Lyrics The Great Hunger - The Wolfe Tones

It was in the year Eighteen Forty and Five
A Great Hunger came o'er the land
And it was the neglect of the rulers to be
That no crops could the soil command
Yet the farmer he tilled
He toiled and he sowed
And he planted with his strong hands
A Great Hunger came o'er the land
The moon it shone bright o'er the late autumn skies
'Twas the finest the harvest moon
Yet it was not the sight of joy to be seen
For then again too soon crop failure had turned
The sweetness all sour
In the hearts of all Ireland
A Great Hunger came o'er the land
Now the men they grow weak and the women are pale
And the children are dying now
The cold winter months will soon pass us by
Without hope in the early spring
And the people will cry with a hungry plea
Without hope of a helping hand
A Great Hunger came o'er the land
The birds they are singing way out of tune
As the cart pulls the donkey along
The crops they have failed us again in this year
Oh then tell me what caused this wrong
Was it the curse of a witch that caused this bad deed
Or the work of the devil's hand
A Great Hunger came o'er the land
Not a devil or witch had a hand in this deed
Of this I assure you now
But the cuckoo of men this crippling foe
Though it's little that you might have
He's exploited the work of the laboring man
And while his belly expands
A Great Hunger came o'er the land