Listen to this song, performed in an instrumental arrangement

MP3 sound file

The singer of this song is listening through his window to a recent widower speaking to his wife, who has just been buried. He misses her terribly, is very unhappy and wonders fearfully what to do with his children. Their mother was a wonderful person. While looking at her portrait, he is overcome by grief.

This tearjerker was written in 1922 by Otto Zeegers, set to music by Michel de Cock. Many artists have included it in their repertoire, from Willy Derby and De Straatzangers to Johhny Hoes and De Zangeres Zonder Naam. The song is still a part of the Dutch collective song memory.

Another lyric to this melody pays tribute to a dead mother, and there is also a version about a father who cannot be missed. Other versions are mostly songs of murder and other sensational subjects.

'Moeder ik kan je niet missen' can be heard here performed in an instrumental arrangement, with Grigori Sarolea and Bouke Feleus on violin, Kees Schul on piano and Louis Grijp on guitar.

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