Wow so cool to see these guys speak their native tongue. Van Halen seems so American, so California. The VH brothers are heroes to millions of rock fans here in the states.

First time I have every heard the Van Halen brothers speak Dutch, shame it takes Eddie's passing to find this, RIP Eddie!

I am Dutch and it is funny to me to hear Eddie speak with quite a heavy American accent. Alex speaks more like a native Dutch citizen, but the way he says kroketjes (quite difficult to pronounce for a non native speaker) clearly shows that he also has an American accent. No surpise since they have lived far longer in the US than in the Netherlands.

I was born in Holland and moved to the UK when I was 10. I'm absolutely certain that their ability to speak their native language so well after living in the States from a young age is 100% down to their parents continuing to speak Dutch with them at home. Nice post, thanks for sharing.

Holy s**t! I've never heard Alex and Eddie speak anything other than English. This was pretty cool.

Eddie's passing has rocked us no doubt. No pun intended. RIP

knew a girl called Helen Van ...of course we called her "Van Helen "

As a Dutch guy .. still proud of those indo rockers from the Netherlands

RIP EDDIE VAN HALEN, bedankt voor de muziek.

I hope Eddie and Alex taught Wolf to speak Dutch. I am half Japanese and half British, and Eddie and Alex were the only musicians I knew of who were half Asian (Indonesian) and half European. I was born in Japan, and came to the U.S. three months shy of my seventh birthday. My dad was in the Navy, and we moved from Yokohama to San Diego. Rest in peace, Eddie. You are already terribly missed.

I think Eddies death has been the biggest shock for everyone. A legend taken way too soon.

RIP, Eddie Van Halen 😢🙏🏼 such a huge loss.

I completely forgot about this, that their parents immigrated to the US when they were young guys. Good to see.

Actually Eddie spoke three languages, English, Dutch, and music. I never realized how much he meant to my childhood until he died. I'm devastated. Another piece of my childhood is gone. Now it is our responsibility to be the keepers of the memories. In our memories you will always be alive.

As a Dutch guy myself, I approve this message

That is the American dream right there. Two kids move to LA when they are kids and become the greatest in the world at what they do.

Eddie always has such awesome hair. I had no idea they spoke another language.

In an interview Eddie related how his family endured "horrifying racism" while in the Netherlands because his mother was Indonesian. He stated he and his brother were called half-breeds and his mother was treated as a second class citizen. It forced them to leave their country and emigrate to the U.S. Once here they again suffered more racism because they spoke no english. In addition the boys were bullied in school by white students because they were different. How they overcame their harsh environment and exceeded far beyond anyone's wildest expectations should serve as an example to others facing racism and adversity, especially in today's world. Surround yourself with the support of those who love you, educate yourself and study your craft, stay the course and above all stay positive. RIP Eddie Van Halen

I knew they had roots in the Netherlands, but I didn't know they still spoke the language. All too often children let slip the culture and language of their parents when moving to another land. I met Eddie once when driving him from the airport to his hotel, he seemed like a nice guy...but our conversation never extended to the topic of languages. He will be missed.

Wow. I have been a Van Halen fan my entire life and I never knew they could still speak Dutch.

Surprised they still speak Dutch so well because they left the Netherlands at an early age.

Glad they didn't lose their native tongue after all those years. Let that be a lesson to you. Don't forget your native tongue. It will work for you not against you in the future.

My daughter when she was in high school was friends with a girl originally from France, she had been speaking English for around 10 years. I asked her once, "when you dream, what language do you dream in?" That question caught her off guard and all she could say was, "I don't know."

must have spoken dutch at their parents house as they left holland when eddie was 7

VAN HALEN was the perfect name for a Rock Band!!!!

Great interview. Love the Van Halens. Love the Dutch. Cheers from Texas.

Eddie & Alex can read the dictionary to me in Dutch and it would sound sexy. I’m just gutted by Eddie’s passing. My favorite band of all time. Saw them several times over the years. RIP Eddie 🙏🏼💜🍃🕊

Great hearing this clip. Dutch was my first language but I lost most of it. I love listening to it spoken and it's a real treat when it is the van Halen brothers. My heart breaks at his loss 💔

Rest in peace Eddie! Also, this comments section is golden.

Eddie’s passing really is a huge loss. His loss will be felt for a very long time. Luckily his son Wolfgang will dutifully carry on his father’s legacy. Wolfgang has risen to the occasion. He’s going on air to help perpetuate his father’s lasting talent and is the best representative Eddie could ever ask for.

Proud to be DUTCH...RIP Edward Lodewijk van Halen 🇳🇱🕯🇺🇸🎸

i am Portugees and i live in Holland!I fall for Van Halen when he made a special apearance in a Michael Jackson song,"Beat it"!!So i had to come here today,just to hear a idol,speaking in Dutch...!R.I.P.

That's almost as impressive as the musicianship. They both speak it conversationally which means they were raised with it. I had NO idea these guys were so fluently bi-lingual and anyone that's tried to learn it can tell you it's a HARD language to master. Much harder than German. Rest in Peace. Gone but never forgotten.

Awesome To Hear These Guys Speak Their Native Language..I Also Came To America On A Cruise Ship From Italy Right Around The Same Time As The Van Halens..It Was Rough Learning English..Proud To Say I Still Speak Read And Write Italian

This is cool. I always love hearing people speak their native language.

The brotherly love Eddie and Alex had for each other reminds me of my own brother who has lived in Sicily for the past 20 years and haven't seen him since.

They have always been fluent in Dutch. Fun to hear them. Love you, Edward 💔❤

After seeing this video, I realized that I've seen/heard Alex speak more Dutch than I've ever heard him say in English. And this is the first time I've seen him speaking Dutch!

I never knew they spoke Dutch. Loved their music. R.I.P

Was never a Van Halen music fan but I recognize his impact on people, I’ve been watching all these videos the last few days and I am so Impressed by him as an artist and person

I hope you're in a good place Eddie, free of cancer, playing your guitar, watching out over the family you left behind. 😇

STILL can't believe EVH is gone! RIP 💞

All I can say is WOW! I had no idea that this even existed. Honestly, I had no idea that the brothers spoke another language. Great find! Thanks for posting!

Pure Awesomeness.... RIP EVH, Millions of us will never forget your greatness. I feel like a part of my childhood just died with you. You were the persona of coolness. Peace! 😎🎸🎶🎶🎶

RIP Eddie Van Halen, life journey of this family is so impressive, consistent in music even though has to move from Indonesia to Netherlands and finally USA

This has been a hard pill to swallow. Eddie's passing has been so heart breaking to say the least. Started listening to Van Halen in the late 70's and have always been such a fan I feel so thankful that I was able to see them in concert several times.The music of Van Halen will live on forever. Rest in Peace Eddie I know you are jamming up above. GOD SPEED

Love you, Eddie. Thanks for the music of a generation. ❤

SO freaking cool to see them still have their native language after so long. That's awesome.

If you look at their parents it's interesting. Their father was Dutch, but their mother was half Indonesian, half Italian.

There is nothing more awesome than seeing your heroes be themselves. Listening to VH records taught me everything I needed to know about guitars, and fun.

My experience with anything Dutch yrs ago....KLM, very good airline, gorgeous stewards. Holland, beautiful country and women. And, well of course, the greatest band and guitar player of them all, in my opinion. Greetings from Canada lol

RIP Eddie Van Halen, your music will carry on ❤️🌹

I’ve noticed comments that Alex sounds more fluent than Eddie. This is quite common in multi lingual households. The oldest may spend more time around grandparents, translates for parents etc, by the time the younger siblings are born, the parents may have learned more English. In my family, my oldest brother was the most fluent. I also notice they seem a bit shy about speaking in Dutch as the interviewer is a native speaker. Also very common. You’re aware of your American accent when conversing with a native speaker and it can be a little intimidating. They sound awesome. Love this.

My heart is broken. RIP I will always love you. Rock on Eddie rock on 🤘🎸🎸🎸❤️

So cool- it seems like kids who learn to speak two languages at a young age are more intelligent in the long run💜

I love this! I was almost 4 when I came to Canada. Still speak and understand Dutch. My writing is horrible but yes, I would have said hagelslag op brood myself, and chocolade letters.

No words. Bedankt voor de muziek Eddie. RIP.

As a dutch speaker you can notice there's some "English tongue" getting through when Eddie speaks Ducth. With Eddie it seems noticeable if you listen but Alex speaks as if he never left The Netherlands.

I didn't know that Eddie Van Halen was Dutch,or even speak it! That's awesome! May he RIP 💐

Eddie is a natural born rock star. a phenomenon. everything seems to be perfect, his talent for the guitar in the first place of course. I am glad I saw him on stage on Women and Children First tour.

RIP my friend. I can imagine a meeting with J. Hendrix.

The two brothers! It's beautiful that they spent their lives together doing something they absolutely love; a blessing for sure. I hope his family has comfort in their lost!

I LOVE THIS! Embracing their heritage. Its a beautiful thing to hear even if I didn't understand any of it. Cheers Eddie & Alex 🥰

addadd55.. Dank u wel voor deze video.. Ik ben een van deze Yankees dat leert het Nederlands te spreken. Inderdaad, ik heb een Yankee access waneer ik spreek. Uw video helpt me als het geeft me iets te horen. Groetjes!!! :):)

Our dutch pride VAN HALEN!!!!

R.i.p Eddie music wouldn’t be the same without you. Thank you for inspiring new guitar players all over world.🎸

You can definately hear the American accent

Their Dutch is quite good. As I have a Dutch-Indonesian background too, I can hear a little bit that their mother came from there (she was Dutch-Indonesian, not Indonesian as I read sometimes, that's a big difference, because the Dutch-Indonesians were privileged, generally much better educated, even better than the people in The Netherlands at that time). Their mother was born in Rankasbitoeng (Lebak), ironically the place where the Amsterdam born writer Multatuli lived (and had lots of problems) for a few years around the 1850's. There's a Multatuli Museum now. That's why a lot of the Dutch-Indonesians were dissappointed and frustrated when they came (back) (forced by the Indonesians) to The Netherlands, late 40's and 50's. Although Dutch-Indonesians were generally good educated, they didn't get the same jobs as the Dutch already living here. Those were the times then. I think you can't call it racism, the Dutch were quite blunt even to the Jews that survived the war. Hard times. The very loyal to the Dutch crown Moluccan people were, as you can call it, betrayed by the Dutch and were put in former German camps! They weren't allowed to work here, because the Dutch government thought that they were here for only a few months! And, also very important, the weather in The Netherlands was also very cold in comparison to Indonesia! That can be an important thought why the Van Halen's came to the US. And that's the best decision their father and mother did in their entire lives. If they had remained in The Netherlands they were maybe like Golden Earring or Focus, but not as huge as Van Halen! If you are in The Netherlands you can still visit the streets where they lived, it's the Nico van Suchtelenhof and Michelangelostraat in Amsterdam and the Rozemarijnstraat in Nijmegen. Eddie was seen in Amsterdam during his and Janie's honeymoon. Last point: there's a little bit of translation not understood and written in the subtitles. Alex says to the interviewer Harry Vermeegen: "Harry just remains Harry". But I think that's not what Alex means. Alex says literally in Dutch: "Herrie blijft gewoon Herrie hè", but pronounced in English it sounds like Harry just remains Harry, but the Dutch word Herrie (pronounced as Harry in English) means noise. So I think what Alex means literally is: "Noise just remains noise", referring to Van Halen's music!

Eddie is one of my heroes! Super toffe gitarist en een van de besten die deze aardkloot hebben bewandeld. Rust in vrede, Eddie.🎼🎹🎸

Many, many years ago while partying at a comedy show in Corona, California I won a pair of Van Halen tickets by correctly answering the DJ's question of where did the brothers Van Halen originally hail from? While everybody was shouting out L.A., Pasadena, Hollywood, etc., I shouted out "The Netherlands". The DJ looked right at me and handed me the pair of VH tickets! I also won a pair of Genesis tickets the same night by correctly answering where they originally hailed from...Sheffield, England. It was a great night! R.I.P., EVH!

R.I.P. Edward, wat heb je de gitaar- en muziekwereld veranderd Wat een legendes. Goed dat ze naar Amerika waren verhuisd, alleen vanuit daar hadden ze de wereld kunnen veroveren.

Rest in peace,Dutch Guitar God!

Eddy & Alex are so cute! I can't imagine Alex pain fromEddie's passing. Gosh....we miss Eddie.

I have wondered for a long time if the Van Halen brothers could still speak their first language fluently, and now I know that they could. I met Tommy Lee almost 20 years ago at a club , and I talked to him for a few minutes. He was born in Athens Greece , and he came to America as a little kid. My parents were both also born in Greece , so it was my first language as a kid. Of course I asked Tommy if could speak any still, and he told me that all he knew were some of the bad words, and a few simple words like hello, yes, and a few others. He told me that it was too late for him to relearn all the Greek he knew as a little kid, but I told him that it was never too late. Sometimes you can lose your native language if you completely stop speaking it. That famous saying" Use It Or Lose It" pun intended. Lol

I'm 55 yo. I've been a VH fan since I was a teen. Late 70's. I found out about two years ago that their mom was from Indonesia. 18 years AFTER I married my Indonesian wife. I wonder if they learned to speak any Indonesian ( Bahasa )??? Sya bisa sidikit Bahasa. Terima kasi Eddie and Alex for the memories and awesome music ! 👍👍💖💯🇮🇩🎸🥁🎼🎵🎶🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹

They get shared three ways!! The Dutch, The Indonesians and The Americans can claim them as their own!!!!

I always wondered whether Ed and Alex spoke in Dutch with each other throughout their lives upon mastering English in school. I never knew the importance and perspective of speaking a different language to your native one (mine is English) my entire life until I moved to a country where I had to learn the local language. It is really a life altering event.

Never knew they could speak Dutch. RIP Eddie Van Halen, and my heart breaks for his family. Sorry for your huge loss Alex, Jane, Wolfie & Valerie.

They still speak it quite well.

Most did not know the VH bros were Eurasian Dutch/Indonesian.

People are upset that Eddie has passed, but remember you lived in an era where you can tell future individuals "yeah, I saw Eddie play live" or "I saw Eddie in person". You lived at a time when there was something unique happening in music and you get to carry forward his memory. Not just with his music, but having known a piece of history.

I've read other band members thought it was frustrating sometimes because when they spoke to each other they mostly spoke dutch.

En patat friet! Proud they are dutch as me...rest in power Eddie 🇱🇺

It's interesting having grown up virtually in their neighborhood in Pasadena during the 80s and 90s and being a huge rock fan but never knowing this. You'd be surprised how much there is to know about the world just from getting out from under the American media hub! I now live in Spain and am a lot happier!

Oh man - Pipo the Clown! I remember this from 1960. My parents immigrated to Canada in 1957 - Mam took us back in 1960 for the summer - watched Pipo on TV then. Pap was known for his kroketjes, while Mam was a baker extraordinaire - appeltarte, amandeltaarte... And they never let us forget we were Dutch. I'm 67 and still speak quite a bit of Dutch. Nice to see another side to the van Halen brothers!

Rest now Eddie. Now you can finally do that! Sorry to see you leave us but your not hurting anymore. I cant imagine what you were going through but your free from it now. You were one of my guitar Gods. Im playing guitar because of you! You'll be forever missed Eddie.

RIP Eddie 😭

I *didn't* know Van Halen were Dutch. *COOL!*

It's amazing how well they still could speak it after all of those years living in the States.

RIP Eddie! and may Alex find strength to keep the closeness with in his heart as he morns the loss of his beloved brother. 🙏🏽❤️😇

Van Halen should be called a Dutch-American band.

eddie and alex are the uncles of a friend of mine its very weird to know he still lives in the netherlands

I love this nice to hear them speak Dutch.

You never forget your first language. After almost 30 years of leaving germany with my parents as a kid I am still fluent. Rip Eddie 🙏

Proud of their Dutch Heritage, But Also Very Patriotic Americans that have Never had a problem saying or Showing it. My Prayers and thoughts are with you Alex and may You be in God's Loving Arms Eddie.

Jan Akkerman (Focus) is also from Holland. R. I. P. Eddie

Eddie a man of pure golden talent... "Rust in Vrede..." 😢😢😫

They immigrated the same year as my family did and I'm so glad to hear that they still speak Dutch as well. RIP

NOT TOO MANY WELL KNOWN ROCKERS CAME OUT OF THE NETHERLANDS. EDDIE AND ALEX ARE EXTREMELY TALENTED AND ONE OF A KIND. VAN HALEN ROCKS LIKE NO OTHER! IN HIGHSCHOOL WE WOULD SAY VAN HALEN RULES!!!

Are there any non-Dutch viewers?