"Wij houden van Oranje" (; stylized as "Wij ♥ Oranje"; ) is a 1988 Dutch song and

football chant A football chant or terrace chant is a form of vocalisation performed by supporters of association football, typically during football matches. Football chanting is an expression of collective identity, most often used by fans to express their ...

performed by the Dutch '' levenslied'' singer

André Hazes André Gerardus Hazes (30 June 1951 – 23 September 2004) was a Dutch singer and actor. As an accomplished levenslied singer, Hazes recorded 36 studio and live albums, and 55 singles prior to his death in 2004. His music is still well-known in ...

and produced by

Hans van Hemert Hans van Hemert (7 April 1945 – 7 October 2024) was a Dutch record producer and songwriter. Mouth and MacNeal and Luv' are among the pop acts he produced. He won an ASCAP award for the song "How Do You Do" by Mouth and MacNeal. and composed th ...

. It is based on the melody of the well-known Scottish song "

Auld Lang Syne "Auld Lang Syne" () is a Scottish song. In the English-speaking world, it is traditionally sung to bid farewell to the old year at the stroke of midnight on Hogmanay/New Year's Eve. It is also often heard at funerals, graduations, and as a far ...

", written by

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

. Orange is the colour of the

Dutch royal family The monarchy of the Netherlands is governed by the country's charter and constitution, roughly a third of which explains the mechanics of succession, accession, and abdication; the roles and duties of the monarch; the formalities of communica ...

. André Hazes sang the song for the first time in 1988 during the European

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

championships. The Dutch football team sang along on Hazes' single. André's "Wij houden van Oranje" peaked at No. 3 on the

Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 () is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore radio, offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" ...

. Rapper

Ali B Ali Bouali, known professionally as Ali B (born 16 October 1981), is a Moroccan Dutch rapper and entertainer. He is one of the most prominent rappers in the Netherlands and has collaborated with musicians such as Akon and Marco Borsato. He is se ...

recorded a cover version (featuring Hazes) that peaked at No. 2
– Dutch Top 40 archives on the same charts in 2006.

References

External links

Article on the AD.nl site about the 20th Anniversary of "Wij houden van Oranje"

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wij Houden van Oranje Dutch pop songs Songs in Dutch 1988 songs Association football songs and chants André Hazes songs