ABSTRACT
Tyneside dialect song flourished especially from the beginning of the nineteenth century onwards. Much of the material was initially written for public house singing or later for the music hall, its subject matter predominantly the lives and antics of the labouring classes. This chapter explores the historical evidence for satire in early song, and the controversial position of music hall in relation to discourses of 'respectability' later in the century. It explains that both early and later Tyneside song for differing reasons might imply antagonisms between or within particular groups in the area. Tyneside dialect songs are often claimed to convey local, regional and labouring-class identity and solidarity. Such claims ignore real contrasts in language, character, persona and ideology which can be detected in songs and between them. In the later period contrasts in language between voice types diminish and the overall impression is a convergence towards the language and ideologies of large sections of Tyneside's industrial labouring class.
