I've tried not to post but the temptation was too strong.
Once in Westport, Co. Mayo, in Matt Molloy's pub, a great group of five Irish musicians played a succession of the best jigs, reels and polkas you can wish for. Then a German tourist came over with his guitar, sat beside them and started to sing a three chord 'Molly Malone' at the next break. Matt Molloy looked kind of tormented and at the next opportunity said thanks and started a quick tune.

His look was like I picture Susanne when German drinking songs are praised or sung. Well, my reaction is very similar though there are times when I too sing these songs (either when I'm drunk enough or when Germany has won the football world championship; the first happens more often; and the second usually goes hand in hand with the first). For a collection (first half of alphabet) click here.

As Susanne says, these songs have their place, and they are popular and in one sense, they are contemporary folksongs. Take one of the better old German folksongs and about 15 % of the population will say they know the song and less than 10% will be able to sing the first line. Take 'Auf der Reeperbahn...' or 'So ein Tag so wunderschoen...' and close to 100% will be able to sing the first line. If folksongs are defined as songs the people actually sing these songs are the real German folksongs of today.

But a collection of German songs only consisting of those songs would be as impoverished as a collection of 'Irish folksongs' consisting of 'Wild Rover', 'Whiskey in the jar' and 'In Dublin's fair´City'. I once bought a 'Guinness book of Irish ballads, it had a collection of just those songs, perhaps the Irish equivalent to the German songs in the link above.

A tiny correction or rather addition to Susanne: 'So ein Tag so wunderschoen wie heute' is in one sense not a product of the Rhineland Carneval. The song is older and original a serious song. But it was not well known until 'Die Mainzer Hofsänger' made some very minor changes in the lyrics (only replacing very few words: for instance, 'schau die bunten Sterne am Abendhimmel steh'n' became 'schau die bunten Sterne am Narrenhimmel steh'n') and sang it as the encore song of their show. And then with the help of TV it took off like a rocket and has been their last song since more than 40 years now.

And I admit I have a weak spot for it. Though I never would listen to it or similar songs on a CD, a crowd of 50,000 singing 'So ein Tag...' after let's say a victory in football against England is an awesome moment.

The last time I listened to a whole CD of such songs without open protest was in a German pub near Kitchener, Ontario. But then everything was wrong there. The waitresses had wrong blonde hair and had a Bavarian Dirndl-dress which is hilarious for our Bavarian waitresses have nearly exclusively black hair. But who cares about that in Kitchener.

Wolfgang