History of Sorts

Johnny & Jones refers to the Amsterdam-based jazz duo consisting of Nol (Arnold Siméon) van Wesel (Johnny) (August 3, 1918 – April 15, 1945) and Max (Salomon Meyer) Kannewasser (Jones) (September 24, 1916 – March 20, 1945).

Van Wesel and Kannewasser first met while working at the De Bijenkorf department store. In 1934, they were discovered performing at a company party with the quartet The Bijko Rhythm Stompers. Two years later, they left their jobs and began performing together under the name Johnny & Jones. Their biggest hit was “Mijnheer Dinges weet niet wat swing is” (“Mister Dingus Doesn’t Know What Swing Is”). The duo’s jazz style, accompanied by guitar, was characterized by humorous, topical parodies, often delivered with an American accent. By 1937, they were regularly featured on VARA radio, quickly becoming immensely popular.

As Jews, however, their career was severely restricted during the German occupation. They could only perform for Jewish audiences, and after 1941, they were banned from performing altogether. In 1943, they and their wives were arrested and sent to the Westerbork transit camp. There, they performed once under the name Jonny und Jones (due to the camp’s language restrictions) and recorded the song “Westerbork Serenade” clandestinely during a brief work assignment in Amsterdam. While in Westerbork, their duties involved dismantling wrecked warplanes.

On September 4, 1944, Van Wesel and Kannewasser were deported on one of the final transports from Westerbork to a series of concentration camps, including Theresienstadt, Auschwitz, Sachsenhausen, Ohrdruf, and Bergen-Belsen. Both men died of exhaustion during the final days of the war in 1945. Johnny passed away on April 15, the same day the camp was liberated.

Westerbork Serenade

Ik geloof ik ben niet helemaal in orde
Ik ben met mijn gedachten er niet bij
Opeens ben ik een ander mens geworden
Mijn hart klopt als de vliegtuigsloperij

Ik zing mijn Westerbork serenade
Langs het spoorwegbaantje schijnt het zilveren maantje
Op de heide
Ik zing mijn Westerbork serenade
Mit einer schoene Dame, wandelend tezamen zij aan zijde
En mijn hart brandt als de ketel in het ketelhuis
Zo had ik het nooit te pakken bij mijn moeder thuis
Ik zing mijn Westerbork serenade
Tussen de barakken kreeg ik het te pakken op de hei
Dieser Westerbork liebelei

Daarna ging ik naar de saniteter
Die vent zei d’r is heus niets aan te doen
Maar je voelt je heel wat stukken beter
Na ‘t geven van de allereerste zoen (en dat moet je niet doen)

Ik zing mijn Westerbork serenade
Langs het spoorwegbaantje schijnt het zilveren maantje op de heide
Ik zing mijn Westerbork serenade
Mit einer schoene Dame
Wandelend tezamen zij aan zijde
En mijn hart brandt als de ketel in het ketelhuis
Zo had ik het nooit te pakken bij mijn mammie thuis
Ik zing mijn Westerbork serenade
Tussen de barakken kreeg ik het te pakken op de hei
Dieser Westerbork liebelei

Translation

“I believe I’m not quite right
My thoughts are not with me
Suddenly, I’ve become a different person
My heart beats like the airplane scrap yard

I sing my Westerbork serenade
Along the little railway track, the silver moon shines
On the heath
I sing my Westerbork serenade
With a beautiful lady, walking together side by side
And my heart burns like the boiler in the boiler house
I never had it like this back home with my mother
I sing my Westerbork serenade
Between the barracks, I caught it on the heath
This Westerbork love affair

Then I went to the medic
That guy said there’s really nothing to be done
But you’ll feel much better
After giving your very first kiss (and you shouldn’t do that)

I sing my Westerbork serenade
Along the little railway track, the silver moon shines on the heath
I sing my Westerbork serenade
With a beautiful lady
Walking together side by side
And my heart burns like the boiler in the boiler house
I never had it like this back home with my mommy
I sing my Westerbork serenade
Between the barracks, I caught it on the heath
This Westerbork love affair”

Sources

https://holocaustmusic.ort.org/places/camps/western-europe/westerbork/johnny-jones/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_%26_Jones