This is a haunting rendition of traditional Irish folk song written c.1845 at the beginning of The Great Famine in Donegal, Ireland. It is a song about the growing desperation of the first year of the failure of the potato crop. The main source of substance of the underclasses at the time. “I first learned of this song when I was asked to perform it in a play about ‘The Great Famine’ in Perth, Western Australia. I listened to Caroline Hester’s version from live footage in early 1960s. I found that it was similar in style and form to a traditional blues song. There is an eeriness to the song, especially when we now know the harrowing conditions that were to unfold in the coming months and years after this song was written .” – Queen Grace
SINGLE RELEASE – 29TH SEPTEMBER 2023 – THE PRATIES THEY GROW SMALL
