The Dunes

G I walked today on the cold grey shore C G Where I watched when I was much younger Em While they built the dunes upon the sand Em For the dead from the Great Hunger Em For the dead from the Great Hunger. G Although I was a doctor's son C G I gazed in fear and wonder Em As they perished from the raging plague Em That came in from the Great Hunger Em That came in from the Great Hunger. G When I watched at the age of four C G in Eighteen Forty Seven Em the mounds they built upon the shore. Em They seemed to point to heaven Em They seemed to point to heaven. G But the wind and the rain they have worked away. C G The dunes they're all uneven Em And the children kick the sand around Em And the bones they are revealed then Em And the bones they are revealed then. G My brothers and my sisters died. C G My mother only four and twenty Em And I alone survived to see Em The potatoes grow in plenty Em The potatoes grow in plenty. G As we died in pain they stole our grain C G To put upon their tables. EM The dying covered the dead with sand Em And danced while they were able Em And danced while they were able. G While the fiddler played we drank poitin C G And ate the last of the berries. Em Then knelt and said the rosary Em Round the mounds of dead we'd buried Em Round the mounds of dead we'd buried. G I saw dark shadows rise up from the sand C G And dance all around the dunes Em And they danced the rattling dance of the dead Em To a set of mournful tunes Em To a set of mournful tunes. G A crack of lightening split the sky. C G The rain on the dunes it poured. Em I left them lying where I shot them down Em The bailiff and the landlord. Em Then I went for a drink in Westport. G I walked today on the cold grey shore C G Where I watched when I was much younger Em While they built the dunes upon the sand Em For the dead from the Great Hunger Em For the dead from the Great Hunger.