Briggs was born in Toton, Beeston, Nottinghamshire on 29 September 1944. Her mother died of tuberculosis when she was young. Her father, Albert, was severely injured in World War II and she was raised by her Aunt Hilda and Uncle Bill in Toton, who also brought up Hilda's youngest sister, Beryl, and their own daughter Betty. In 1959 she cycled with a friend to Edinburgh. They stayed overnight with Archie Fisher, who was at that time prominent in the revival of folk music in Scotland, and through him she met Bert Jansch, who had just begun to compose his own songs. Jansch and Briggs had an instant rapport and were to remain influential on one another for several years.
In 1962, the Trades Union Congress passed Resolution 42, a resolution to develop cultural activities outside of London. To implement this resolution, playwright Arnold Wesker was appointed as the leader, with Ewan MacColl and A.L. "Bert" Lloyd heavily involved, and Charles Parker on production. Calling themselves Centre 42, they organised a tour around the Britain, hoping to involve local talent at each stop.
At Nottingham, MacColl heard Briggs singing "Let No Man Steal Your Thyme" and "She Moves Through the Fair" and promptly invited her to perform on stage that night. She became a full member of the tour and recorded the same two songs on an album recorded live in Edinburgh later that year. Briggs decided to leave home, just four weeks short of her eighteenth birthday. Centre 42 gave her an administrative job in their offices, liaising with theatres and galleries. She soon acquired the contacts she needed to pursue her own musical career.
Jansch described her as "one of the most underrated singers". He recorded Briggs' songs (including "Go your way, my love" and "Wishing well") on four of his albums. She was also his source for several of the traditional songs which he recorded, including "Blackwaterside". Jansch's instrumental accompaniment to this song was later copied and adapted by Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, who recorded it as "Black Mountain Side".
Jansch and John Renbourn play "The Time Has Come" on their duo record before eventually recording it with the rest of Pentangle on the "Sweet Child" release. One song, "Mosaic Patterns" (which she herself has never recorded) was recorded by blues singer, Dorris Henderson. Sandy Denny wrote a song in tribute to Briggs, called "The Pond and the Stream" on Fotheringay (1970).
Briggs has been cited as a favourite of Eliza Carthy, Kate Rusby and lead singer of Altan, Mairéad Nà Mhaonaigh. Charlotte Greig and the Scottish band James Yorkston and the Athletes have said Briggs was an influence on them. David Tibet of Current 93 also recently mentioned her in an interview.
The 2009 The Decemberists album, The Hazards of Love, was inspired by Briggs's album of the same name.
Martinmas Time
Anne Briggs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When snow lay on the borders,
There came a troop of soldiers here
To take up their winter quarters.
Chorus (after each verse):
With me right fol-de-li-dle ly-die li-dle ly-dee-o
With me right fol-de-li-dle ly-dee la-ry.
They rode up and they rode down
And they rode over the border.
There they met a fair pretty girl
And she was a farmer's daughter.
They made her swear a solemn oath
With a salt tear in her eye, oh,
That she would call at their quarter gates
When no-one did her spy, oh.
So she goes to the barber shop
To the barber shop went soon, oh.
She's made him cut her fine yellow hair
As short as any dragoon, oh.
Then she goes to the tailor shop
And dresses in soldier's clothes, oh.
A pair of pistols down by her side
And a nice little boy was she, oh.
When she came to the quarter gates,
It's loud, loud she did call, oh,
"There comes a troop of soldiers here
And we must have lodgings all, oh!"
The quartermaster he comes out,
He gives her half a crown, oh:
"Go and find lodgings for yourself,
For here there is no room, oh."
But she drew nearer to the gates
And louder she did call, oh:
"Room, room, you gentlemen,
We must have lodgings all, oh!"
The quartermaster he comes out,
He gives her eighteen pence, oh:
"Go and find lodgings in the town
For tonight there comes a wench, oh."
She's pulled the garters from her legs,
The ribbons from her hair, oh.
She's tied them 'round the quarter gates
As a token she'd been there, oh.
She drew a whistle from her side,
And blew it loud and shrill, oh:
"You're all very free with your eighteen pence,
But you're not for a girl at all, oh."
And when they knew that it was her
They tried to overtake her.
She's clapped her spurs to her horse's side
And she's galloped home a maiden.
The song "Martinmas Time" by Anne Briggs talks about a farmer's daughter who outsmarted a group of soldiers who came to take up their winter quarters during the Martinmas time. The soldiers made her swear to call at their quarter gates when no one was looking. She goes to a barber shop and has her hair cut short and dresses up as a soldier, complete with pistols on her side. She then goes to the quarter gates and demands lodgings for herself and her troop of soldiers. The quartermaster tries to turn her down, but she persists and blows a whistle, reminding them that they were not for a girl of her kind. The soldiers try to catch her, but she rides away victorious as a maiden.
The song is a classic example of a Scottish folk ballad, typically sung acapella with a simple melody. The lyrics are rich in symbolism and metaphor, with the brave act of the young girl standing up against the soldiers to represent the triumph of the underdog against the powerful. The Martinmas time, with its associations with the coming of winter and the approaching darkness, adds to the overall mysterious and somber tone of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
It fell up on Martinmas time
It happened during Martinmas time
When snow lay on the borders,
When there was snow at the borders
There came a troop of soldiers here
A group of soldiers arrived here
To take up their winter quarters.
To spend the winter here
They rode up and they rode down
They rode around
And they rode over the border.
They crossed the border
There they met a fair pretty girl
They met a beautiful girl
And she was a farmer's daughter.
She was the daughter of a farmer
They made her swear a solemn oath
They made her promise
With a salt tear in her eye, oh,
With tears in her eyes
That she would call at their quarter gates
That she would come to their quarters
When no-one did her spy, oh.
When no one was watching her
So she goes to the barber shop
She went to the barber shop
To the barber shop went soon, oh.
She went there quickly
She's made him cut her fine yellow hair
She had him cut her beautiful yellow hair
As short as any dragoon, oh.
As short as any soldier
Then she goes to the tailor shop
She went to the tailor shop
And dresses in soldier's clothes, oh.
And dressed in soldiers' clothes
A pair of pistols down by her side
She had pistols by her side
And a nice little boy was she, oh.
And she looked like a young boy
When she came to the quarter gates,
When she arrived at the quarters
It's loud, loud she did call, oh,
She called loudly
"There comes a troop of soldiers here
"There's a group of soldiers here
And we must have lodgings all, oh!"
And we need a place to stay
The quartermaster he comes out,
The quartermaster came out
He gives her half a crown, oh:
He gave her half a crown
"Go and find lodgings for yourself,
"Find a place to stay
For here there is no room, oh."
Because there's no room here
But she drew nearer to the gates
But she moved closer to the gates
And louder she did call, oh:
And called even louder
"Room, room, you gentlemen,
"We need a place to stay
We must have lodgings all, oh!"
We need somewhere to stay
The quartermaster he comes out,
The quartermaster came out again
He gives her eighteen pence, oh:
He gave her eighteen pence
"Go and find lodgings in the town
"Find a place to stay in town
For tonight there comes a wench, oh."
Because there's already a girl coming here tonight
She's pulled the garters from her legs,
She removed her garters
The ribbons from her hair, oh.
And the ribbons from her hair
She's tied them 'round the quarter gates
She tied them around the gates
As a token she'd been there, oh.
As a sign that she had been there
She drew a whistle from her side,
She took out a whistle
And blew it loud and shrill, oh:
And blew it loudly
"You're all very free with your eighteen pence,
"You're too generous with your eighteen pence
But you're not for a girl at all, oh."
But you don't welcome girls here
And when they knew that it was her
When they found out it was her
They tried to overtake her.
They tried to catch her
She's clapped her spurs to her horse's side
She urged her horse on with her spurs
And she's galloped home a maiden.
And she rode back home as a young woman
Contributed by Alexandra C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.