Whenever I hear Dutch, I start laughing. I blame Paul de Leeuw.

(I did like the song, though).

FWIW, many opera goers don't speak German or Italian and it's only in recent years that they've been provided with in-seat translation.

She has a lovely voice.

It sounds lovely, but I think not being able to understand the lyric takes away some of the enjoyment - because I can't make any emotional connection with what she's singing about.

There's a certain emotional immediacy about ones native language that second languages don't have I find. So all those songs in English, French and German that I like so much are a little bit just repetitive sounds on a beautiful melody. I can blissfully sing about seamen taking advantage of prostitutes (Le Port d'Amsterdam) or unreliable womanizers (24 hours from Tulsa) or a rapist who won't let his victim go (Jeanny). And it doesn't quite resonate emotionally.

Especially cheesy sentimentality only has power to move in my native language.

Tx for giving this a listen.

What a lovely song, and what expression in her voice! For some reason, it sounded to me like she was relating a sad story of something from her memory, that she regretted, that happened to other people in her town.

According to Google Translate:

When the war comes,
And if I have to hide,
Can I with you?
If there is a club,
I do not want to belong to,
Can I with you?
If a rule is
Where I can not meet
Can I with you?
And if I need something,
What I've never been,
Can I with you?

Can I trust in you,
If it can anywhere else?
And if I have to cry,
You dry my tears then?
Because if I can with you,
You can always with me.
Come whenever you want,
I like a room for free.

When the storm comes,
And when I'm scared,
Can I with you?
As night falls,
And it's too dark to me,
Can I with you?
When spring comes,
And when I'm in love
Can I with you?
When love comes,
And I'm sure,
Can I with you?

Can I trust in you,
If it can anywhere else?
And if I have to cry,
You dry my tears then?
Because if I can with you,
You can always with me.
Come whenever you want,
I like a room for free

Can I trust in you,
If it can anywhere else?
And if I have to cry
You dry my tears then?
Because if I can with you,
You can always with me
Come whenever you want,
'K like a room for free.

When the end comes,
And when I'm scared,
Can I with you?
When the end comes,
And when I'm alone,
Can I with you?

w/r/t songs in Dutch (or partly) when i was in college we had this music library with listening rooms. I used to take my books there and study, and pick out random records to put on while studying. One day I ran across Marieke and loved it. Actually a version from "Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris that sounded something like this though I don't think it was Judy Collins. But it stayed with me.

Ha, Serena, yes, that's about the translation. Of course the lyrics do some poetic language tricks that don't come across in the translation. It's "can I [shelter] with you". So it's about friendship and being there for eachother.

Miko, if you like Jacques Brel in Dutch I have Mijn Vlakke Land for you. Very sonorous.