En toch zie ik je
En toch zie ik je
met je armen rond een ander
met je lippen bij een ander
je lach verleidelijk groot
je verlangen in je ogen
en de kleine dood
Maar beelden blijven komen
tot ze vergelen en tot dromen
komen
En ik weet dat ik hetzelfde doe
vol overgave en liefde
want ik hou van mijn lief
en ik zorg voor mijn lief
maar ik vergeet je niet
de foto’s zijn vergeeld, de randen
verbogen
maar ze zijn gebonden en in zilver verpakt
de albums in de kast
ik word er heen gezogen
en ik luister naar het bloeden van mijn hart
doe het licht uit
laat het donker zijn
ik laat me eindelijk gaan
het heeft te lang geduurd
dus waar blijft nu de pijn
die ik veel te lang vermeden heb
blijf weg, blijf weg
en laat mij hier alleen
de foto’s zijn vergeeld, in zilver verpakt
in albums gebonden
Want ik hou van mijn lief
ik zorg vorm mijn lief
maar vergeten doe ik je niet
Albums
And yet there you are
with your arms around some other
your lips touching another
that smile cuts of my breath
your eyes full of desire
for a little death
Pictures keep emerging
from sharp to yellow into dreams
of purging
And I know that my frames show the same
love and dedication
cause I love my current love
see to our rough edges
but dear the lighting’s off
The photograps are bent
the pages they are crumbling
but the lining is silver and worth it to bind
those albums in my mind
no matter where I file them
keep on looking at the love I left behind
Close the covers
please don’t let there be
a darkened final pose
So much has come to pass
so why this lack of pain
seeing the poses and frames that I chose
Stay closed, stay close
please leave my riling be
The photographs are bent
a silver decline runs through my album filing
cause I love my current love
see to our rough edges
but I can’t breath while you’re smiling
Translation Benne van der Velde
Martijn van Dijk. Thank you for allowing me to translate your beautiful songs! ‘Giswerk’ is criminally underrated/overlooked and its re-evaluation is more than deserved. Happy to be able to help make this happen. + I’m still grateful for your gorgeous rendition of my Dutch re-write of Jeff Buckley’s timeless Lilac Wine.
Martijn. The very first time I heard this crazy talented musician play and sing I was at some venue in Schiedam with partner in crime Gino, both stoned out of our minds, and I think Gino took me there for this exact reason. To hear this then young man perform. Must have been 30 years… Anyhow, stoner mind blown. Martijn and me became friends, and over the following decades we made some awesome stuff both together and as members of The Ongeboren Idee!
Martijn went to the Willem de Kooning academie, and after graduating taught there for years. Another couple of those ago he switched from active teaching to a lead backoffice job at the same institution. He’s been making music and being a podium animal for most of his adult life and hosted the Sunday jam sessions at The Grauwe Hengst for… at least a decade. In 2018 he released Giswerk and In 2021 he got his diploma as a sound engineer.
In 2024, though, he fell head over heels in love with improv theater and recently joined a second improv group, as one does :) You go, mate! Just don’t forget to also keep making music okay? Cheers.
The other tracks of his EP as published in this issue: