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A levenslied (Dutch for "song about the real life") is a highly sentimental Dutch-language song, where simplicity and distinguishability are important subjects. It's one of the most popular music styles in the Netherlands, and one of the oldest. 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 the accordion and the barrel organ. In the recent years, many levenslied-artists also use synthesizers and guitars for their music.

The target audience of levenslied-music is the average Dutch listener, and the people who don't have a broad musical or cultural education. People who say they have (often intellectuals), often have a disparaging attitude against the levenslied. They blame it for dirt-cheap and false sentimentality, and because of its racial impression. For this reason, they often use the word "smartlap" (Dutch term of abuse that means "sentimental song") for this music style.

In fact, a levenslied is the Dutch equivalent of the German schlager. In addition, levenslied-music is often called schlager (especially the songs of the Dutch singer Frans 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 in Flanders, but the Flemish give it the German word schlager instead of levenslied.

Some famous Dutch levenslied-artists:

• Koos Alberts, André Hazes, Frans Bauer, Marianne Weber, Corry Konings and the Zangeres Zonder Naam

Some famous Flemish levenslied-artists:

• Jo Vally, Eddy Wally, Frank Galan and Wil Tura