Digital Tradition Mirror

The Famine Song (Praties They Grow Small)

(This score available as ABC, SongWright, PostScript, PNG, or PMW, or a MIDI file)
Pennywhistle notation and Dulcimer tab for this song is also available

The Famine Song (Praties They Grow Small)

Oh the praties they grow small, over here (2x)
Oh the praties they grow small
And way up in Donegal
We eat them skins and all, over here, over here
We eat them skins and all, over here.

Oh I wish that we were geese, night and morn, (2x)
Oh I wish that we were geese
Till the hour of our release
When we' d live and die in peace, stuffing corn, stuffing corn
When we' d live and die in peace, stuffing corn.

Oh, they'll grind us into dust, over here (2x)
Oh, they'll grind us into dust,
But the Lord in whom we trust
Will return us crumb for crust, over here, over here
Will return us crumb for crust, over here.
Note: Refers to the great potato famine of 1847-1848. Oddly
     enough, this song is probably a parody of a song, "The
     Wonderful Song of 'Over There'", published by Atwill in
     1844. Another case of the parody outlasting the original. In
     any case, there are a large number of Ameerican parodies of
     this one. RG
RG

Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!