"De Kleine Man" (translation: ''The Little Man'') is a 1929 Dutch-language

protest song A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre. Among social mov ...

, written by

Jacques van Tol Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...

and first recorded by

Louis Davids Louis Davids (born Simon David; 19 December 1883 – 1 July 1939) was a Dutch actor, singer, comedian and revue artist. He is widely considered one of the biggest names in Dutch performing arts. Biography Early years Davids was born in the ...

. During Davids' lifetime it was considered his

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

History

Van Tol wrote the song for the

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

''Lach en Vergeet'' (1929) by Dutch comedian and singer

. The song describes how odd and unfair it is that some people are so rich, while others are poor. It also criticizes funding for unemployed people and how politicians yell at each other and spent millions on military defense, while the average little man has to pay for all this. The original lyrics make reference to U.S. boxer

Jack Dempsey William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. ...

who is criticized for earning millions by just having himself pound to pulp, not to mention his opponent.

Cover versions

In 1930 the song was parodied by

Kees Pruis Kees or KEES may refer to: * Kees (given name) * Kees (surname) * KEES, an American AM radio station licensed to Gladewater, Texas See also * Cees (disambiguation) Cees () is a Dutch masculine given name, a short form of Cornelis. Since, as in ...

as ''De Kleine Vrouw'' ('The Little Woman'). Davids spoofed his own song later as ''De Kleine Hond'' ('The Little Dog'). During the Second World War, songwriter Jacques Van Tol joined the NSB party and recorded an antisemitic version of the song for the propagandistic radio programme ''Zondagmiddagcabaret van Paulus de Ruiter'' (1940-1944). Other artists who have covered ''De Kleine Man'' include

Fien de la Mar Fien or Feen may refer to: Fien * Casey Fien (born 1983), American former Major League Baseball pitcher * Cassie Fien (born 1985), Australian marathon runner * Nathan Fien (born 1979), New Zealand former international rugby league footballer * F ...

(1930), Willy Derby (1930), Jetty Pearl (1941),

Wim Sonneveld Willem "Wim" Sonneveld (; 28 June 1917 – 8 March 1974) was a Dutch cabaret artist and singer. Together with Toon Hermans and Wim Kan, he is considered to be one of the 'Great Three' of Dutch cabaret. Sonneveld is generally viewed as a Dutch cu ...

(1959), Henk Elsink (1969),

André van Duin André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variation o ...

(1970), Wim De Craene (1973) and Harry Slinger.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kleine Man, De Dutch pop songs Dutch-language songs Louis Davids songs Songs about labor Songs about politicians Songs about poverty Protest songs 1929 songs 1929 singles Songs about boxers Cultural depictions of Jack Dempsey