Broadside ballads > 13. Schep vreugde in het leven - Lead a joyful life
Listen to this song, performed by Bennie Huisman
'Take joy at sewing, for it is a great trade. Men just stitch away, and women cannot get enough of it.' This ambiguous song was written to the melody of 'schep vreugde in het leven / Dit zij steeds ons aller leus' ('Lead a joyful life / Let this be a life's motto for us all') that could be found in various nineteenth-century collections of round songs.
The song is a translation of 'Freut euch des Lebens' by Hans Georg Nägeli (1793). The first Dutch translation and sets of new lyrics to the melody date back to the nineteenth century. It was an oft-heard tune, especially at wedding celebrations. The St. Nicholas song 'O, kom er eens kijken (Come look and see)', written to the same melody, is still universally known in Holland today.
'Het vrolijke naaimeisje' ('The merry seamstress') is sung by Frisian troubadour Bennie Huisman, accompanied by himself on accordion and by Bouke Feleus on double bass.
