Hup Holland Hup

Hup Hup is a Dutch football song. It was written in 1950 by KRO employee Jan de Cler and Dico van de Meer.^[1]

The lyrics are in Dutch, but roughly translate to:

Go Holland go

Don't let the lion stand around in his undershirt

[Lit.: "Let the lion not in his little shirt stand". Note that "hempie" is a popular diminutive for "hemd" which can be translated as "shirt". In this case it signifies the "shirt" being not formal wear. ]

Go Holland go

Don't put slippers on the beast

[Lit.: "Pull the little animal no slippers on ". Note that "beesie" is a popular diminutive for "beest" which can be translated as "animal". In this case it means the animal is beloved.]

Go Holland go

Don't let them defeat you on the field

[Lit.: "Let you on the field not beat " Note that the order of the words in this sentence is altered to better fit the melody]

Because the lion in football shoes

Dares to take the whole world on

[Lit.: "Dares the whole world on" Note that durft implies the task dared to be done is dangerous, or requires courage.]

Dutch lyrics:

Hup Holland Hup

Laat de leeuw niet in zijn hempie staan

Hup Holland Hup

Trek het beesie geen pantoffels aan

Hup Holland Hup

Laat je uit 't veld niet slaan

Want de leeuw op voetbalschoenen

Durft de hele wereld aan

References