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40 must hear Dutch songs for international students

Aila Kubat News

Which Dutch songs do international students really need to hear? We asked Dutch students and collected their suggestions in a 40 must-hear Dutch songs playlist. 

The first song on the list is also the oldest. Laura Klok, a Dutch International Communication student suggested a classic song from 1960 called Aan de Amsterdamse grachten by Wim Sonneveld. The title translates to At the Amsterdam canals. ‘This song is pretty old,  but’Laura thinks that ‘every international student should know it.

Holly Jansen has a more current favorite, Rood by Marco Borsato. ‘This song is typically Dutch, every Dutchy knows this one and will scream along when it’s played in a bar.’

Holly sent in another song which ‘is for our Groningen fans’, but unfortunately this local classic is not on Spotify. The song is called Gras van het Noorderplantsoen (‘Grass of the Noorderplantsoen’) by Ralf Poelman. ‘It’s a song about missing Groningen and not wanting to leave it’.

International Communication student Roeland sent in Atje voor de sfeer by René Karst from 2019 because ‘it’s just something international students are going to hear at a party or a pub’. The title means something like ‘Chug your drink for the good vibes’. ‘This song obviously reminds me of some great party nights.’

Another International Communication student, Ramon Koedam, sent in a song which ‘will give international students some context about the Dutch culture’. The song is from 2005 and it’s called Het land van (‘The country of’’) by Lange Frans and Baas B. Ramon has a small tip for international students about this song, ‘Learn the lyrics by heart, so you can sing along in pubs.’

Nursing student Vera Terpstra sent in two songs. ‘These two are pure gold and definitely must-hear Dutch songs for international students.’ The songs she is talking about are Brabant by Guus Meeuwis and Zwart Wit (‘Black,White, a song about racism’) by Frank Boeijen. Vera wasn’t the only student who sent in Brabant: other students also said this song is ‘iconic’ and ‘can’t be missed on a playlist like this’.

The song Dakterras by Swifty is the song Communication student Noah sent in because it’s ‘a beautiful song from Groningen. It’s perfect to get into the summer vibes.’

IC-student Martina sent in the song Moment by Tabitha, Kris Kross Amsterdam and Kraantje Pappie. ‘This song gives me the best Dutch vibe, whenever I hear it, I remember myself cycling through the Noordenplantsoen on a sunny day.’

The song Loco by Yung felix, Poke and Dopebwoy was sent in by international communication student Teodor Nedyalkov. He didn’t choose this song because he thinks it’s good, though. ‘It’s actually a bad song, so students need to know what songs not to listen to and instead find something better to listen to.’

Loes sent in Liever te dik in de kist (dan een feestje gemist) by Stef Ekkel and René Karst. The title means something like ‘I’d rather be too fat for my coffin than miss out on a party’. ‘This song is a signature party song for a lot of Dutch people and it’s just a fun song.’

Other songs added

Two students did not only send one or two songs, they sent a whole list. Laura Klok for example, ‘Some songs are pretty old, and some songs are pretty new, I think it would be a great idea to add a mixture of these to the playlist. I also added some Dutch classics and some songs which aren’t as well-known. A nice fact about the last song, Arcade, is that Duncan Laurence won the Eurovision songcontest in 2019 with it’.

  • ‘Het regent zonnestralen’ by Acda & De Munnik
  • ‘Feesttent’ by Kraantje Pappie
  • ‘Sterrenstof’ by De jeugd van tegenwoordig
  • ‘Je vais vite (op de campingdisco’ by MEROL
  • ‘Sinds een dag of 2 (32 jaar)’ by Doe Maar
  • ‘Ben ik te min’ by Armand
  • ‘Heb je even voor mij’ by Frans Bauer
  • ‘Ik neem je mee’ by Gers Pardoel
  • ‘Beauty & de brains’ by Nielson
  • ‘Geef mij je angst’ by Andre Hazes
  • ‘Naturally’ by Rondé
  • ‘Tonight’ by Jett Rebel
  • ‘Schuilen bij jou’ by The Kik
  • ‘Peptalk’ by De staat
  • ‘Saturday night’ by Herman Brood & His wild romance
  • ‘Amigo’ by Chef’special
  • ‘1992’ by Son Mieux
  • ‘Times are changing’ by DI-RECT
  • ‘Hoornse plas’ by Pé Daalemmer and Rooie Rinus
  • ‘Arcade’ by Duncan Laurence

Laura wasn’t the only one who send in a whole list of must-hear Dutch songs. Denise Smit, an International Communication student also did. ‘I am personally not a big fan of Dutch music. But I still want international students to know that there are exceptions. I put in a lot of great songs from different genres.’ The songs are special to Denise because ‘they remind me of cycling in the summer, car rides with loud music and vacations. Also, some of these songs are really great to dance to.’

  • ‘De zon op’ by Diggy Dex
  • ‘Automatisch’ by Mario Kartel
  • ‘Ja ja Nee nee’ by Goldband
  • ‘Rode wijn’ by Maan
  • ‘Jouw effect’ by Enrique
  • ‘Zo kan het dus ook’ by Maan
  • ‘Positie’ by Caza and Bizzey
  • ‘Regen’ by Frenna and BLØF
  • ‘Rauw’ by Jayh and Pyramids
  • ‘Omarm me’ by Ronnie Flex and BLØF

Denise is especially a fan of one Dutch singer, Froukje.  ‘I would like to add everything from Froukje, but I’ll have to stick to one.’ International Communication student Mohammad Hedaya also sent in some songs by Froukje. ‘I don’t know many Dutch songs, but I really liked these’.

  • ‘Ik wil dansen’ by Froukje