Dear sisters-in-law and the rest of the gang,
here comes a bit of nonsense.
I put my wishes on paper for you,
amateurishly, in my own way.
But wishes are not always fulfilled.
So please be patient for a little while longer.
I would like to say a lot
but it is difficult to explain.
I don't know how, I really don't know how.

I wish I could paint, I made a painting
for both of you.
But as you notice,
I can only work with large brushes.
So I don't know how, I really don't know how.

Bouk likes to sit in the sun,
it is always windy on her balcony.
I wish I could direct the wind from the right direction,
then she wouldn't need a cloth around her head.
But I don't know how, I really don't know how.

I wish I could be a conductor on the train
who makes sure that all legs are inside.
But unfortunately there is no vacancy,
so that also passes me by.
If only I knew how, but I really don't know how.

Folk dancing is not in my blood either. 
In that,Bouk is particularly good. 
Coming up with a remedy for a dry cough, 
I really wouldn't know how to do it. 
Co conjures a drink of sugar with sliced onion 
and it cures many a cough! 

If only I could juggle 
and teach you tricks. 
Or sing in some choir. 
Even there I don't have the voice for it. 
I would give gave a serenade for everyone born in June. 
But I don't know how, I really don't know how. 

I would like to be a beauty specialist. 
Massaging seems particularly nice to me 
to smooth away all wrinkles. 
Who would you like to resemble? 
But I don't know how, I really don't know how. 

Sculpting is not my forte either, 
I do silly things with it. 
Maybe I’ll make a silly face, 
but I can't really do much with that. 
Showing off many beautiful clothes, 
you don’t need to teach Co that anymore. 
I was not born to be a hairdresser. 
No need for the sisters-in-law, that must be said. 
Their hair is washed, styled, and colored,
the hairstyles are approved by all of us.
So I wouldn't know how, I really wouldn't know how.

The recipe for a delicious wartime cake
has not aged after all these years.
On many Father's, Mother's Day, or other occasions
people are treated to this delicacy.
I would like to say it, but it’s hard to explain:
I don’t know how, I really don’t know how.

I would very much like to be clairvoyant.
Sometimes that seems particularly nice.
Although… occasionally, I see through the phone.
Now you might think: that’s unusual!
If you’re connected with Bouk, you hear it immediately:
she has visitors, she’s not alone anymore.
Dialect, spoken in the countryside
turns into Standard Dutch, the language of status.
I would like to say it
but try explaining it!
I don’t know how, I really don’t know how!

Oh, if I were a goldsmith, I would forge a golden diadem.
But I bought this for Co at the market in Beem.
My hands are too smooth for the crafting.
Why didn’t I learn that skill back then?

I would like to tell many doctors
to place healing hands on your pains.
But I don’t know how.

With Bouk, the 12th in line
Co wasn't happy at all at first.
Why didn't the stork bring her to us?
A sister (or brother) I had long waited for.
My mother said, “Kids cost a lot of money”
I counted the coins in my piggy bank again and again.
I didn't know how, I really didn't know how.
Fortunately, Bouk eventually became my sister, even 'clean'
You know, sometimes I can work magic and just say:
‘Chin up’ and then a doll appears.
A real doll, not a living person.
For Co, a long-awaited wish.
I know how, I really know how.

I can only spend my money, very well.
But publishing a book, I don't know how to do that.
Stories by Co, gathered into a book
they go down like hotcakes.
At the reunion, we really enjoyed her story
it deeply moved us all.
The new Annie M.G. Schmidt has been born.
This surely can't go to waste?
Co, you can do it, come on, you know how.

Bouk has plenty of girlfriends.
I noticed that there are some things she doesn't know.
For example, the weather report on teletext via TV,
not interested, she doesn't engage!
By bike, she explores the city from north to south,
often out and about for others.
Wind, hail, and rain
don't hold her back.

What luck that Co got Bouk as a doll,
otherwise one of the chairs would be empty.
We would have had to pay for our drink ourselves,
now we can charge it to Bouk.

My wish from long ago I will now reveal,
and I can still laugh at this silliness with zeal.
As a child, I never wanted to wed,
nor build a nest, that thought filled me with dread.
Staying with mom, my shoe next to hers so fine.
“It’s been a long time, ‘back then’ was divine.”
In sickness, sleeping arm in arm with mother was great,
for me, the very best medicine, no debate.
This is easy to explain, I can now articulate.

So when a boy came for me
my parents were surely glad.
A handsome guy, one of the many.
He learned to share early with others.

But two sisters from this large peloton
we will shine a light on today.
I know now how, I really know how.
I would like to say - and it's not hard to explain -
that what we sang loud at the reunion
(we had it down right away).
This song is written in our head and heart,
especially the chorus, here it is again:

Humor, wrinkles, strong chin
generous, gray hair
Quiet now, wait now, no one can
Match the Schoonvelds!

(on the melody of Still, wait, everything will be new..)