Mijne Velo

My Bike

Mijne Velo

'k If I had a bike, I had made it myself'k Had ik een velo, 'k had hem zelve gemaakt
but I lost it, they took itmaar 'k ben hem verloren z'hebben hem gepakt
it was so beautifully painted in redhij was zo schone geschilderd in 't rood
my bike, my life, but now it's my deathmijn velo, mijn leven, maar nu is 't mijn dood

All over the world, there was only oneOp heel de wereld was 't er maar éne
no second one exists that fits my legsgene tweede bestaat er die past veur mijn benen
it was just my size, not too small or too big't was juste mijn mate, niet te klein of te groot
you can be very sure, I'll shoot the thief deadje mag heel gerust zijn, den dief schiet ik dood

I bought the frame from Gino BartaliIk kochte de kader van Gino Bartali
and the seat from Fausto Coppien 't was de zate van Fausto Coppi
it was the handlebars of Silveer Maes't was de guidon van Silveer Maes
and the taillight of Ernest Claesen 't achterlichtje van Ernest Claes

I had the back of Briek Schotte'k Had ik de rugge van Briek Schotte
but also the charms of Josefien Sjalottemaar ook de charmes van Josefien Sjalotte
I even beat Anquetil in the sprint'k heb Anquetil nog geklopt in de sprint
and it was uphill and against the winden 't was nog berg op en tegen de wind

From Rik Van Steenbergen I had a pair of tiresVan Rik Van Steenbergen had ik een koppel banden
and like Van Looy, a lot of hair on my teethen lijk Van Looy veel haar op mijn tanden
and I had a drink, it was very strongen 'k had ik een drankje, dat was iets heel sterks
I got it from Eddy Merckx'k hadde dat gekregen van Eddy Merckx

So I had the good qualities of everyoneAlzo had ik van iedereen de goei kwaliteiten
and my bike was full of specialtiesen mijn velo zat vol mè specialiteiten
I rode a hundred miles an hour, sober or drunk'k dèe hunderd ter ure nuchter of zat
of course downhill and with the wind at my backnatuurlijk berg af en de wind van achter'n (in 't gat)

And I see you're thinking now, it's not true at allEn 'k zie dat je nu peist, 't is toch al nie waar
how can you race with such a beard and long hairhoe kun je nu koersen met zo'n baard en lang haar
easy to say but hard to provegemakkelijk gezeid maar moeilijk bewezen
because we've never read about that in the paperswant w'hebben daar in 't Volkske nog nooit van gelezen

And yet it's true, listen carefullyEn toch is 't ware, want hort nu maar goed
I sprinted and I left that long line behindik sprintte en 'k loste'k ik die lange stoet
right from the start, half an hour aheaddirect in 't begin een half ure voor'n
without mercy, they were already lostzonder pardon ze waren al verloor'n
and when I came into view of the finish lineen kwam ik in 't zicht van den arrivee
I jumped off my bike and didn't finish'k sprong van mijne velo en 'k dei nie meer mee
for me it was fun, for them it was moneyvoor mie was 't plezier en voor nunder was 't geld
because it's those big shots that countwant 't is voor die grote surtout dat die telt
and I had a beer on the corner in the baren 'k dronk ik een pintje op den hoek in 't cafee
just in time for the race on TV.nog juist op tijd voor de koers op den TV.