Back to Zoetermeer: ​​these friends declare their love for our city

A video of three friends from Zoetermeer is circulating on YouTube. On Kanye West’s song Homecoming, they made a playful parody of the original video clip under the name Centrum West. But with a Dutch lyrics, specially written for their great love Zoetermeer.

Partly due to Ramon’s move back to his hometown of Zoetermeer, the trio made a digital moving card in the form of the video clip. “In this we sing that we are very happy with Zoetermeer where all our family and friends live.”

Back to Zoetermeer

Friends Ramon (30), Jamal (28) and Olav (28) know each other from high school (ONC Parkdreef). Ramon and Olav lived in Amsterdam for five years, where they sometimes volunteered for Emma TV. “For this we made sketches for sick children in the Emma Children’s Hospital. From there, the idea arose to make a video after Ramon said he was moving back to Zoetermeer,” says Jamal.

Ramon adds: “I was born and raised in Zoetermeer. I liked Amsterdam, but now that I’m getting older, I want to go back to my hometown. I also wanted to be closer to my sick mother, with whom I now live 5 minutes away.”

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Writing texts and filming

In the original number sings Kanye West about going back to the city he came from: Chicago. “One afternoon we decided to recreate this,” says Ramon. “We wrote the lyrics and we visited and filmed characteristic places in Zoetermeer. You can see us at the Nelson Mandela Bridge, Center West, the water tower, the Stadshart and the Dobbeplas. We did this in addition to our busy jobs, so we spent months making the clip. You can even see the original version of the Mandela Bridge.”

Proud Zoetermeers

What makes Zoetermeer so special according to these fellow citizens? “Zoetermeer is nice and quiet and a bit boring. As a child you have enough space on the street to play safely. And Zoetermeer is centrally located in relation to the major cities: within 20 minutes you can reach the center of The Hague by tram,” says Jamal. Many fellow students left for a larger city after high school. We share our pride for Zoetermeer with this issue. We notice that peers like it, there is still a feeling of love for this city. Some are even considering moving back.”

Sing along!

“My name is Sweetie, and I’ll give you everything you want”, “I’m coming to Zoetermeer again, to Zoetermeer” and “To my heart there is one that goes to 079” are a few examples from the lyrics. Just practice and you’ll be singing along in no time! Secretly, Ramon, Jamal and Olav hope that they can perform with this song, for example during the Liberation Festival. “That would be fantastic,” concludes Jamal.