Couplet-refrein-couplet-refrein-bridge-refrein & de waarheid

Abstract

The origin of pop music lies in the Anglo-American world. In all pop music from 1960 onwards in other parts of the world you can find traces of this Anglo-American pop tradition. One of the most visible traces is the extensive use of English as the common language for pop lyrics. In this thesis I research Dutch pop-lyrics and the way they adapt the dominant Anglo-American pop tradition. I did this by researching the work of four artists: Boudewijn de Groot, MAM, Osdorp Posse and Aafke Romeijn. I investigated four parts of a song lyric: focalization, the paraphrase & interpretation, language use and the relationship between the lyrics and the music. With every song I showed how they relate to the Anglo-American tradition and how their lyrics refer to Anglo-American, European or Dutch culture. In this thesis I argue that there are roughly four systems at work in the adaptation of Anglo-American pop music: 1) the use of the sound of the Dutch language as the basis for melodies instead of relying on English sounds 2) the choice for typically Dutch words and phrases and the excluding of Anglicisms 3) stop using themes dominant in the Anglo-American world and use themes and stories dominant in the European/Dutch experience world 4) the use of Dutch sites or landscapes as the decor in the lyrics.