- Levenslied
A levenslied (Dutch, lit. "life song" meaning "song about the real life") is a highly sentimental Dutch-language sub-genre of
pop music . Typical "levenslied"-lyrics are very sweet, highly sentimental and about subjects as love, misery and far, sunny and exotic holiday places.A typical "levenslied" has catchy, simple rhythms and melodies, with many nice pop and folk tunes, and is always built up on
couplets and refrains. Essential, traditional musical instruments in "levenslied"-music are theaccordion and thebarrel organ . In the recent years, many "levenslied"-artists also usesynthesizer s andguitar s for their music.Target audience
There is no clear target audience for the "levenslied", it is most popular among members of the
working class of any age. Music critics are often critical of the "levenslied", judging the simple and catchy chorusses and tunes as a lack of creativity. For this reason, the word "smartlap" (Dutch, lit. "sorrow scrap" meaning "sentimental song") is often used for this music style. Originally a term with negative connotations, the term "smartlap" is now more neutral, and almost any sentimental song is referred to as a "smartlap" in Dutch.Equivalent in Germany and Flanders
The "levenslied" is the Dutch equivalent of the German "
schlager ". In addition, "levenslied"-music is often called schlager (especially the songs of the Dutch singerFrans Bauer ), and many Dutch "levenslied"-artists are very popular in Germany and other German-speaking countries. Many Dutch "levenslied"-artists translate their own songs into German. They also translate German "schlagers" into Dutch. This musicstyle is also very popular inFlanders , but the Flemish give it the German word "schlager" instead of "levenslied".Artists
Famous Dutch levenslied-artists:
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Koos Alberts ,André Hazes ,Frans Bauer and Marianne WeberFamous Flemish levenslied-artists:
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Jo Vally ,Eddy Wally ,Frank Galan andWil Tura
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