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Description: | On this recording we hear Martha Armstrong performing a 'broken token' song. The song follows the usual pattern in which a lover comes back from sea to meet his true love. He is disguised (or perhaps aged from battle) and his lover rejects him as a stranger. Having proven her loyalty to her lover, his true identity is revealed and the couple are married. This version is quite close to the version found in the Weardale songbook.Martha Armstrong and her family were smallholders in the Nenthead area. It was usual for those employed in the lead mines of the North Pennines to be given a rented cottage by the mining company with 7 acres or more of land. Thus when the water levels in the mines were high or the fells covered in snow, preventing the pony teams from transporting ore, they could live off the land, keeping cows, sheep and poultry. Her accent is very marked, and was particular for that area. She uses several ancient words, and had been visited by Nordic scholars over the years who were interested in connections with the old Norse tongue. She was a Methodist and often performed her songs and recitations at social evenings in the chapels and halls of the area and even recalls singing competitions being held in the village hall at Nenthead.The tape from which this item is drawn is one of a large number of sound recordings held by the North of England Open Air Museum, Beamish, Co. Durham. This important resource is made up of oral history recordings drawn from many different sources. Some recordings have been made by the museum for their own use, whilst others have been copied from other sources or donated by other collectors and individuals. This large collection of mostly spoken word recordings also includes many recordings of singers, musicians and dancers from Durham, Northumberland and Cumbria. The collection includes recordings of Haltwhistle fiddle player George Hepple, Nenthead singer Martha Armstrong, the Elliotts of Birtley, piping competitions, Newcastleton traditional music festival, concertina bands and playground games. ; song | Rights holder: | rights holder : Beamish Museum | Subjects: | marriage and courtship Love love & marriage | Temporal: | start=1970;end=1980; | Source: | Folk Archive Resource North East | Identifier: | farne:B1703001 | Go to resource |
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