Schlager

Schlager, a German word which is pronounced in English like lager, is a popular genre of music in Germany as well as other countries of central and northern Europe and Scandinavia. Simple, sentimental and upbeat songs with cheerful and catchy musical accompaniment are the essence of schlager. The most widely known schlager is probably the music of 1970s Swedish group Abba, followed by contemporary German schlager singer Helene Fischer who has sold millions of recordings and won numerous prizes.

Schlager means literally “a hit” or “hits”, as this is a noun formed from the German verb schlagen, “to hit”. This may be a calque, or word for word translation, into German of the English word hit, in the sense of a popular success. Ironically the German translation schlager has then bounced back into English to denote this geographic sub-genre of pop, which is sometimes described as Germanic country music or Germanic folk-pop. American country music is itself an influence on schlager, and often performed by schlager artists.

Schlager originated in operetta singing and became popular in the 1920s Weimar Republic, gaining its greatest popularity in the 1960s and 70s. Although it was later regarded as retro and even representative of an elderly rightist demographic, schlager survived and evolved further as it imported other influences such as techno and disco and has featured in Eurovision song contests, and is going strong today.