Armstrong moved with her family to Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, as a young child. She began singing in a group with her brother singing Elvis Presley and Little Richard numbers, and in 1957 joined the Stort Valley Skiffle Group which a few years later changed its name to the Ceilidh Singers as its repertoire moved towards folk music. The group founded the Hoddesdon Folk Club.
In 1963 she began working with Louis Killen and performing solo, then in 1964 she joined The Critics Group under Ewan MacColl, Peggy Seeger. In 1965 sang at the Edinburgh Festival "Poets In Public", with John Betjeman, Stevie Smith and Ted Hughes. Her first recording, in 1965, was at the invitation of Bert Lloyd who as director of Topic Records was putting together a recording of erotic songs with Anne Briggs, released as The Bird in the Bush.
In the mid-1970s Armstrong pioneered workshops based on traditional styles of singing. But she also was a member of the Feminist Improvising Group (FIG), co-founded in 1977 by vocalist Maggie Nicols, bassoonist Lindsay Cooper, keybordist Cathy Williams, cellist and bassist Georgina Born and trumpeter Corinne Liensol and collaborated within the accomplished FIG after 1978 also with free jazz pianist (and partly percussion playing) Irène Schweizer, saxophonist (and film maker) Sally Potter, trombonist and violist Annemarie Roelofs, flutist and saxophonist Angèle Veltmeijer and saxophonist and guitarist Françoise Dupety. In 2018, she was awarded a Gold Badge Award from the English Folk Dance and Song Society for outstanding contributions to folk music.
She worked as a singer in the folk scene and the women's movement, and she was a trainer in social and youth work. Involved with folk and political songs starting in the 1950s, she has also performed and/or recorded with, amongst others, Blowzabella, the Mike Westbrook Band, Henry Cow, Ken Hyder's Talisker, John Kirkpatrick, Brian Pearson, Leon Rosselson, Dave Van Ronk and Maddy Prior.
In 2018, she was awarded a Gold Badge Award from the English Folk Dance and Song Society for outstanding contributions to folk music.
In 2019, she helped form a new band Green Ribbons with Alasdair Roberts (musician), Jinnwoo and Burd Ellen. In July 2019, the band released their self-titled debut album consisting of purely unaccompanied singing through Matiere Memoir Records.
The Old Man from over the Sea
Frankie Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ay, but I'll not have him
There was an old man come over the sea
Come snivelling snovelling all around me
With his long gray beard
With his long gray beard
Shivering and shaking
Ay, but I'll not have him
My mother she told me to bid him come in
And he giggled and dribbled all over his chin
With his long gray beard
With his long gray beard
Shivering and shaking
My mother she told me to give him a stool
Ay, but I'll not have him
My mother she told me to give him a stool
Well I give him a stool and he sat like a fool
With his long gray beard
With his long gray beard
Shivering and shaking
My mother she told me to give him some cake
Ay, but I'll not have him
My mother she told me to give him some cake
And the silly old fool wriggled just like a snake
With his long gray beard
With his long gray beard
Shivering and shaking
My mother she told me to pass him the sugar
Ay, but I'll not have him
My mother she told me to pass him the sugar
And he shiveled and shoveled it down like a bugger
With his long gray beard
With his long gray beard
Shivering and shaking
My mother she told me to take him to bed
Ay, but I'll not have him
My mother she told me to take him to bed
And the daft old devil nigh stood on his head
With his long gray beard
With his long gray beard
Shivering and shaking
My mother told me to show him what to do
Ay, but I'll not have him
My mother told me to show him what to do
But the silly old cod couldn't learn how to screw
With his long gray beard
With his long gray beard
Shivering and shaking
My mother she told me to bid him farewell
Ay, but I'll not have him
My mother she told me to bid him farewell
Well I bid him farewell and I wished him in hell
With his long gray beard
With his long gray beard
Shivering and shaking
In "The Old Man from over the Sea" by Frankie Armstrong, the singer is refusing to allow an elderly man into their home. The repeated line "Ay, but I'll not have him" emphasizes their firm refusal. The old man is described as having a "long gray beard" and is viewed with disgust and frustration by the singer. Despite the singer's mother urging them to be hospitable to the old man and offer him a stool, cake, and sugar, the singer continues to reject him. The final verse suggests that the singer's mother had even suggested that the singer engage in sexual activity with the old man, but he was unable to "learn how to screw." The powerful imagery of the old man "shivering and shaking" emphasizes his vulnerability and weakness.
The lyrics of "The Old Man from over the Sea" can be interpreted in different ways. One interpretation is that it speaks to the tension between hospitality and self-preservation. The singer's refusal to allow the old man into their home can be seen as a necessary measure to protect themselves from a possible threat. Additionally, the singer's disgust towards the old man highlights the societal taboo of aging and how it can be seen as something undesirable. The final verse, which involves sexual innuendo, can be seen as reflecting societal prejudices against the elderly and their sexuality.
Line by Line Meaning
There was an old man come over the sea
An elderly man arrived by sea.
Ay, but I'll not have him
The singer does not approve of the man's presence.
Come snivelling snovelling all around me
The man is behaving in a way that annoys and bothers the singer.
With his long gray beard, Shivering and shaking
The man has a long, gray beard and appears cold and tremulous.
My mother she told me to bid him come in
The artist's mother instructed them to invite the man inside.
And he giggled and dribbled all over his chin
When invited in, the man acted foolishly and made a mess of himself.
My mother she told me to give him a stool
The singer's mother requested that they provide a seat for the man.
Well I give him a stool and he sat like a fool
The man appeared unintelligent when given a stool to sit on.
My mother she told me to give him some cake
The artist's mother asked for the man to be given cake.
And the silly old fool wriggled just like a snake
The man acted foolishly again when given cake, wriggling around like a snake.
My mother she told me to pass him the sugar
The singer's mother instructed them to give the man some sugar.
And he shiveled and shoveled it down like a bugger
The man ate the sugar greedily and messily.
My mother she told me to take him to bed
The singer's mother requested that the man be taken to a bed for the night.
And the daft old devil nigh stood on his head
The man struggled to get into bed, almost falling over.
My mother told me to show him what to do
The singer's mother suggested they teach the man something.
But the silly old cod couldn't learn how to screw
Despite instruction, the man was unable to learn what was being taught.
My mother she told me to bid him farewell
The artist's mother advised them to say goodbye to the man.
Well I bid him farewell and I wished him in hell
The singer was happy to see the man leave and harbored ill will towards him.
Contributed by Gabriel T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.