THE FAMINE SONG LYRICS AND CHORDS
THE PRATIES 4/4 (traditional) The tune of this song is similar, but not identical to the air of ‚Sam Hall’ . Although the song's title is The Famine Song, there's no mention of a famine in the lyrics. I think Carolyn Hester who used to sing with Bob Dylan was the first to record this one in 1963 and called it ''The Praties They Grow Small'' . Chords by Marc. One other of the many songs regarding Famine is the Famine Song by Irish folk singer Johnny McEvoy.
Oh, the (G)praties they grow (D)small over (G)here,
Oh, the praties they grow small (C)over (D)here,
Oh, the (C)praties they grow small, and we (G)dig them in the (D)fall
And we (Em)eat them, (Am)skin and (D)all, over (G)here
Oh, we're (G)down into the (D)dust, over (G)here,
Oh, we're down into the dust, (C)over (D)here,
Oh, we're (C)down into the dust, but the (G)Lord in whom we (D)trust
Will re(Em)pay us (Am)crumb for (D)crust over (G)here.
Oh we (G)wish that we were geese, (D)night and (G)morn,
Oh we wish that we were geese, (C)night and (D)morn,
Oh we (C)wish that we were geese, and could (G)live our lives in (D)peace
Till the (Em)hour of our re(Am)lease, eating (D)c
Oh, the praties they grow small (C)over (D)here,
Oh, the (C)praties they grow small, and we (G)dig them in the (D)fall
And we (Em)eat them, (Am)skin and (D)all, over (G)here
Oh, we're (G)down into the (D)dust, over (G)here,
Oh, we're down into the dust, (C)over (D)here,
Oh, we're (C)down into the dust, but the (G)Lord in whom we (D)trust
Will re(Em)pay us (Am)crumb for (D)crust over (G)here.
Oh we (G)wish that we were geese, (D)night and (G)morn,
Oh we wish that we were geese, (C)night and (D)morn,
Oh we (C)wish that we were geese, and could (G)live our lives in (D)peace
Till the (Em)hour of our re(Am)lease, eating (D)c
Lyrics And Chords In The Key Of C Major
Oh, the (C)praties they grow (G)small over (C)here,
Oh, the praties they grow small (F)over (G)here,
Oh, the (F)praties they grow small, and we (C)dig them in the (G)fall
And we (Am)eat them, (Dm)skin and (G)all, over (C)here
Oh, we're (C)down into the (G)dust, over (C)here,
Oh, we're down into the dust, (F)over (G)here,
Oh, we're (F)down into the dust, but the (C)Lord in whom we (G)trust
Will re(Am)pay us (Dm)crumb for (G)crust over (C)here.
Oh we (C)wish that we were geese, (G)night and (C)morn,
Oh we wish that we were geese, (F)night and (G)morn,
Oh we (F)wish that we were geese, and could (C)live our lives in (G)peace
Till the (Am)hour of our re(Dm)lease, eating (G)c.
Irish Songs From C-F
Oh, the (C)praties they grow (G)small over (C)here,
Oh, the praties they grow small (F)over (G)here,
Oh, the (F)praties they grow small, and we (C)dig them in the (G)fall
And we (Am)eat them, (Dm)skin and (G)all, over (C)here
Oh, we're (C)down into the (G)dust, over (C)here,
Oh, we're down into the dust, (F)over (G)here,
Oh, we're (F)down into the dust, but the (C)Lord in whom we (G)trust
Will re(Am)pay us (Dm)crumb for (G)crust over (C)here.
Oh we (C)wish that we were geese, (G)night and (C)morn,
Oh we wish that we were geese, (F)night and (G)morn,
Oh we (F)wish that we were geese, and could (C)live our lives in (G)peace
Till the (Am)hour of our re(Dm)lease, eating (G)c.
Irish Songs From C-F
Famine scene at Castlebar Co. May Ireland 1880
Emigration from Ireland to America began early in the nineteenth century and many of the first to leave were the more successful farmers, motivated by a desire to prosper on the bigger scale in a freer land. However all the subsequent waves of emigration were motivated not by success but by failure. For the dispossessed tenant farmer of the 1760s the choices were limited. Either stay and starve at the mercy of repressive land policies and rack-renting landlords or escape to the land of promise. For the unemployed Ulster weavers of the 1820s tormented by the restrictive export laws and wage-cutting manufacturers the choices were virtually the same.
It was however the famine of 1845-48, caused by the failure of the potato crop, that started the greatest depopulation of Ireland in its history. The term "famine" is really an English apologia for its deliberate starvation of Ireland. The amount of corn and cattle exported from Ireland in these years would have fed all those who hungered twice over. As Shaw says in Man and Superman: "Famine...? No, starvation! When a country is full of food and exporting it, there can be no famine."
In the ten years between 1845 and 1855 nearly two million people about a quarter of the population-emigrated. Of all the European nations that helped populate America in the last century, the exodus from Ireland was proportionately the greatest.
The bittersweet story of the flight from hunger and injustice cannot be fully told on this album. We merely offer these songs and tunes as an example of the aspirations, courage, tenderness and often disappointment of those that crossed the Atlantic in search of a new world. It is to them and their descendants and the people they left behind that we
dedicate this record.
It was however the famine of 1845-48, caused by the failure of the potato crop, that started the greatest depopulation of Ireland in its history. The term "famine" is really an English apologia for its deliberate starvation of Ireland. The amount of corn and cattle exported from Ireland in these years would have fed all those who hungered twice over. As Shaw says in Man and Superman: "Famine...? No, starvation! When a country is full of food and exporting it, there can be no famine."
In the ten years between 1845 and 1855 nearly two million people about a quarter of the population-emigrated. Of all the European nations that helped populate America in the last century, the exodus from Ireland was proportionately the greatest.
The bittersweet story of the flight from hunger and injustice cannot be fully told on this album. We merely offer these songs and tunes as an example of the aspirations, courage, tenderness and often disappointment of those that crossed the Atlantic in search of a new world. It is to them and their descendants and the people they left behind that we
dedicate this record.
