Besides the Saint James’ Church (Sint-Jacobskerk) in Ghent, Belgium, stands a striking 4.8-metre column unlike any conventional statue. Rather than showing a man posed on a pedestal, the monument unfolds as a carved story in stone. Ten scenes wrap around the pillar, each drawn from the themes of labour, family bonds, social injustice, humour, and solidarity that filled the songs of a long-forgotten street singer. The work was created by the Ghent artist Walter De Buck and unveiled in 1989, placed deliberately in the very square where music, crowds, and popular celebration have animated the city for generations. The monument, titled Den Gentschen Béranger, does not simply commemorate a person; it captures the spirit of a people and their voice. That voice belonged to Karel Waeri, born in Ghent in 1842 to a family of handloom weavers. Known locally as Kôarelke Waeri and nicknamed after the French songwriter Béranger, he became one of the city’s most beloved nineteenth-century folk singers. With little formal education but a remarkable ear for melody and verse, he taught himself to make music, eventually buying a violin that became his companion as he sang in taverns, at fairs, in working-class districts, and outside church doors after mass. He performed with a distinctive style, singing with a nasal tone, gesturing with his bow for emphasis, and passing around a large seashell to collect coins. His repertoire of hundreds of songs mixed light entertainment with sharp social commentary that spoke directly to the hardships of Ghent’s workers. Together with his musically gifted wife Sidonie De Meyer, who accompanied him on guitar and in song, Waeri earned enough through performance to support his family and send his children to the conservatory, an extraordinary achievement for someone of his background. Nearly a century later, Walter De Buck, born in Ghent in 1934 and trained as a sculptor, singer, and cultural activist, revived Waeri’s legacy. De Buck played a central role in restoring the Ghent Festivities (Gentse Feesten) around Saint James’ in 1970, singing folk songs in the square and bringing Waeri’s repertoire back into public life while composing songs of his own in the same spirit. For him, Waeri represented the living tradition of popular culture rooted in the streets. By creating the monument at Saint James’, De Buck linked Waeri’s nineteenth-century voice, his own twentieth-century revival of folk music, and the continuing life of the square today. The column stands as a narrative in stone, marking the place where Ghent’s history has long been sung rather than written. 回