[2] Nijgh's breakthrough started when the record label Philips published the single Een meisje van 16, which was an adaptation of Charles Aznavour's ballad Une enfant (de seize ans), and was sung by Boudewijn de Groot.

[4] Nijgh was coached by Ernst van Altena, who had previously translated works by Jacques Brel.

[2][6] His neighbour was Mart Smeets and they always greeted one another with the line "Dag meneer van de sport/kunst" (Hello sir of the sports/arts).

[8] Nijgh chose mostly timeless themes for his songs, such as prostitution, love and peace, but also wrote about current events, such as the Vietnam War.

[8] He also made use of cultural figures such as: Jeroen Bosch, Vondel, Reve, Mozart, Freud, Jung, Hans Christian Andersen, Fellini, Frans Hals and Leonardo da Vinci.

Ed Lautenslager was impressed by the songs and put Nijgh and De Groot in contact with the record label Phonogram.

Near the ending of the sixties, De Groot felt that Nijgh's lyrics were becoming less fitting for his image.

Before their split in 1968, the duo had some more big hits, such as "Het Land van Maas en Waal'" (with the B-side "Testament") and "Prikkebeen".

He also wrote for several other famous Dutch singers, such as: Astrid Nijgh (his first wife), Jenny Arean, Flairck, Jasperina de Jong, Liesbeth List and Ramses Shaffy, Elly Nieman, Rob de Nijs and Cobi Schreijer.

Nijgh also translated lyrics of foreign artists into Dutch, such as chansons by Charles Aznavour and Jacques Brel.

According to Boezem, the first and last letters of the alphabet symbolize the material that writers and poets use to create their art.

In November 2007 the biography Testament, about Nijgh's life, written by Peter Voskuil, was published.