Geen Rem Lyrics in English by Froukje
Afzuigkap means an extractor hood or range hood, the kitchen appliance that removes cooking fumes. It is a distinctive Dutch compound word, literally combining afzuigen (“suck away”) and kap (“hood”).
In the song, the detail that the extractor hood was on while they smoked in the kitchen creates a vivid, slightly chaotic snapshot of the night. Its unusual sound and memorable meaning make it an excellent word for learners.
Froukje’s “Geen Rem” (“No Brakes”) follows the morning after a drunken night when the narrator feels lonely, ashamed, and unable to face someone she loves. She says, “Ik wil echt niet meer drinken” [I really don’t want to drink anymore], but then remembers the things she said and revealed. The line “Nu draagt de halve wereld mijn kruis” [Now half the world carries my cross] means that her private pain feels exposed to everyone. It is a striking image: her shame is no longer hers alone, yet it still feels like her burden.
The song keeps returning to the question, “Waarom heb ik soms dan geen rem?” [Why do I sometimes have no brakes?] Here, “geen rem” is an idiom for losing control and not knowing when to stop. She thinks she understands her limits, but ends up sitting with a bucket because she is sick. Even an ordinary family plan, driving to her hometown for her nephew’s sixteenth birthday, falls apart. In the middle of this mess, she quietly tells herself, “Ik ben oké” [I’m okay], then adds, “Ik ben niet de onzekerheid in mijn hart” [I am not the insecurity in my heart]. That small statement gives the song a stubborn spark of self-respect: her mistakes and doubts are part of her experience, but they are not the whole of who she is.
