten' / 'Het mooiste in het leven'

Als m'n moesje niet meer hier is - Annie

I think I mentioned before that the repertoire of Dutch singer Annie is full of morbid lyrics. A good example is this single, 'Als m'n moesje niet meer hier is' ('If my mum is no longer among us'). A guy meets a girl, they dance a lot, and suddenly the girl is pregnant and says that they have to get married. But the guy refuses, saying that he doesn't want to leave his mum alone, and she'd have to wait until 'my mum is no longer among us'. The girl gets angry and says she doesn't ever want to see him again. When the guy gets home, he finds his mum... dead. 

Yes, I told you there's something morbid about her lyrics.

The B-side is a bit more innocent: it's about a girl in prison, who finds some consolation in a guy who is waiting for her outside, while taking care of her child. Somehow I feel this story won't end well either - but that is not told in the lyrics this time.

Annie is a phenomenon, and certainly a singer who amused me a lot back in the day.

My collection: 7" single no. 2873
Found: Disco Market, 1985
Tracks: 'Als m'n moesje niet meer hier is' / 'Meisje in de Bijlmerbajes'

Meisje, één reisje - Annie

It took me a while to continue the Annie story after this entry, perhaps because it is slightly embarrassing to own up to the fact that I actually own all these singles. But it's Dutch heritage after all, and although some people think I know nothing about Dutch culture, this is one little bit of culture that I know a lot about.

'Meisje, één reisje' (Literally: 'Girl, one trip') is the story of a fisherman who pleads with his girlfriend to go fishing for herring one last time before their wedding. By now you should be familiar with the cloud of doom that is present in every song by Annie, and indeed: a month later the scene is painted of a village in mourning, after a hurricane has turned his ship into wreckage. On the day of their wedding, the priest sings the funeral song. It's the kind of cynical story we've come to expect from Annie.

My collection: 7" single no. 2872
Found: Disco Market, 1985
Tracks: 'Meisje, één reisje' / 'Tranen zul je mij niet zien huilen'

Als er iemand is, die op je wacht - Annie

Those who read my previous entry on Annie's 'Mishandeld, vernederd, verkracht' already know that one could expect only the very worst in the lyrics of this Dutch artist. Which is why at some point I actually started collecting her singles. Several titles will follow on this blog, but this single is a strange one, as it seems particularly innocent.

The A-side, 'Als er iemand is, die op je wacht' ('If there's someone waiting for you') describes the joy of having a relationship - and sharing all the good and bad things in life. The B-side, 'Oma is jarig' ('Grandma's birthday') describes a birthday party of a woman whose children and grandchildren will come to visit. Especially on the B-side, there's still an air of impending doom. You half expect Grandma to die at the end of the song - but strangely, it doesn't happen. Maybe it was an effort to make something more commercially appealing. Of course, it didn't work: like all of Annie's other singles, this one didn't chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 2871
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, September 16, 1995
Cost: 5 guilders
Tracks: 'Als er iemand is, die op je wacht' / 'Oma is jarig'

Mishandeld, vernederd, verkracht - Annie

I've always had a penchant for the inane and the ridiculous. And this is what drove me to buy this single: 'Mishandeld, vernederd, verkracht' ('Abused, humiliated, raped') by the Dutch singer Annie. Although the single never reached the Dutch Top 40, it has still become some sort of classic, as it reached number 22 in the Flop 100 of all times in 1994, 14 years after its release.

To foreign ears, this song may sound very innocent, but it is the story of a girl who goes out at night and is abused, humiliated and raped - and as a result, scarred for life. Not the most pleasant subject for a popular song. The B-side is downright bizarre: a boy asks his grandfather whether he can have his silver clock, and in the end he gets it. It used to belong to the boy's father, but he is dead now. In the last verse, the boy is buried and the grandfather takes the hourglass home. The lyric is rather mysterious, in that it doesn't explain what is the reason for this sudden death among the clock's owners.

My collection: 7" single no. 3214
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, October 2000
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Mishandeld, vernederd, verkracht' / 'Het zilveren uurwerk'