Broken Marriage Vows

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"Broken Marriage Vows"
Broken Marriage Vows record label.png
Single by Big Tom and The Mainliners
B-side "Tears In My Eyes/Old Country Church"
Released1972
Recorded1972
Studio Eamonn Andrews Studio
Genre Country and Irish
Length2:04
Label Denver
Songwriter(s) John Bailes and Walter Bailes, arranged by Tom McBride and Johnny McCauley
Producer(s) Bill O'Donovan
Big Tom and The Mainliners singles chronology
"I Love You Still"
(1972)		"Broken Marriage Vows"
(1972)		"Gentle Mother"
(1974)

"Broken Marriage Vows" is a 1972 country and Irish song performed by Irish band Big Tom and The Mainliners. [1] [2]

Contents

Song history

The song was written and performed by close-harmony group The Bailes Brothers (West Virginia) in 1947. [3] It was also recorded by Kitty Wells in 1956. [4]

It was released by Big Tom and The Mainliners in 1972 and reached number 1 in the Irish singles chart for two weeks in April 1972. [5] It was arranged by Big Tom and Johnny McCauley. The song, in which the speaker chastises his wife for her unfaithfulness and refuses to take her back, had an added poignancy in 1970s Ireland where divorce was illegal. [6]

References

  1. ↑ "Armagh All-Ireland winner says his grandad Big Tom would have 'been so proud'". SundayWorld.com. May 16, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Country music singer 'Big Tom' dies aged 81". Newstalk.
  3. ↑ "Bailes Brothers". rocky-52.net.
  4. ↑ "Bailes Brothers - Broken Marriage Vows / Everybody Knew The Truth But Me". May 15, 1947 – via www.discogs.com.
  5. ↑ "Big Tom McBride, Irish country music star, dies at 81". April 17, 2018 – via www.bbc.com.
  6. ↑ "The Image of Divorce in Ireland". RTÉ Archives.
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