Lennaert Herman Nijgh (January 25, 1945 in Haarlem – November 28, 2002 in Haarlem) was a Dutch lyricist. Nijgh was most commonly known as the lyricist for Boudewijn de Groot. Biography Nijgh was an only child and grew up in Heemstede. He went to the Coornhert Lyceum in Haarlem, together with his childhood friend Boudewijn de Groot. After two years Nijgh left the school, claiming that he was thrown out. He continued his education at the Kennemer Lyceum in Overveen. In the meantime, he stayed friends with De Groot. He then went to the Netherlands Film Academy, but never graduated. Nijgh's breakthrough started when the record label Philips published the single Een meisje van 16, which was an adaptation of Charles Aznavour's ballad Une enfant (de seize ans), and was sung by Boudewijn de Groot. Nijgh was coached by Ernst van Altena, who had previously translated works by Jacques Brel. In 1968, Nijgh and De Groot temporarily stopped working together. However, in 1973, the two started collaborating again. Nijgh married three times, but never had any children. His first marriage was in 1969, with Dutch singer Astrid Nijgh (née De Backer). The couple divorced halfway through the seventies, but continued working together professionally. Nijgh married two more times after that. Nijgh owned a ship named De Jonge Jacob (The Young Jacob), that he bought from a fisherman from Urk in 1969. Nijgh was a frequent visitor of Urk during his life. He used his ship to sail to England every year. His neighbour was Mart Smeets and they always greeted one another with the line "Dag meneer van de sport/kunst" (Hello sir of the sports/arts). Nijgh's parents passed away in 2000, after which he wrote melancholy columns for a while. Nijgh died on November 28, 2002, of gastrointestinal bleeding. He was hospitalized at that time because of kidney stones. Work Type of work Nijgh worked with many older styles in his music, such as the rederijkersballad, the refrain and the acrostic. Nijgh chose mostly timeless themes for his songs, such as prostitution, love and peace, but also wrote about current events, such as the Vietnam War. He also made use of cultural figures such as: Jeroen Bosch, Vondel, Reve, Mozart, Freud, Jung, Hans Christian Andersen, Fellini, Frans Hals and Leonardo da Vinci. His educational background was visible in his use of Tacitus and Biblical themes. Collaboration with Boudewijn de Groot