Ik leef niet meer voor jou
Marco Borsato
How to study this song
Learning “Ik leef niet meer voor jou” means 53 entries at A2+ — 11 Dutch words, 12 adjectives and 30 verb forms, every one taken from what the song actually says. Begin with jaren and leven: get those and most of the lines stop being guesswork. This one leans on its verbs: 30 distinct forms against 12 adjectives, so conjugation is where the effort goes. At this level the goal is recognition: hear a word, place it, keep going.
The words of this song, in several languages
Every word below is taken from this song and translated by us. Nothing here is the lyric itself — these are the individual words you need in order to follow it.
Vocabulary
| NL | EN | ES | IT | FR | PT | DE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| jaren | years | años | anni | années | anos | Jahre |
| leven | life | vida | vita | vie | vida | Leben |
This card holds 9 more words. You meet them when you play the song.
Adjectives
| NL | EN | ES | IT |
|---|
What this song teaches you
Level · A2+
- Vocabulary words
- 11
- Adjectives
- 12
- Word combos
- 4
- Expressions
- 10
- Verb forms
- 30
- Quiz questions
- 35
More Dutch songs at this level
Background
About the song
Marco Borsato is the best-selling Dutch-language singer of his generation, and much of his early repertoire came from Italian originals rewritten in Dutch. «Ik leef niet meer voor jou» is one of them, adapted from a Riccardo Cocciante song. What makes the Dutch version memorable is its tone: this is a break-up sung without a single line of regret. The years are over, the heart is free again, and the closing instruction is simply to pack and go.
Did you know?
The lyric reaches for three words no textbook teaches — one for being swindled, one for someone’s annoying habits, and a blunt way of telling somebody to clear off — which is part of why it still sounds unvarnished thirty years on.
Charts & streaming
Released in February 1996 on Polydor, from the album «Als geen ander» and recorded in 1995. It reached number 8 in the Dutch Top 40, number 9 in the Mega Top 50, and number 17 on the Flemish Ultratop 50.