The Great Hunger

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