I noticed that Alex's pronunciation of Dutch words is slightly better. Eddie's pronunciation is somewhat more 'Americanized'. Guess it's because Alex lived longer in the Netherlands as he's the eldest of the two. RIP Eddie.
That's true. I'm a linguist and have observed with myself being the oldest versus my younger brother, that I have a higher aptitude for Italian. For myself it's also because I was basically raised by my non English speaking grandparents and was their interpreter. But I would speak to my brother mostly in English. I observed the oldest toddler son of a cousin interacting with his Italian only speaking grandmother, and would switch to English for his mother. It's incredible how toddlers understand to switch from one language to another based upon who they're speaking with.
That's interesting because I've always thought Alex had a slight accent. I'm not surprised that his Dutch is better. Those 2 years at that age must make a huge difference in language learning.
@Diem Golightly two years is a lot when your 6, 8, or 10 years old. Plus, languages are learned 100% proficiently up until about age 8 or so, so two years at 8 or earlier is HUGE. Eddie was 7 and Alex around 9 when they moved, so that's a significant difference. Alex had 28% more time in the Netherlands than Eddie, so almost a third more time immersed in the Dutch language.
A totally different personality shines from these two, when they speak in Dutch, they seem to drop the whole rock star persona, and open up easier to convey ideas and feelings.
Maybe that's because when they speak Dutch, they automatically switch back to their childhood mode or parent mode. And then you see two boy brothers shining trough.
The Dutch are mostly very grounded and straightforward.In The Netherlands there is a saying translated in English it goes,, Just act normal that way you are acting crazy enough". I am Dutch by the way.
@@JohnMiller-bs2ln You have a good point there John...i wrote mostly...we are also somewhat stubborn...and that is manifested now in the covid count. I live in the Caribbean now...but worry about things in The Netherlands.
For the people who don't speak Dutch, there's a really funny part in this interview where they say they sat next to the director of the film Twister, Jan De Bont (he also directed Speed with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock). They said next to him because they made music for the film. Suddenly he starts singing a famous Dutch song and Eddie started to sing along. That's when the director Jan de Bont realised the van Halen brothers are Dutch, before that he had no idea. Alex and Eddie didn't know director Jan De Bont was Dutch but because of that moment they knew :):)
Roos Smit That song, sung by Arne Jansen, was a smash hit in The Netherlands in 1972, ten years after the family left The Netherlands. More important: it’s a song you can hear in a Dutch movie called Turks Fruit, directed by Paul Verhoeven. Jan de Bont was 1st cameraman. I didn’t know they liked red haired girls :)
That is a funny story! Thanks for sharing,I speak Dutch and when bumping into tourist from the Netherlands and I tell them how long I have been here they are amazed I still speak Dutch very well! I find it always so strange.
@@lydmarl.475 Strangely enough it isn't strange. If, in about a hundred years, you grow really old you may even fall back to the first language you learned. Something to do with how our memory works.
Did not know they retained their Native language in America.... Much more respect....Cool ... He was a very humble speaking English . That is why Americans loved him. Humble and LOUD when it mattered. Amazing talent. RIP. Hope to meet you up there
The brothers are the coolest. Feels like you could have beer with em even though they're some of the biggest rock stars in the world. And Ed's kid Wolfgang turned out great. No surprise there, either.
They retained their native language because they used to speak Dutch with their mother who lived nearby. She was still alive then. She passed away in 2005. And probably with their father too. He died in 1986.
@Quattro 4 The Dutch just want to start trading immediately after a cup of coffee. So, to the point please. It was bloody annoying to them that the Chinese only started to trade carefully after seven dinners...
When my dad, born in Amsterdam, became technical director at a Belgian airline, it was a shock to them. They couldn't believe the way he wanted to get things done - very direct. I am certain it's why the Dutch are regarded as successful all over the world.
@@jimimurti Gevoelsmatig zou ik dan toch zeggen: Amsterdam. Daar zijn ze geboren, én: dat is de friggin' hoofdstad, dus laat Nederland, de wereld, en iedere toerist maar zien hoe trots we op onze muzikale guitarheld zijn! En zou het niet prachtig zijn als er ook een beeld oid van Eddie komt te staan in een Ned. Indisch museum?
@@basilmarasco1975 Yes , Z Afrikans is a SOV language . The Dutch language has German influence and Dutch was key in Z Afrikan. Same as Baskisch ( N Spain ).
@@V8Deuce When I showed my dutch mother this she immediately said "Oh that's a typical dutch name "Fun Haaaalen." She has good friends who's last name is Van Halem ...ending with an m instead of an n.
As an English speaker from the UK, I've always found that Dutch is just on the edge of being understandable to me. It sounds so like English in a lot of ways, from the pronunciation of letters and words to the intonation. It's a really eerie and surreal feeling -- almost like listening to English on the radio when you're not paying much attention so you don't take in the meaning.
No chance! Engels is mijn moeder taal en ik kan zeggen dat nederlands niet dicht naar engels is als je alleen engels spreekt. If you speak a bit of dutch you can make out some similarities but I would in no way equate dutch to being like listening to the radio and not paying attention. It is probably because he heard "was" and "had".. (don't worry, my dutch sucks too, just giving context Lando)
in germany we always say dutch is a language where german and english are mixed together in strange way...that's why i'm able to understand a few things with the subtitles as a german without any translation...
IBOII5150I , :) it's because our Germanic language group, specifically West Germanic. English is in fact a mix of very old Dutch/German and Angel with lots of Latin words. This does not count for the Celtic language btw. As a Dutchman I have no problems understanding German or English. Norse Germanic(Scandinavia) is also related to our language, hence, one listen carefully can also understand Danish or even Frisian.
They were sitting next to producer Jan de Bont watching the movie "Twister" and didn't even know they both speak Dutch until one of them started singing "Meisjes met rode haren". Wich is a well known song in The Netherlands. That's hilarious. Edit: Rip Eddie.
Dutch pride🤘🏻🇳🇱🎸...living their dream in the States and beyond...and what a dream it was. RIP Edward (Eddie) Lodewijk van Halen...legend gone but not forgotten.
This is pretty awesome to hear them speak their language during an interview but at the same time odd as I've never heard the VH brothers speak dutch. Much appreciated!
They banter and interrupt and carry on the same way, it's great. And Alex laughs at his own jokes in Dutch. Very endearing clip, thanks for posting. RIP Eddie.
Reminiscing what they remember from Holland and how they got to write music for movie Twister. The did not know the director Jan de Bont is Dutch aswell.
Wow, this is beautiful. So enlightening and educating to see the brothers talking in their native language. Thank you for this. Great to see their studio too of course.
I started listening to Van Halen in the early eighties maybe seventy-nine. I always had the impression that David Lee Roth, Michael Anthony, Alex and Eddie Van Halen were just a bunch of homegrown California dudes. Through the eighties, nineties and until recently I had no idea they are Dutch/Indonesian. Alex and Eddie did have a bit of an ethnic look. So I assumed that since they're from Southern California they probably are part hispanic/Mexican American. Not a far fetched assumption since they're from Los Angeles. I have now viewed two videos where they are interviewed in Dutch. I have come to understand their immigration journey from the Netherlands to Southern California. It took a tragedy to bring this great story to the forefront. May God's Mercies be with Eddie Van Halen and God's Love, Peace and Grace with his family, band mates and friends.
Alex has more of the darker Indonesian complexion. Although Eddie had some of that tone too. It's interesting though. Eddie looks like his mom in facial contour, who is Indonesian but and Eddie had fair tone, and Alex took after his Dad in facial contour but Alex had darker tone. Interesting to see how the DNA mixes all around and spits out different facial construct and skin tone. It would be interesting to know how genes like that are distributed. There is probably a science of this that people study at University.
My god how humble these two man are and so friendly. I am so freaking jealous of that reporter being so close to them chatting like they were best friends. Must be a dutch thing, being so relaxed lol
Yes very "Dutch" in their demeanor. They remind me a lot of Johannes Hendrikus Jacob van den Berg aka Harry Vanda. Like most Dutchies they are 'gezellig'. There is no word for 'gezellig' in English that accurately captures the meaning of 'gezellig'. I stuggle to describe what it is, but every Dutchie knows exactly what it is instinctively.
@@Gerardus1970Precies. Whenever one tries to convey that exact feeling in English the only translation that comes close is "good vibe". When the vibes are good, everyone is happy. Als het gezellig is wil niemand naar huis.
@@JM1675 I think you could write a whole book and still not capture what it is. It's just a state of being and a state of mind which the Dutch just feel, so we invented a word that says it all without explaining anything :-)
@@Gerardus1970 I think you're getting too caught up in 'Gezellig' just like the Dutch guy in the Ted Lasso season 3 Amsterdam episode who ends up falling for Rebecca Welton. It's really not that intricate. Just because we came up with a word for it doesn't mean the sensation or concept which encapsulates the feeling is inexplicable or requires literary volumes.
Eddie and his dad were almost the same age when they died..his father brought his family to America hoping he would become a successful musician..he got to see his sons fame...how blown away must he have been to have his sons in one of the biggest bands from the USA! And having a son known as the greatest rock guitar player of the times!
Yes, is really sad... I had the privilege of driving Bill Paxton and his small entourage around for a couple of hours while they were in town for the Premier of TWISTER back in 96; Bill was a super nice guy, he thanked me 2 times and called me his brother... RIP guys....
Add to THAT his non-stop smoking while on stage & during the rest of the time, OFF camera! I wonder how many packs a day Edward actually smoked? Approximately? Anyone knows?
My two brothers came to America with my parents from the Netherlands when they were kids in the 60’s. They didn’t speak a word of English. Eddie and his brother remind me of my brothers. So cool to hear them speak Dutch
Eddie hat zu Anfang des Intervieuws (0:55min) gesagt das sie jeden Tag bei ihrer Mutter zu Besuch gehen die nur 5 Minuten entfehrnt wohnt und nur Holländisch mit ihr sprechen. Sie haben dadurch ihr ganzes Leben die ursprüngliche Muttersprache beibehalten.
There's a video on here where they were playing Amersterdam with Dave in the late `70's or very early `80's and they speak in their native language. Dave and Mike just have to stand by.
The Dutch like other nationalities influenced American culture over the years and and the V.H. Brothers through their music are no exception! God bless the family during this difficult time.
@@RicoLee27 Yes, to my untrained American ear, German sounds much "harsher" to me than Dutch. And interestingly, when I hear German people and Dutch people speaking English, somehow the Dutch accent in English speech sounds "gentler" to me than the German accent in English speech. Just an accident of the various languages' evolution I suppose. The say English is also a Germanic language, but about half the vocabulary comes from Romance languages, so it is useless for understanding real Germanic languages.
Very good translation, Brucenator! Nice addition from my part: Edward says: my mother, who lives 5 minutes from here, speaks Dutch, so that's why [we still speak Dutch]. Because [a Dutch saying that his mother always tells them]: "Muren hebben oren", which literally means "walls have ears". It means: watch out, never talk or whisper behind someones back, because it will come back at you, later.
+Pete Goyer Don't forget that Indonesia was part of the Dutch colonies, and thus they spoke Dutch in Indonesia until 1945 when they gained their independance and Indonesian became their official native language. That doesn't mean Dutch was removed in one or two generations, as people still conversed a lot with their parents or grandparents. Plus a lot of Indonesian people had migrated to the Netherlands and thus to keep contact they still maintained their ability to speak Dutch. So yeah, even when she is Indonesian it doesn't mean that Indonesian is her 1st language per-se.
+Hinze Halen Thanks, Hinze. I corrected that: Want muren hebben oren. We have the exact same expression in English: Because the walls have ears. To my understanding, it means to speak softly, or be careful what you say, because there's always the possibility of people eavesdropping. But here, I think he means that they go around talking Dutch in public because then no one understands what they're saying and they don't have to worry about people eavesdropping on their conversations. Ja, wij spreken bijna elke dag met mijn moeder. En ze woont vijf minuten van hier. En wij spreken Hollands. Want muren hebben oren.
Haha..dat is grappig nu, ik kreeg net last van het Mama Appelsap effect want ik verstond: Jullie hebben honger" maar het blijkt 'muren hebben oren te zijn'. :)
Seems so unusual to hear them speak their native Dutch. I get so used to hearing them in English. I always thought Eddie's (very slight) accent was just a Californian influence (although I knew they were Dutch). Cool stuff.
Ontzettend leuk dat ze nooit hun geboorteplaats hebben vergeten en min hun eigen taal, de invloed van de ouders was heel belangrijk want ze zijn er trots op Nederlands te zijn en konden er nooit afscheid van nemen van dat geweldige kleine land! Rust zacht en heel erg bedankt voor je succesvolle muziek Eddie!
Indische Nederlanders zijn altijd al sterk vertegenwoordigd geweest in de muziek in Nederland. Vooral in Den Haag zat er veel talent vroeger, heel wat bandjes gezien. Ze zaten er vaak bij.
"De Bont, dat klinkt meer Frans" Hahaha schitterend! Tof interview, nog eens bekeken voor de gelegenheid. Gelukkig zijn ze nooit hun taal en afkomst vergeten..
Eddie used to tell about how his early school masters used to hold out that long A when showing contempt for him being disruptive in class. Mr. Van Haaaaalen???? Only we Americans say it incorrectly.
I assumed he's talking about how it's pronounced differently in America, as non-English names often are. I know the comics and animation artist Will Meugniot, who pronounces his surname "Mineo" but in France it's surely closer to "moo-nyo".
Zo mooi om te zien dat ze in het Nederlands lekker helemaal tot hun zelf komen en ineens geen grote sterren lijken te zijn. Wat een geweldige bijdrage hebben hun geleverd aan de huidige muziek vooral tussen de rock en pop muziek! RIP Mr Edward van Halen 🤟
Ik denk dat ze stiekem zo op hun gemak komen omdat dit de taal is die ze met hun moeder praten. Het blijft prachtig om ze zo uit hun persona te zien. 🤘
I'm frim New York, moved to Studio City CA (Eddie's township) in 1999. Ed didn't have a new york accent. It was American-Californian. I'm also a trained actor and I perform several dialects so I know how to distinguish among them
He & brother are both so into inner workings of music. They are not just rockers, they are deeper...what a genius he was. So sad, he was gone to soon. Glad he has a son to continue and Alex is going strong....must be so hard for him though...they've always been together.
I bought the Van Halen album "1984", when it first came out, as I kept hearing about this "freakish" guitar-player who was doing things that no-one else WAS. That record blew me away. 😲😲😲😲 Even now... Listen to... "Panama" Or... "Hot For Teacher" NO-ONE plays guitar LIKE THAT! ...even TODAY. 😔
Bravo! Although I am Greek, I very much, relate, respect and appreciate the fact that they held on to their roots and kept the language flame alive. Very touching and sweet video!
They speak much better Dutch than some people I know. Just AWESOME. Their Mom is so nice for not letting them forget their roots. Their native language Dutch.
Eddie appreciated and was very kind to his fans. And one of the best guitar players ever. He was very humble. I really don't think he ever forgot where he came from. I never met the man but he seemed to be a hell of a nice guy. Rest in peace Eddie.
Thank you for posting this, it’s answered an age old question for me about the Van Halen brothers. I’m Dutch and have been residing in the US for more than 30 years now, and I’ve always wondered whether they still (or ever) spoke Dutch. Thanks to my parents, particularly my mom, I speak it fluently to this day, and with each passing year I feel it slipping away, although my extended family in Holland always tell me they can’t believe I still speak it so well. Makes me feel better 😆 I also noticed that Al’s command and pronunciation is a bit better than Eddie’s, probably because he’s the older one. RIP Eddie 😢
I always thought (I'm Dutch) that Jan Akkerman was the best Dutch guitarist ever and never realized it had to be Eddie van Halen, since he passed a couple of days ago I'm convinced and knowing he was Dutch but forgot....how could I??By the way, their Dutch is still perfect, they had a lot of contact with their Dutch mother these days.
Never thought I'd watch an interview in another language which I can't understand that doesn't have English subtitles, but hey it's EVH, he always spoke in another language, through his guitar, and I loved it!
Ik ben Amerikaan dat leer om Nederlands te spreken. Ik kan ze volgen in het Nederlands. Dank u Hinze voor de video... Het hulp me met om Nederlands te leren. Groetjes.:):)
@NRCH Ik zou willen gaan met pensioen in Nederland om in Woonschip op de grachten te varen. De beste woonschepen en binnenvaartschepen zijn in Nederland gebouwd. Ik hoef kunnen om de advertentie in het Nederlands te lezen. en misschien ik heb een oranje hart. :):)
Random Metalhead ik ben een amerikaan die NL spreekt, en mijn NL was heel helder voor NL en BE mensen. M'n vrouw is een vlaamse dus ik hoor zoveel BL door de jaren, natuurlijk.
@@GUITARTIME2024 ik ben dan weer Belg getrouwd met een Amerikaan. Wij wonen nu in Amerika maar ik hoop toch ooit weer naar huis te kunnen. Ik wou dat mijn man wat Nederlands sprak! Knap!
I've always been amazed at the people who can speak perfectly two languages their ability to speak to someone in their native tongue and then go back to their second language without sounding rusty or speaking "broken" English. I'm more jealous of that than I am learning to play guitar like him! Most people who come to America as young children, as Bob Hope did from England, very easily lose their native dialect, even as both his parents still spoke Cockney! Now I could never imagine him going back to England and talking with the Queen the same way he did the first few years of his life!
It seems that also Elizabeth Taylor who was born in the UK, moved to the US when she was 7. Although, when speaking english, she seemed to have english intonation along with that Americanized' accent.
@@22ergie But Bob Hope came from the UK at almost the very same age? I just find that sort of thing interesting---how long does a person have to live in a place before they lose their native accent or tongue, and does it always depend on how old or young the person is who lives there? Slash was also born in the UK
Dutch is so intriguing. It is probably the closest language to English in terms of sound. It took me about 30 seconds to realize they were speaking a different language, I just thought I couldn't understand their english.
I've been learning Dutch for a few years now, so I tried to transcribe this interview as best I could, then translate it into English. The transcript and translation may not be perfect, hopefully someone can make corrections, but here it is:
Als je kijkt naar het huis hierachter, dan denk je misschien: daar woont vast de president van Amerika. Nou, dat is niet het geval. Hier wonen Alex en Eddie van Halen. In Nederland zijn ze bekend als [Nederlandse uitspraak] Van Halen. In Amerika zeggen ze [Engelse uitspraak] Van Halen. Een hard rock band. Zij hebben de muziek gemaakt van de nieuwe film 'Twister.' En die film is geregisseerd door Jan de Bont. Nou een reden voor mij om natuurlijk even met ze te gaan praten. Eddie en Alex van Halen hebben het gemaakt. Hun band Van Halen is al 20 jaar een succes. 60 miljoen platen zijn in totaal van hen verkocht. Hun droomhuis in de heuvels van Los Angeles met een eigen studio-aan-huis zijn het resultaat van hun succes. In deze studio schreven ze twee nummers voor 'Twister' van Jan de Bont. Twee Nederlandse jongens uit Nijmegen, wereldberoemd in Amerika. René: Ik vind het ongelofelijk: toen jullie acht waren, ben je uit Nederland weggegaan, en nog steeds begrijp je Nederlands en kun je het praten. Eddie: Ja, we spreken bijna elke dag met mijn moeder. En ze woont vijf minuten van hier. En wij spreken Hollands. Want muren hebben oren. R: Maar voel je je ook nog een beetje Nederlands? E: Natuurlijk! Alex: Je kan wonen waar je wilt, je kan een paspoort hebben van elk land ter wereld, maar je kan het niet veranderen waar je geboren bent. En ik denk dat de eerste 5, 6 jaar van je leven, dat is erg… E: Dat is erg belangrijk. En je herinnert, je vergeet het niet meer. R: Kijk, jullie zijn als muzikanten natuurlijk vaak weer naar Nederland toe gegaan, maar wat voor jeugdherinneringen hebben jullie zelf van Nederland? A: Tony Mom. Tony Mom was mijn beste vriend. En Jeroen, dat was de enigste, want zijn vader had een auto. E: Ja, en hij speelde ook drums. A: Nee, dat was een andere, dat was… E: OK. Wie was dat? A: Euh, hoe heet ie ook weer? E: Het is de eerste keer dat wij eigenlijk muziek hebben geschreven voor een film, OK? We zijn allemaal Jan de Bont fans. En onze manager had ons gebeld en gevraagd of we de film willen zien. En nadat we de film zagen, het is de eerste keer dat wij eigenlijk… Zij hebben Van Halen muziek gebruikt in andere films, maar muziek dat we al geschreven hadden. Het is de eerste keer ooit dat wij hebben .?.?.? R: Het grappige was dat Jan de Bont wist niet eens dat jullie Nederlanders waren, hè? E: Nee, dat wist ik ook niet. R: En jij wist niet dat Jan de Bont… E: Ik zat naast hem de film te kijken en ik zei… A: En hij begon te zingen "Meisjes met rode haren" en zingt ie mee. R: Meisjes met rode haren? E: Ja. Maar ik vroeg: "waar komt u vandaan?" En hij zei: "ik kom uit Holland." Ik had zoiets van: "Shit! Zo zijn wij!" Ik had geen idee, want hij had geen accent. R: Iemand die dat "Meisjes met rode haren" gecomponeerd heeft in Nederland, die las ik hiervan ook een beetje. Maar, en je dus, je kende hem van 'Speed' natuurlijk. E: Ja, ja. A: De naam wel. R: Ja ja. Maar je heb je nooit gerealiseerd: dat is een Nederlander. A: Nee. E: Ik had geen idee. A: De Bont, dat is euh, dat klinkt meer Frans. In de studio was hij hun grootste hitschrijver, mogen wij even mee genieten van hun muziek voor 'Twister.' A: It's the 'Rock Song'… for the movie. R: OK. E: The "mellow song." E: We hebben de film een keer gezien, en vandaar gaan we thuis en ik zei: oh, ok, ik heb een idee, Alex had een idee, en samen wordt er iets. R: Ik begrijp van Jan dat jullie een song gemaakt hebben, maar ook muziek voor, euh… E: In het begin wel was het dat wij één lied schreven voor de film, maar toen had Alex een stuk muziek geschreven wat nu het einde van de film is. En dus ja, je werkt eraan en je denkt en je herinnert wat de film is en before you know it, je hebt iets. A: The music kind of fits with the thing of a tornado. It's always quiet before the storm comes, you know. So the music kinda goes up and down like this. R: En weet je welke scène dit gebruikt gaat worden? A: Wat? R: Weet je welke scènes dit gaan gebruiken? Or is this the song at the end titles? A: No, this is… E: Nee nee nee. A: This is during the movie. R: So you know what scenes…? E: This is for the… A: Listen to the sounds. Hear the sounds? It sounds like the lightning and the tornado coming. R: Right. E: This is 'Twister.' R: Yeah, ok. E: This is where they're chasing a tornado. R: Oh right, yeah. Is the song called 'Twister?' E: No no, it's called 'Humans Being.' R: Humans Being. E: Yeah. If you listen, it sounds like a tornado. R: Ah, yeah. Yeah, but this sound, I mean, you recognize the Van Halen, I mean it's… E: Yeah, yeah, yeah. A: There's no way gettin' around that. R: No, right. E: Deze heeft Jan de Bont himself, euh, de naam van het lied: Respect the Wind. A: Yeah, just go forward. R: Respect the Wind. E: Yeah. See, we didn't know what to call it. We wanted to call it 'Hope' or something because het had de gevoel… Het is het einde van de film. En Jan kwam met deze… title. Hoe zeg je in Hollands? R: Ja, titel? De titel, ja. E: Wanneer we het eerst voor hem gespeeld hadden, zei hij: "Hey, get me the last 8 minutes of the movie." Ja, en de editor kwam met de laatste zeker acht minuten van de film. En… you push play on the tape machine and the film, and boom, it just worked! De verwachtingen rond 'Twister' zijn hoog gespannen. Volgende week gaat de film in Amerika in première en dan weten we of Jan de Bont na 'Speed' opnieuw een hit heeft. In Nederland zullen we nog even moeten wachten om te kijken en te luisteren naar het resultaat van de samenwerking tussen Van Halen en Jan de Bont. 'Twister' gaat hier in september in première.
If you look at the house here behind me, you might think: that must be where the President lives. Well, that is not the case. Alex and Eddie van Halen live here. [He then explains the difference between the Dutch and English pronunciation of Van Halen.] Van Halen. A hard rock band. They've made music for the new movie 'Twister.' This film is directed by Jan de Bont, which of course gives me an excuse to go talk with them for a while. Eddie and Alex van Halen have made it big. Their band Van Halen has been a success for 20 years. 60 million records sold. Their dream house in the hills of Los Angeles with their own built-in studio is the result of their success. In this studio they have written two songs for Jan de Bont's 'Twister.' Two Dutch guys from Nijmegen who became world famous in America. René: I can't believe it: when you two were eight [more accurately, Eddie was seven and Alex was ten], you left the Netherlands, and yet you can still understand and speak Dutch. Eddie: Yeah, we talk almost every day with mom. She lives five minutes from here. And we speak Dutch. Because the walls have ears. R: But do you still *feel* Dutch? E: Of course! Alex: You can live where you want, you can have a passport from every country in the world, but you can't change where you were born. And I think the first five or six years of your life, that's really… E: That's really important. And you remember. You don't forget it, you know? R: Look, as musicians of course, you have gone back to the Netherlands often, but what childhood memories of the Netherlands do you have yourselves? A: Tony Mom. Tony Mom was my best friend. And Jeroen, he was the closest, 'cause his father had a car. E: Yeah, and he played drums too. A: No, that was someone else, that was… E: Okay. Who was that? A: Uh, what *was* his name? E: This is the first time that we've actually written music for a film, OK? We're all Jan de Bont fans. And our manager had called us and asked if we wanted to see the movie. And after we saw the movie, it's actually the first time that we… They've used Van Halen music in other movies before, but that was music we had already written. This is the first time that we ever [stopped and thought: Why not?] R: What was funny was that Jan de Bont didn't even know that you were Dutch, right? E: No, I didn't know he was either. R: And you didn't know that Jan de Bont… E: I sat next to him watching the film and I said… A: And he started singing "Meisjes met rode haren" ["Girls with red hair"] and he sang along. R: Meisjes met rode haren? E: Yeah. But I asked him, "Where are you from?" And he said, "I'm from the Netherlands." And I was like, "Shit! So are we!" I had no idea, 'cause he didn't have an accent. R: Whoever composed that "Meisjes met rode haren" in the Netherlands, I'll insert a clip of them into the video here. But, and so you knew him from 'Speed' of course. E: Yeah, yeah. A: His name, yeah. R: Yeah, yeah. But you never realized that he was from the Netherlands. A: No. E: I had no idea. A: De Bont, that's uh, that sounds more French. In the studio he wrote their biggest hits. Let's take a moment to enjoy their music for 'Twister.' A: It's the 'Rock Song'… for the movie. R: OK. E: The "mellow song." E: We watched the film once, and then we went home and I said, oh okay, I have an idea. Alex had an idea, and together we had something. R: I understand from Jan that you made a song, but also music for, uh… E: At first they wanted us to write one song for the movie, but then Alex had written a piece of music which is now the end of the film. And so yeah, you work on it and you think about it and you remember what the film is about and before you know it, you have something. A: The music kind of fits with the thing of a tornado. It's always quiet before the storm comes, you know. So the music kinda goes up and down like this. R: And do you know which scene this is going to be used in? A: What? R: Do you know which scenes this is going to be used in? Or is this the song at the end titles? A: No, this is… E: No no no. A: This is during the movie. R: So you know what scenes…? E: This is for the… A: Listen to the sounds. Hear the sounds? It sounds like the lightning and the tornado coming. R: Right. E: This is 'Twister.' R: Yeah, ok. E: This is where they're chasing a tornado. R: Oh right, yeah. Is the song called 'Twister?' E: No no, it's called 'Humans Being.' R: Humans Being. E: Yeah. If you listen, it sounds like a tornado. R: Ah, yeah. Yeah, but this sound, I mean, you recognize the Van Halen, I mean it's… E: Yeah, yeah, yeah. A: There's no way gettin' around that. R: No, right. E: Jan de Bont named this song himself: Respect the Wind. A: Yeah, just go forward. R: Respect the Wind. E: Yeah. See, we didn't know what to call it. We wanted to call it 'Hope' or something because it had the feeling… It's the end of the movie. And Jan came up with this… title? How do you say that in Dutch? R: Yeah, titel? De titel, yeah. E: When we first played it for him, he said, "Hey, get me the last 8 minutes of the movie." Yeah, and the editor came with the final cut of the last 8 minutes of the movie. And… you push play on the tape machine and the film, and boom, it just worked! There are high expectations surrounding the release of 'Twister.' The movie premiers next week in America, and then we'll know whether Jan de Bont has another hit on his hands following 'Speed.' In the Netherlands we'll still have to wait a while to see and listen to the result of the collaboration between Van Halen and Jan de Bont. 'Twister' premiers here in September.
You know, Mrs & Mrs Van Halen must have been so proud of their sons. Awesomely gifted, godlike status and true legends, yet they seem so friendly and down to Earth and never forgot their roots. And being Dutch, I bet they were great at football too :)
In "Some kind of monster" we have Lars Ulrich visiting his old Denmark home and speaking Danish and he does so effortlessly, the Van Halen brothers are basically doing the same thing here.
I got really glad to see that they can still speak Dutch! It a beautiful language, I am interested to see more interviews that Eddie tells more about his connection with the Netherlands after grown up! RIP Eddie
I grew up with both German and English as a kid and can understand about 90% of what these two guys are saying. They obviously still love speaking their native language and feel very comfortable in it. Eddie is listening to the interviewer very carefully.
I think it is great they didn't forget their 1st language.
I think the whole family spoke it all the time even when they moved here.
They are from Dutch Indonesian descent.
You could tell Eddie and Alex speak dutch to each other in this interview
@@MarieW521 Yeah they did.
@G. V. Q That's partly true, I agree that no one forgets his or her native language but I don't think in my native language
I noticed that Alex's pronunciation of Dutch words is slightly better. Eddie's pronunciation is somewhat more 'Americanized'. Guess it's because Alex lived longer in the Netherlands as he's the eldest of the two. RIP Eddie.
After a while you do forget how to prenounce words in your native language. As you know English and Dutch are closely related.
That's true. I'm a linguist and have observed with myself being the oldest versus my younger brother, that I have a higher aptitude for Italian. For myself it's also because I was basically raised by my non English speaking grandparents and was their interpreter. But I would speak to my brother mostly in English. I observed the oldest toddler son of a cousin interacting with his Italian only speaking grandmother, and would switch to English for his mother. It's incredible how toddlers understand to switch from one language to another based upon who they're speaking with.
On my account, you can also find a subtitled version of this video.
That's interesting because I've always thought Alex had a slight accent. I'm not surprised that his Dutch is better. Those 2 years at that age must make a huge difference in language learning.
@Diem Golightly two years is a lot when your 6, 8, or 10 years old. Plus, languages are learned 100% proficiently up until about age 8 or so, so two years at 8 or earlier is HUGE. Eddie was 7 and Alex around 9 when they moved, so that's a significant difference. Alex had 28% more time in the Netherlands than Eddie, so almost a third more time immersed in the Dutch language.
A totally different personality shines from these two, when they speak in Dutch, they seem to drop the whole rock star persona, and open up easier to convey ideas and feelings.
Maybe that's because when they speak Dutch, they automatically switch back to their childhood mode or parent mode. And then you see two boy brothers shining trough.
The Dutch are mostly very grounded and straightforward.In The Netherlands there is a saying translated in English it goes,, Just act normal that way you are acting crazy enough".
I am Dutch by the way.
@@mikekaatman3194 so grounded that that their covid count is among the highest.
@@JohnMiller-bs2ln You have a good point there John...i wrote mostly...we are also somewhat stubborn...and that is manifested now in the covid count.
I live in the Caribbean now...but worry about things in The Netherlands.
@@mikekaatman3194 Now thats a real grounded dutchman. Cheers!
For the people who don't speak Dutch, there's a really funny part in this interview where they say they sat next to the director of the film Twister, Jan De Bont (he also directed Speed with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock). They said next to him because they made music for the film. Suddenly he starts singing a famous Dutch song and Eddie started to sing along. That's when the director Jan de Bont realised the van Halen brothers are Dutch, before that he had no idea. Alex and Eddie didn't know director Jan De Bont was Dutch but because of that moment they knew :):)
Roos Smit That song, sung by Arne Jansen, was a smash hit in The Netherlands in 1972, ten years after the family left The Netherlands. More important: it’s a song you can hear in a Dutch movie called Turks Fruit, directed by Paul Verhoeven. Jan de Bont was 1st cameraman.
I didn’t know they liked red haired girls :)
if someone tells me that the director's name is Jan de Bont of course that sounds very Dutch.
That is a funny story! Thanks for sharing,I speak Dutch and when bumping into tourist from the Netherlands and I tell them how long I have been here they are amazed I still speak Dutch very well! I find it always so strange.
@@lydmarl.475
Strangely enough it isn't strange.
If, in about a hundred years, you grow really old you may even fall back to the first language you learned.
Something to do with how our memory works.
@@octavioandradejr.3386 Actually, Alex said that he thought it sounded more French as a surname!
What an incredible loss: today, the greatest guitarist of all time, Edward Lodewijk van Halen passed away. Dear Edward, RIP.... or: rust in vrede.
Diem Golightly, your absolutely welcome.
Translation for this video?
Ryan Connell 5150, you are able to find a subtitled version on my account, too.
Dank je wel voor deze geweldige post, moge de Grote Guitaarmeester rusten in Vrede, RIP dear Edward van Halen.....
The goat still is Jimi Hendrix imho
Did not know they retained their Native language in America.... Much more respect....Cool ... He was a very humble speaking English . That is why Americans loved him. Humble and LOUD when it mattered. Amazing talent. RIP. Hope to meet you up there
The brothers are the coolest. Feels like you could have beer with em even though they're some of the biggest rock stars in the world. And Ed's kid Wolfgang turned out great. No surprise there, either.
They retained their native language because they used to speak Dutch with their mother who lived nearby. She was still alive then. She passed away in 2005. And probably with their father too. He died in 1986.
@@Hygelac1000 He is a bit of an internet bully.
In United States not America lol
They're more outspoken in Dutch than they are in English.
Dutch are known to be pretty direct. They even manage to irate the brits and brits are master at banter.
@Quattro 4 The Dutch just want to start trading immediately after a cup of coffee. So, to the point please.
It was bloody annoying to them that the Chinese only started to trade carefully after seven dinners...
When my dad, born in Amsterdam, became technical director at a Belgian airline, it was a shock to them.
They couldn't believe the way he wanted to get things done - very direct.
I am certain it's why the Dutch are regarded as successful all over the world.
No "lulling" but "poetsing" 😋 (roughly translates to: less talk, more action)
@@MordanaRapture yep!
Hij mag nu wel een standbeeld in Nederland krijgen. He should get a statue in Holland.
Yeah, he was the most succesfull Dutch mucisian
Zeker weten, ik bedoel...If Eddie doesnt deserve this honor in Holland, then who the hell does..??
Uiteraard!
In Amsterdam of Nijmegen?
@@jimimurti Gevoelsmatig zou ik dan toch zeggen: Amsterdam. Daar zijn ze geboren, én: dat is de friggin' hoofdstad, dus laat Nederland, de wereld, en iedere toerist maar zien hoe trots we op onze muzikale guitarheld zijn! En zou het niet prachtig zijn als er ook een beeld oid van Eddie komt te staan in een Ned. Indisch museum?
Im an afrikaans speaking person and i can understand mostly when the talk dutch. Proud to be of dutch desent....
What is Afrikaans? Is that the Dutch language of South Africa?
@@basilmarasco1975 Yes
@@playonkorg Another commenter said that Afrikaans includes a small amount of German; is that also true?
@@basilmarasco1975 Yes , Z Afrikans is a SOV language . The Dutch language has German influence and Dutch was key in Z Afrikan. Same as Baskisch ( N Spain ).
Poser
I'm Dutch, but I never knew they were Dutch.
They're even Dutch Indos, just like me. Pretty cool. Thanks for the music, Eddie!
Wasn't the name of their band a give-away that they're dutch?
@@LeniG-123 not at all!
Leni G. Eddie didn’t want to name the band after themselves, but Dave recommended it. Later on, he said he was glad they did.
I am Dutch Indo , too
@@V8Deuce When I showed my dutch mother this she immediately said "Oh that's a typical dutch name "Fun Haaaalen." She has good friends who's last name is Van Halem ...ending with an m instead of an n.
As an English speaker from the UK, I've always found that Dutch is just on the edge of being understandable to me. It sounds so like English in a lot of ways, from the pronunciation of letters and words to the intonation. It's a really eerie and surreal feeling -- almost like listening to English on the radio when you're not paying much attention so you don't take in the meaning.
landofold betekent dat dat je mij nu begrijpt?
Niet zo enthousiast
No chance! Engels is mijn moeder taal en ik kan zeggen dat nederlands niet dicht naar engels is als je alleen engels spreekt. If you speak a bit of dutch you can make out some similarities but I would in no way equate dutch to being like listening to the radio and not paying attention. It is probably because he heard "was" and "had".. (don't worry, my dutch sucks too, just giving context Lando)
in germany we always say dutch is a language where german and english are mixed together in strange way...that's why i'm able to understand a few things with the subtitles as a german without any translation...
IBOII5150I ,
:) it's because our Germanic language group, specifically West Germanic. English is in fact a mix of very old Dutch/German and Angel with lots of Latin words. This does not count for the Celtic language btw.
As a Dutchman I have no problems understanding German or English. Norse Germanic(Scandinavia) is also related to our language, hence, one listen carefully can also understand Danish or even Frisian.
Rust zacht Eddie RIP & save a place up there so we can meet again once 🇳🇱🤘🏼🇳🇱
😭 doei legende
🤘😇🤘
Amazing that although they had been in the US for 34 years, they still spoke fluent Dutch with such ease. RIP Eddie VH
Since they arrived , the family spoke Dutch amongst themselves .
No wonder why Eddie was so great on the guitar. He was playing in Dutch.
They were sitting next to producer Jan de Bont watching the movie "Twister" and didn't even know they both speak Dutch until one of them started singing "Meisjes met rode haren". Wich is a well known song in The Netherlands. That's hilarious.
Edit: Rip Eddie.
Dutch pride🤘🏻🇳🇱🎸...living their dream in the States and beyond...and what a dream it was. RIP Edward (Eddie) Lodewijk van Halen...legend gone but not forgotten.
Who is here because of Eddie van Halen passing?
rvlaar *YO!* ⭐️
Ik
Ik
Ik ook.. Eddie 🙏 :(
..
This is pretty awesome to hear them speak their language during an interview but at the same time odd as I've never heard the VH brothers speak dutch. Much appreciated!
They banter and interrupt and carry on the same way, it's great. And Alex laughs at his own jokes in Dutch. Very endearing clip, thanks for posting. RIP Eddie.
I don’t understand a word they say but I enjoy this interview
Me to! Rip
Reminiscing what they remember from Holland and how they got to write music for movie Twister. The did not know the director Jan de Bont is Dutch aswell.
Sign up for Dutch lessons
same bro
ich kann Deutsch und Englisch sehr gut, trotzdem verstehe ich 10% 😂
Wow, this is beautiful. So enlightening and educating to see the brothers talking in their native language. Thank you for this. Great to see their studio too of course.
I started listening to Van Halen in the early eighties maybe seventy-nine. I always had the impression that David Lee Roth, Michael Anthony, Alex and Eddie Van Halen were just a bunch of homegrown California dudes. Through the eighties, nineties and until recently I had no idea they are Dutch/Indonesian. Alex and Eddie did have a bit of an ethnic look. So I assumed that since they're from Southern California they probably are part hispanic/Mexican American. Not a far fetched assumption since they're from Los Angeles. I have now viewed two videos where they are interviewed in Dutch. I have come to understand their immigration journey from the Netherlands to Southern California. It took a tragedy to bring this great story to the forefront. May God's Mercies be with Eddie Van Halen and God's Love, Peace and Grace with his family, band mates and friends.
They grew up in Pasadena. a bit Northeast of LA.
Alex has more of the darker Indonesian complexion. Although Eddie had some of that tone too. It's interesting though. Eddie looks like his mom in facial contour, who is Indonesian but and Eddie had fair tone, and Alex took after his Dad in facial contour but Alex had darker tone. Interesting to see how the DNA mixes all around and spits out different facial construct and skin tone. It would be interesting to know how genes like that are distributed. There is probably a science of this that people study at University.
The bros were really close ... a real sad day for any longtime vh fan from 70s and 80s
That is a very insightful comment. ♫♪☼♥
I knew they weren't born in the USA so assumed they came from the Netherlands or Germany in their teens.
My god how humble these two man are and so friendly. I am so freaking jealous of that reporter being so close to them chatting like they were best friends. Must be a dutch thing, being so relaxed lol
Yes, it is. Dutchies are cheerful
Yes very "Dutch" in their demeanor. They remind me a lot of Johannes Hendrikus Jacob van den Berg aka Harry Vanda. Like most Dutchies they are 'gezellig'. There is no word for 'gezellig' in English that accurately captures the meaning of 'gezellig'. I stuggle to describe what it is, but every Dutchie knows exactly what it is instinctively.
@@Gerardus1970Precies. Whenever one tries to convey that exact feeling in English the only translation that comes close is "good vibe". When the vibes are good, everyone is happy. Als het gezellig is wil niemand naar huis.
@@JM1675 I think you could write a whole book and still not capture what it is. It's just a state of being and a state of mind which the Dutch just feel, so we invented a word that says it all without explaining anything :-)
@@Gerardus1970 I think you're getting too caught up in 'Gezellig' just like the Dutch guy in the Ted Lasso season 3 Amsterdam episode who ends up falling for Rebecca Welton.
It's really not that intricate. Just because we came up with a word for it doesn't mean the sensation or concept which encapsulates the feeling is inexplicable or requires literary volumes.
Eddie and his dad were almost the same age when they died..his father brought his family to America hoping he would become a successful musician..he got to see his sons fame...how blown away must he have been to have his sons in one of the biggest bands from the USA! And having a son known as the greatest rock guitar player of the times!
At least 3 People no longer with us in this segment. Eddie, Bill Paxton & Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Yes, is really sad... I had the privilege of driving Bill Paxton and his small entourage around for a couple of hours while they were in town for the Premier of TWISTER back in 96; Bill was a super nice guy, he thanked me 2 times and called me his brother... RIP guys....
Sad we lost some really talented people with a lot left to give.
Game over, man... game over.
I love hearing them speak Dutch.
It hurts to watch Eddie smoking in every video on the internet. Sigh...
Yes, I thought that
Add to THAT his non-stop smoking while on stage & during the rest of the time, OFF camera!
I wonder how many packs a day Edward actually smoked? Approximately? Anyone knows?
I'm a smoker, but was always a HEAVY smoker!
@@mr.blackwell5423 I heard numbers from 2 to 3 packs a day :(
@Bike Cycle He had a brain tumor so he did suffer terribly.😭
Beautiful and that's how it should be. Mother tongue should be taught at home and it should never be forgotten.
I love hearing famous people speak a different language
It’s not different language... it’s there language....
@@laurahernandez3310 why comment. You and everyone else knows what Mo means.
@@laurahernandez3310 It;
It's "different" for the 'listener.' I'm sure that's what was meant here, And it's THEIR language, not, "there" !
Different from the perpspective of an English speaking person. Not so different for me.
My two brothers came to America with my parents from the Netherlands when they were kids in the 60’s. They didn’t speak a word of English. Eddie and his brother remind me of my brothers. So cool to hear them speak Dutch
Als Deutscher verstehe ich vieles, ich find die Sprache recht schön. Und es ist schön zu hören, daß die noch nichts vergessen haben.
Eddie hat zu Anfang des Intervieuws (0:55min) gesagt das sie jeden Tag bei ihrer Mutter zu Besuch gehen die nur 5 Minuten entfehrnt wohnt und nur Holländisch mit ihr sprechen.
Sie haben dadurch ihr ganzes Leben die ursprüngliche Muttersprache beibehalten.
@@marcuszysk5915 Ah, das ist mir entgangen. Bedankt
Ja bestimmt beide Sprachen sind ähnlich...
Thank you to whoever posted this . Ive always read they're from The Netherlands .
This is amazing. NEVER saw this before nor heard them ever in interviews together in their native tongue. Great footage!
After all these years i never knew they spoke Dutch fluently . . . RIP - Hero!
I just found out 8 months ago, totally cool!!
There's a video on here where they were playing Amersterdam with Dave in the late `70's or very early `80's and they speak in their native language. Dave and Mike just have to stand by.
@@ArtHoward EVEN *COOLER!!*
The Dutch like other nationalities influenced American culture over the years and and the V.H. Brothers through their music are no exception! God bless the family during this difficult time.
Well said sir
American culture in turn influenced them.
I understand German and I've never listened to people speaking Dutch before, but I was able to understand about 85% of the interview lol.
Dutch for Germans is more like Plat Duutsch spoken just across the border in Germany
The languages are very similar.
Change "van" to "von" and you're halfway there. Just kidding of course, but the two languages are descended from a proto-Germanic common ancestor.
@@antoinebeauman i am dutch and cant understand german, different words and weird grammar and sounds aggresive sometimss
@@RicoLee27 Yes, to my untrained American ear, German sounds much "harsher" to me than Dutch. And interestingly, when I hear German people and Dutch people speaking English, somehow the Dutch accent in English speech sounds "gentler" to me than the German accent in English speech. Just an accident of the various languages' evolution I suppose. The say English is also a Germanic language, but about half the vocabulary comes from Romance languages, so it is useless for understanding real Germanic languages.
Very good translation, Brucenator! Nice addition from my part: Edward says: my mother, who lives 5 minutes from here, speaks Dutch, so that's why [we still speak Dutch]. Because [a Dutch saying that his mother always tells them]: "Muren hebben oren", which literally means "walls have ears". It means: watch out, never talk or whisper behind someones back, because it will come back at you, later.
Even more impressive is that there mother is Indonesian
+Pete Goyer Don't forget that Indonesia was part of the Dutch colonies, and thus they spoke Dutch in Indonesia until 1945 when they gained their independance and Indonesian became their official native language. That doesn't mean Dutch was removed in one or two generations, as people still conversed a lot with their parents or grandparents. Plus a lot of Indonesian people had migrated to the Netherlands and thus to keep contact they still maintained their ability to speak Dutch.
So yeah, even when she is Indonesian it doesn't mean that Indonesian is her 1st language per-se.
+Hinze Halen
Thanks, Hinze. I corrected that: Want muren hebben oren. We have the exact same expression in English: Because the walls have ears.
To my understanding, it means to speak softly, or be careful what you say, because there's always the possibility of people eavesdropping. But here, I think he means that they go around talking Dutch in public because then no one understands what they're saying and they don't have to worry about people eavesdropping on their conversations.
Ja, wij spreken bijna elke dag met mijn moeder. En ze woont vijf minuten van hier. En wij spreken Hollands. Want muren hebben oren.
Haha..dat is grappig nu, ik kreeg net last van het Mama Appelsap effect want ik verstond: Jullie hebben honger" maar het blijkt 'muren hebben oren te zijn'. :)
+Marcus Heel grappig. En ik verstond het eerst als 'want moeder hebben horen,' die natuurlijk krom is.
Seems so unusual to hear them speak their native Dutch. I get so used to hearing them in English. I always thought Eddie's (very slight) accent was just a Californian influence (although I knew they were Dutch). Cool stuff.
+SilentKnight43 just watched an Eddie interview and for the first time noticed a very slight accent too.
So fun to see them speak their native dutch... RIP dear Eddie, we will miss you, but thank you for all the music and the wonderful memories...
This is one of my favourite videos with the two brothers! RIP Mr. Eddie Van Halen You are a master on the guitar!!!!
Ontzettend leuk dat ze nooit hun geboorteplaats hebben vergeten en min hun eigen taal, de invloed van de ouders was heel belangrijk want ze zijn er trots op Nederlands te zijn en konden er nooit afscheid van nemen van dat geweldige kleine land! Rust zacht en heel erg bedankt voor je succesvolle muziek Eddie!
Oh yeah . Valerie talked how the Halen Bros would speak Dutch or some Indonesian even when she was around them . Just bits of Dutch here and there .
I'm proud to be Dutch Indo ! RIP Eddie
Indische Nederlanders zijn altijd al sterk vertegenwoordigd geweest in de muziek in Nederland. Vooral in Den Haag zat er veel talent vroeger, heel wat bandjes gezien. Ze zaten er vaak bij.
"De Bont, dat klinkt meer Frans" Hahaha schitterend! Tof interview, nog eens bekeken voor de gelegenheid. Gelukkig zijn ze nooit hun taal en afkomst vergeten..
I like when the presenter says their family name he pronounces it "Von Haa-len" but when he says the band name he says "Van Hay-len". :)
Eddie used to tell about how his early school masters used to hold out that long A when showing contempt for him being disruptive in class. Mr. Van Haaaaalen???? Only we Americans say it incorrectly.
I assumed he's talking about how it's pronounced differently in America, as non-English names often are. I know the comics and animation artist Will Meugniot, who pronounces his surname "Mineo" but in France it's surely closer to "moo-nyo".
They’re like a couple of guys who run a hash store in Amsterdam.
?
That is too funny!
Helemaal!
Zo mooi om te zien dat ze in het Nederlands lekker helemaal tot hun zelf komen en ineens geen grote sterren lijken te zijn. Wat een geweldige bijdrage hebben hun geleverd aan de huidige muziek vooral tussen de rock en pop muziek! RIP Mr Edward van Halen 🤟
Ik denk dat ze stiekem zo op hun gemak komen omdat dit de taal is die ze met hun moeder praten. Het blijft prachtig om ze zo uit hun persona te zien. 🤘
I just watched the whole thing without understanding what they're saying.
RIP Eddie
I'm frim New York, moved to Studio City CA (Eddie's township) in 1999. Ed didn't have a new york accent. It was American-Californian. I'm also a trained actor and I perform several dialects so I know how to distinguish among them
This is the first interview I have seen where Eddy seemed to enjoy giving interviews!!
I think because they speak Dutch and Dutch people are very cool people.
He & brother are both so into inner workings of music. They are not just rockers, they are deeper...what a genius he was. So sad, he was gone to soon. Glad he has a son to continue and Alex is going strong....must be so hard for him though...they've always been together.
I bought the Van Halen album "1984", when it first came out, as I kept hearing about this "freakish" guitar-player who was doing things that no-one else WAS.
That record blew me away.
😲😲😲😲
Even now...
Listen to...
"Panama"
Or...
"Hot For Teacher"
NO-ONE plays guitar LIKE THAT!
...even TODAY.
😔
THE MIGHTY VAN HALEN ALWAYS AND FOREVER.
Right on
Well said 🔥
They talk perfect Dutch
Bravo! Although I am Greek, I very much, relate, respect and appreciate the fact that they held on to their roots and kept the language flame alive. Very touching and sweet video!
Yup....After 30 plus years, I now know that they still haven't forgotten Dutch......
They speak much better Dutch than some people I know. Just AWESOME. Their Mom is so nice for not letting them forget their roots. Their native language Dutch.
Eddie appreciated and was very kind to his fans. And one of the best guitar players ever. He was very humble. I really don't think he ever forgot where he came from. I never met the man but he seemed to be a hell of a nice guy. Rest in peace Eddie.
I’m loving the vids that are coming out in respect to EVH. This is particularly a good one.
Thank you for posting this, it’s answered an age old question for me about the Van Halen brothers. I’m Dutch and have been residing in the US for more than 30 years now, and I’ve always wondered whether they still (or ever) spoke Dutch. Thanks to my parents, particularly my mom, I speak it fluently to this day, and with each passing year I feel it slipping away, although my extended family in Holland always tell me they can’t believe I still speak it so well. Makes me feel better 😆
I also noticed that Al’s command and pronunciation is a bit better than Eddie’s, probably because he’s the older one. RIP Eddie 😢
I always thought (I'm Dutch) that Jan Akkerman was the best Dutch guitarist ever and never realized it had to be Eddie van Halen, since he passed a couple of days ago I'm convinced and knowing he was Dutch but forgot....how could I??By the way, their Dutch is still perfect, they had a lot of contact with their Dutch mother these days.
Their mother was Indonesian . Their Dad met her when he was working there .
Saw Van Halen in Stockholm 1984 at Monsters Of Rock, Råsunda, Sweden. 😉
Mötley Crue and AC/DC played the same day. 🤘🏻
Geweldig om de broers zo ongelooflijk nederlands te horen praten (incredible to hear the brothers speak so well in Dutch)
First time I hear him talking in dutch language. Amazing!!
First time ever hearing Them speak in Dutch. So awesome 😎
They seem so relax speaking their native language. RIP Eddie.
Cool !! ALWAYS great to get back home !!
They seemed to like the interviewer / interview - VERY professional !!
I didn't know he written and played the guitar music for the movie "Twister" ,Wow! Awesome playing!
Leuk om ze eens nederlands te horen praten!
Never thought I'd watch an interview in another language which I can't understand that doesn't have English subtitles, but hey it's EVH, he always spoke in another language, through his guitar, and I loved it!
Nice! If you like, you can watch the subtitled version. It’s on my account, too.
That was awesome!!
Great to see them in the studio!!
They were nominated for a Grammy in 96 for Best instrumental-Respect the Wind.
Great Stuff!
Luca Ferrara nice!!
Proud to be Dutch with these legends! 💪🏻🇳🇱❤️
Ik ben Amerikaan dat leer om Nederlands te spreken. Ik kan ze volgen in het Nederlands. Dank u Hinze voor de video... Het hulp me met om Nederlands te leren. Groetjes.:):)
fmagalhaes1521 maar waarom zou je nederlands willen leren?
@NRCH Ik zou willen gaan met pensioen in Nederland om in Woonschip op de grachten te varen. De beste woonschepen en binnenvaartschepen zijn in Nederland gebouwd. Ik hoef kunnen om de advertentie in het Nederlands te lezen. en misschien ik heb een oranje hart. :):)
Random Metalhead ik ben een amerikaan die NL spreekt, en mijn NL was heel helder voor NL en BE mensen. M'n vrouw is een vlaamse dus ik hoor zoveel BL door de jaren, natuurlijk.
@@GUITARTIME2024 ik ben dan weer Belg getrouwd met een Amerikaan. Wij wonen nu in Amerika maar ik hoop toch ooit weer naar huis te kunnen. Ik wou dat mijn man wat Nederlands sprak! Knap!
@@mamavanaedan bedankt
I've always been amazed at the people who can speak perfectly two languages their ability to speak to someone in their native tongue and then go back to their second language without sounding rusty or speaking "broken" English. I'm more jealous of that than I am learning to play guitar like him! Most people who come to America as young children, as Bob Hope did from England, very easily lose their native dialect, even as both his parents still spoke Cockney! Now I could never imagine him going back to England and talking with the Queen the same way he did the first few years of his life!
It seems that also Elizabeth Taylor who was born in the UK, moved to the US when she was 7. Although, when speaking english, she seemed to have english intonation along with that Americanized' accent.
@@22ergie But Bob Hope came from the UK at almost the very same age? I just find that sort of thing interesting---how long does a person have to live in a place before they lose their native accent or tongue, and does it always depend on how old or young the person is who lives there? Slash was also born in the UK
Dutch is so intriguing. It is probably the closest language to English in terms of sound. It took me about 30 seconds to realize they were speaking a different language, I just thought I couldn't understand their english.
LOL
I've been learning Dutch for a few years now, so I tried to transcribe this interview as best I could, then translate it into English. The transcript and translation may not be perfect, hopefully someone can make corrections, but here it is:
Als je kijkt naar het huis hierachter, dan denk je misschien: daar woont vast de president van Amerika. Nou, dat is niet het geval. Hier wonen Alex en Eddie van Halen. In Nederland zijn ze bekend als [Nederlandse uitspraak] Van Halen. In Amerika zeggen ze [Engelse uitspraak] Van Halen. Een hard rock band. Zij hebben de muziek gemaakt van de nieuwe film 'Twister.' En die film is geregisseerd door Jan de Bont. Nou een reden voor mij om natuurlijk even met ze te gaan praten.
Eddie en Alex van Halen hebben het gemaakt. Hun band Van Halen is al 20 jaar een succes. 60 miljoen platen zijn in totaal van hen verkocht. Hun droomhuis in de heuvels van Los Angeles met een eigen studio-aan-huis zijn het resultaat van hun succes. In deze studio schreven ze twee nummers voor 'Twister' van Jan de Bont. Twee Nederlandse jongens uit Nijmegen, wereldberoemd in Amerika.
René: Ik vind het ongelofelijk: toen jullie acht waren, ben je uit Nederland weggegaan, en nog steeds begrijp je Nederlands en kun je het praten.
Eddie: Ja, we spreken bijna elke dag met mijn moeder. En ze woont vijf minuten van hier. En wij spreken Hollands. Want muren hebben oren.
R: Maar voel je je ook nog een beetje Nederlands?
E: Natuurlijk!
Alex: Je kan wonen waar je wilt, je kan een paspoort hebben van elk land ter wereld, maar je kan het niet veranderen waar je geboren bent. En ik denk dat de eerste 5, 6 jaar van je leven, dat is erg…
E: Dat is erg belangrijk. En je herinnert, je vergeet het niet meer.
R: Kijk, jullie zijn als muzikanten natuurlijk vaak weer naar Nederland toe gegaan, maar wat voor jeugdherinneringen hebben jullie zelf van Nederland?
A: Tony Mom. Tony Mom was mijn beste vriend. En Jeroen, dat was de enigste, want zijn vader had een auto.
E: Ja, en hij speelde ook drums.
A: Nee, dat was een andere, dat was…
E: OK. Wie was dat?
A: Euh, hoe heet ie ook weer?
E: Het is de eerste keer dat wij eigenlijk muziek hebben geschreven voor een film, OK? We zijn allemaal Jan de Bont fans. En onze manager had ons gebeld en gevraagd of we de film willen zien. En nadat we de film zagen, het is de eerste keer dat wij eigenlijk… Zij hebben Van Halen muziek gebruikt in andere films, maar muziek dat we al geschreven hadden. Het is de eerste keer ooit dat wij hebben .?.?.?
R: Het grappige was dat Jan de Bont wist niet eens dat jullie Nederlanders waren, hè?
E: Nee, dat wist ik ook niet.
R: En jij wist niet dat Jan de Bont…
E: Ik zat naast hem de film te kijken en ik zei…
A: En hij begon te zingen "Meisjes met rode haren" en zingt ie mee.
R: Meisjes met rode haren?
E: Ja. Maar ik vroeg: "waar komt u vandaan?" En hij zei: "ik kom uit Holland." Ik had zoiets van: "Shit! Zo zijn wij!" Ik had geen idee, want hij had geen accent.
R: Iemand die dat "Meisjes met rode haren" gecomponeerd heeft in Nederland, die las ik hiervan ook een beetje. Maar, en je dus, je kende hem van 'Speed' natuurlijk.
E: Ja, ja.
A: De naam wel.
R: Ja ja. Maar je heb je nooit gerealiseerd: dat is een Nederlander.
A: Nee.
E: Ik had geen idee.
A: De Bont, dat is euh, dat klinkt meer Frans.
In de studio was hij hun grootste hitschrijver, mogen wij even mee genieten van hun muziek voor 'Twister.'
A: It's the 'Rock Song'… for the movie.
R: OK.
E: The "mellow song."
E: We hebben de film een keer gezien, en vandaar gaan we thuis en ik zei: oh, ok, ik heb een idee, Alex had een idee, en samen wordt er iets.
R: Ik begrijp van Jan dat jullie een song gemaakt hebben, maar ook muziek voor, euh…
E: In het begin wel was het dat wij één lied schreven voor de film, maar toen had Alex een stuk muziek geschreven wat nu het einde van de film is. En dus ja, je werkt eraan en je denkt en je herinnert wat de film is en before you know it, je hebt iets.
A: The music kind of fits with the thing of a tornado. It's always quiet before the storm comes, you know. So the music kinda goes up and down like this.
R: En weet je welke scène dit gebruikt gaat worden?
A: Wat?
R: Weet je welke scènes dit gaan gebruiken? Or is this the song at the end titles?
A: No, this is…
E: Nee nee nee.
A: This is during the movie.
R: So you know what scenes…?
E: This is for the…
A: Listen to the sounds. Hear the sounds? It sounds like the lightning and the tornado coming.
R: Right.
E: This is 'Twister.'
R: Yeah, ok.
E: This is where they're chasing a tornado.
R: Oh right, yeah. Is the song called 'Twister?'
E: No no, it's called 'Humans Being.'
R: Humans Being.
E: Yeah. If you listen, it sounds like a tornado.
R: Ah, yeah. Yeah, but this sound, I mean, you recognize the Van Halen, I mean it's…
E: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
A: There's no way gettin' around that.
R: No, right.
E: Deze heeft Jan de Bont himself, euh, de naam van het lied: Respect the Wind.
A: Yeah, just go forward.
R: Respect the Wind.
E: Yeah. See, we didn't know what to call it. We wanted to call it 'Hope' or something because het had de gevoel… Het is het einde van de film. En Jan kwam met deze… title. Hoe zeg je in Hollands?
R: Ja, titel? De titel, ja.
E: Wanneer we het eerst voor hem gespeeld hadden, zei hij: "Hey, get me the last 8 minutes of the movie." Ja, en de editor kwam met de laatste zeker acht minuten van de film. En… you push play on the tape machine and the film, and boom, it just worked!
De verwachtingen rond 'Twister' zijn hoog gespannen. Volgende week gaat de film in Amerika in première en dan weten we of Jan de Bont na 'Speed' opnieuw een hit heeft. In Nederland zullen we nog even moeten wachten om te kijken en te luisteren naar het resultaat van de samenwerking tussen Van Halen en Jan de Bont. 'Twister' gaat hier in september in première.
If you look at the house here behind me, you might think: that must be where the President lives. Well, that is not the case. Alex and Eddie van Halen live here. [He then explains the difference between the Dutch and English pronunciation of Van Halen.] Van Halen. A hard rock band. They've made music for the new movie 'Twister.' This film is directed by Jan de Bont, which of course gives me an excuse to go talk with them for a while.
Eddie and Alex van Halen have made it big. Their band Van Halen has been a success for 20 years. 60 million records sold. Their dream house in the hills of Los Angeles with their own built-in studio is the result of their success. In this studio they have written two songs for Jan de Bont's 'Twister.' Two Dutch guys from Nijmegen who became world famous in America.
René: I can't believe it: when you two were eight [more accurately, Eddie was seven and Alex was ten], you left the Netherlands, and yet you can still understand and speak Dutch.
Eddie: Yeah, we talk almost every day with mom. She lives five minutes from here. And we speak Dutch. Because the walls have ears.
R: But do you still *feel* Dutch?
E: Of course!
Alex: You can live where you want, you can have a passport from every country in the world, but you can't change where you were born. And I think the first five or six years of your life, that's really…
E: That's really important. And you remember. You don't forget it, you know?
R: Look, as musicians of course, you have gone back to the Netherlands often, but what childhood memories of the Netherlands do you have yourselves?
A: Tony Mom. Tony Mom was my best friend. And Jeroen, he was the closest, 'cause his father had a car.
E: Yeah, and he played drums too.
A: No, that was someone else, that was…
E: Okay. Who was that?
A: Uh, what *was* his name?
E: This is the first time that we've actually written music for a film, OK? We're all Jan de Bont fans. And our manager had called us and asked if we wanted to see the movie. And after we saw the movie, it's actually the first time that we… They've used Van Halen music in other movies before, but that was music we had already written. This is the first time that we ever [stopped and thought: Why not?]
R: What was funny was that Jan de Bont didn't even know that you were Dutch, right?
E: No, I didn't know he was either.
R: And you didn't know that Jan de Bont…
E: I sat next to him watching the film and I said…
A: And he started singing "Meisjes met rode haren" ["Girls with red hair"] and he sang along.
R: Meisjes met rode haren?
E: Yeah. But I asked him, "Where are you from?" And he said, "I'm from the Netherlands." And I was like, "Shit! So are we!" I had no idea, 'cause he didn't have an accent.
R: Whoever composed that "Meisjes met rode haren" in the Netherlands, I'll insert a clip of them into the video here. But, and so you knew him from 'Speed' of course.
E: Yeah, yeah.
A: His name, yeah.
R: Yeah, yeah. But you never realized that he was from the Netherlands.
A: No.
E: I had no idea.
A: De Bont, that's uh, that sounds more French.
In the studio he wrote their biggest hits. Let's take a moment to enjoy their music for 'Twister.'
A: It's the 'Rock Song'… for the movie.
R: OK.
E: The "mellow song."
E: We watched the film once, and then we went home and I said, oh okay, I have an idea. Alex had an idea, and together we had something.
R: I understand from Jan that you made a song, but also music for, uh…
E: At first they wanted us to write one song for the movie, but then Alex had written a piece of music which is now the end of the film. And so yeah, you work on it and you think about it and you remember what the film is about and before you know it, you have something.
A: The music kind of fits with the thing of a tornado. It's always quiet before the storm comes, you know. So the music kinda goes up and down like this.
R: And do you know which scene this is going to be used in?
A: What?
R: Do you know which scenes this is going to be used in? Or is this the song at the end titles?
A: No, this is…
E: No no no.
A: This is during the movie.
R: So you know what scenes…?
E: This is for the…
A: Listen to the sounds. Hear the sounds? It sounds like the lightning and the tornado coming.
R: Right.
E: This is 'Twister.'
R: Yeah, ok.
E: This is where they're chasing a tornado.
R: Oh right, yeah. Is the song called 'Twister?'
E: No no, it's called 'Humans Being.'
R: Humans Being.
E: Yeah. If you listen, it sounds like a tornado.
R: Ah, yeah. Yeah, but this sound, I mean, you recognize the Van Halen, I mean it's…
E: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
A: There's no way gettin' around that.
R: No, right.
E: Jan de Bont named this song himself: Respect the Wind.
A: Yeah, just go forward.
R: Respect the Wind.
E: Yeah. See, we didn't know what to call it. We wanted to call it 'Hope' or something because it had the feeling… It's the end of the movie. And Jan came up with this… title? How do you say that in Dutch?
R: Yeah, titel? De titel, yeah.
E: When we first played it for him, he said, "Hey, get me the last 8 minutes of the movie." Yeah, and the editor came with the final cut of the last 8 minutes of the movie. And… you push play on the tape machine and the film, and boom, it just worked!
There are high expectations surrounding the release of 'Twister.' The movie premiers next week in America, and then we'll know whether Jan de Bont has another hit on his hands following 'Speed.' In the Netherlands we'll still have to wait a while to see and listen to the result of the collaboration between Van Halen and Jan de Bont. 'Twister' premiers here in September.
+rosa warring Thanks, Rosa.
Pretty impressive! Good job. :-)
@Cymro 65 My pleasure!
Wow, this is the first time I've ever heard them speak Dutch.
I will watch twister once again
VH brothers talkin dutch,,what a trip maan.
I DIDN'T KNOW THAT THEY were Dutch. Intesting
Great to hear the guys still speaking their native language.
You know, Mrs & Mrs Van Halen must have been so proud of their sons. Awesomely gifted, godlike status and true legends, yet they seem so friendly and down to Earth and never forgot their roots. And being Dutch, I bet they were great at football too :)
bunchypea Eddie's mom used to tell him he would never amount to anything.
@@jacsig It’s good he never listened to her and did his own thing. Seems as if his dad was the one who encouraged him to pursue his musical ambitions.
In "Some kind of monster" we have Lars Ulrich visiting his old Denmark home and speaking Danish and he does so effortlessly, the Van Halen brothers are basically doing the same thing here.
I always liked this song..., never knew it was written for the Twister..
Even though I don't speak Dutch....I felt like I understood them
amen brother, amen..
I got really glad to see that they can still speak Dutch! It a beautiful language, I am interested to see more interviews that Eddie tells more about his connection with the Netherlands after grown up! RIP Eddie
So funny they still can speak my language,i like these guys
Unbelievable he's gone. R.I.P. Eddie!
Wow, this is this first time I've heard them speak their home land language,
Me too man. They seem so relax speaking their native language. So sad Eddie is gone.
@@AORvibes
Yes Eddie Van Halen played guitar really good, him and Jimmy Page both ,
I grew up with both German and English as a kid and can understand about 90% of what these two guys are saying. They obviously still love speaking their native language and feel very comfortable in it. Eddie is listening to the interviewer very carefully.
We gaan je ontzettend missen, Eddie. Rust zacht..
this is gold!!! thanks for sharing!
1:05 idk why but little moments like those make me smile :’) R.I.P. Eddie ❤️
Wish we had some subtitles!! (for those of us who don't speak Dutch). Would love to hear the conversation! 🙂
I want to learn to speak Dutch, I love Van Halen and love their Dutch language
So start to learn.
Kan je het al?
It is reaaally hard. Good luck.
Nice to hear them say that they can have a passport from every country in the world but they will always feel Dutch
FUN FACT: Jan de Bont used to be Paul Verhoevens favorite cameraman.
Alex and Eddie - so very, very Dutch in their attitude and behaviour! I can see a lot of my Dutch family and friends in this!
I don't understand a word but I still enjoy it.. lol
Thank you for posting. I heard Alex speaking dutch during some interview years ago. I think he said something sounding like "heurstewid?"
Great film I've seen many times. Humans Being is the best song on that soundtrack
Nooit geweten dat ze Nederlands konden spreken, heel gaaf om te horen!