Bloed, Zweet en Tranen
by André Hazes
The clearest card here for one specific piece of Dutch: the past participle. gedaan, gezien, gekend and geproefd all begin with ge-, and that prefix is how Dutch, like German, marks a completed action. Four examples inside one short song, each sitting in the same slot in the sentence, teach the pattern better than a conjugation table does. The vocabulary is small and emotional — geluk, verdriet, tranen, vrienden, leven — and stays in everyday register throughout. Hazes sings deliberately and separates his words, which is rarer than it sounds in Dutch pop. A1+ is right; a sensible second Dutch card once the present tense is comfortable.
How to study this song
The card for “Bloed, Zweet en Tranen” is built from 48 study entries at A1+: 25 Dutch words, 7 adjectives and 16 verb forms. The glossary is the place to begin — bloed, geluk and koek are the song’s keywords. This one leans on its verbs: 16 distinct forms against 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bloed | blood | sangre | sangue | sang |
What this song teaches you
Level · A1+
- Vocabulary words
- 25
- Adjectives
- 7
- Word combos
- 11
- Expressions
- 10
- Verb forms
- 16
- Quiz questions
- 35
Background
About the song
“Bloed, Zweet en Tranen” (“Blood, Sweat and Tears”) is a defining song of the Dutch “levenslied” — the emotional, working-class ballad tradition — sung by its greatest modern star, André Hazes.
Released in 2002 on his album “Strijdlustig”, it is a plain-spoken, big-hearted anthem about struggle and perseverance, delivered in Hazes’s unmistakable warm, unpolished voice.
More than a pop single, it functions as a folk hymn of everyday Dutch resilience. It was written by John van de Ven, André Hazes and Ton Leijten, and appeared in 2002 on the album “Strijdlustig”, tucked away as the B-side of the single “Ik hou van jou”.
Did you know?
The song has become an unofficial anthem of the Dutch national football team’s supporters, roared from the stands and in bars during major tournaments — most famously during the 2010 World Cup, when the Netherlands reached the final.
Its status only grew after Hazes’s death in 2004, turning it into a communal singalong that unites stadiums and living rooms across the country.
Charts & streaming
Though it first charted modestly in the Netherlands, “Bloed, Zweet en Tranen” became a long-running evergreen through sport and public singalongs, and it is now one of the most recognisable Dutch-language songs ever recorded.
It continues to draw heavy streaming and airplay, especially around football tournaments and national celebrations. Its original chart run was modest — number 17 in the Dutch Top 100 — and it was the 2010 World Cup that turned it into a permanent fixture, after which it settled into the annual Top 2000 listener poll.