ABSTRACT
The general definition of the German Liedermacher that emerged in the 1960s is a singer-songwriter who prefers to accompany him/herself on the acoustic guitar, and who should be aware of the long history of Lied (poems set to music) in Germany, which can be traced back to the eighteenth century. Yet the discourse on the Liedermacher is by and large limited to a discourse of political song. Consequently, artists are included in or excluded from the canon according to their political engagement and/or affiliation. In addition, histories of the Liedermacher are dominated by men; female Liedermacherinnen are excluded either along political lines (especially if of East German origin) or simply because of male (historians’) chauvinism. 1 This chapter seeks to broaden this view. I start by detailing the normative discourse surrounding the Liedermacher and its three principal figures: the West Germans Franz Josef Degenhardt and Dieter Süverkrüp, and the East German Wolf Biermann. Counter to the aforementioned hegemonic discourse, I then revisit the history of the West German and East German Liedermacher, in order to provide a more nuanced approach to political song, calling attention to a number of marginalized or forgotten artists in both German states, including several women. In my conclusion I outline areas where further research is required.
