Brel, Noordkaap, Nonkel Bob and Sœur Sourire are Belgians’ 6 choices for the EU Song Book
The six classic songs that people in Belgium have selected for the very first ‘European Union Song Book’ have been announced. The idea of the song book is to compile a list of songs that are etched in the collective memories of the people of the 28 EU member states. The six Belgian songs chosen include three songs by the late Jacques Brel, a song by the Flemish rock group Noordkaap, a children’s song by Nonkel Bob and the classic Dominique by the singing Nun Sœur Sourire.
The Danish not-for-profit group European Songbook Organisation hopes to publish a book featuring the lyrics of the most iconic songs from the countries that make-up the European Union. People in each of the 28 EU countries were invited to vote for a number of songs that were slit into 6 categories. All the EU countries (including the UK) with the exception of Cyprus took part.
In three of the six categories Belgium chose songs by Jacques Brel. ‘Ne me quitte pas’ was chosen as our country’s national love song, ‘Mijn vlakke land’ was chosen in the category Nature and the Season’s and ‘Bruxelles’ as “National Anthem”. The former VRT children television “Nonkel” Bob Davidse’s song ‘Vrolijke vrienden’ was selected in the category Freedom and Peace, while Sœur Sourire’s ‘Dominique’ was selected in the Faith category.