ANALYSIS
OF OUR SONG
APPROACH
• In our group we
read the text of the
song Famine by
Sinead O'Connor.
• We tried to
understand its
message
• We shared all our
ideas and
hypothesis.
TITLE
ANALYSIS
PREDICTIONS
• We think the writer may have chosen one only a
word for the title, to draw all the reader’s attention
on it.
• Moreover the word is not of English origin.
• In english you have also got “hunger”
BRAINSTORMING
DRASTIC
EVENTS
POOR
PEOPLE
HUNGER
FAMINE
BAD
NEGATIVE
SITUATION
WAR
LAY OUT
The song has been arranged into eight stanzas.
There is no regular pattern and longer stanzas
alternate with shorter ones.
Larger Stanzas = provide info about Irish difficult
situations
Shorter stanza = convey the message of the song
DENOTATIVE
ANALYSIS
 The singer thinks there was no famine.
 Irish people were only allowed to eat
potatoes They wrere often on the point of
starvation That situation is still hurting
 Children could not be taught Irish.
 They lost their history.
CONTENT
• The song is about:
• Ireland’s famine.
• First three stanzas:
• Irish condition
• The consequences of English colonization
on Irish population.
Last two stanzas Irish history.
Fourth stanza 
“if there ever is gonna be healing
there has to be knowledge and
understanding”.
She talks about child abouse.
Semantic choises
1170 - Norman Invasion: Henry II made Ireland part of the UK
1833 – England VS ULSTER
1845 – The Irish Great Famine
Migration to USA
1905 – Sinn Fein
1916 – Uprising of Irish people against the British
1917 – IRA
1921 – Partition of Ireland / Civil War
1949 – Ireland becomes a Republic
1969 – London sends troops to Northern Ireland
1971 – British government Introduces INTERNMENT
without TRIAL
1972 – BLOODY SUNDAY: British Troops kill 14
protesters
1998 – April 10th : GOOD FRIDAY AGREEMENT
2000 – January 11th: Mendelssohn suspends the
Northern Ireland assembly
We think that the words represent the real object
of the poetess' reflection.
Irish people's history is the excuse to send a
message that may work other horrible facts of
the history of the world.
“The highest statistics of
child abuse in the EEC”
Some European countries constituted
an association called EEC (European
Economical Community) to create an
economical unity between European
States.
FAMINE
HISTORY
MEMORY
ALCOHOLISM
CHILD
ABOUSE
DRUG
ADDICTIONS
FAMINE
PROBLEMS
KILLERS
POST
TRUMATIC
STRESS
DISORDER
SOUND LEVEL
• During most the song you can hear
the howls of wolves .
• The song is voiced by a solo singer, Sinead
O’connor and twice it is followed by a choir.
The wolf is a solitary animal.
Wolves generally represent:
• loneliness
• sadness,
• fright
• confusion

the situation in Ireland
from 1845 to 1849.
Possible Interpretations - I
It sounds as if the song were voiced by all Irish people
voicing the horrible situation of the famine that hit
Ireland for ages
SOUND LEVEL Possible Interpretations - II
Sound effect  the idea of something
terrible  mixture of
• low volume and voice
• strange noises
• echo effect.
SINEAD sings the highest number of words
in the shortest time possible as it is typical
of RAP
In this song we can hear a rhythmical opposition
Possible interpretation

the singer wants to convey the difference between the
condition of poor people and the one of the rich.
In addition a rap tune characterizes the song
WHAT IS RAP?
Rap began among the youth of South Bronx, New York
in the 1970’s.
Individuals such Kool Herc and Grandmaster
Flash were some of the early pioneers of rap.
Through their performances at clubs and
promotion of such music, rap consistently gained
It further developed during the eighties
 Rap music come from hip-hop, gospel, soul and
blues.
 Today, rap music continues to be a prominent and
important aspect of African- American culture.
 Rap music was a way for youths in black inner city
neighbourhoods to express their feelings
WHY RAP?
•
Rap lyrics are about the problems rappers have seen:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
- poverty
- crime
- violence
- racism
- poor living conditions
- drugs
- alcoholism
- corruption
- prostitution.
OUR
CONCLUSIONS
In the lines the singer doesn’t speak
about famine. She rather underlines
the importance of remembering and
understanding as universal concepts.
Concepts we should keep in mind
every day.
We think that Famine was just an
excuse to speak about the loss of the
memory and
the history of a
country. Probably Sinead sang of
famine because its something people
feel closer and therefore would pay
more attention to the song.