Where A Man Died For Every Sleeper

Where a man died for every sleeper on the on the railway track from here far away
On the line from Cork into Kerry no worker will die of hunger today
Sleepers first laid by workers in the Irish famine to honor them never a parade
It is only of sporting and war heroes that memorable memories are made

On the railway line from Cork into Kerry in the green and scenic countryside
In the Irish potato famine of the eighteen forties every day many poor workers died
Trying to earn a pittance to sustain the life in their starving families without hope for the Seasons ahead
In the unmarked graves of the forgotten lay the bones of Ireland's poor unremembered dead

Since then millions of people have died in famines in drought ravaged lands Worldwide
The children of very poor parents who did not have luck on their side
In unmarked graves their bones lay forever their stories never to be told
Few of the poor of poor regions do live on to grow frail and old

On the railways line from Cork into Kerry many poor workers died in Ireland's famine years
The people who should be remembered for they too are worthy of tears
In the unmarked graves of the forgotten in memory of them never a street parade
It is only of war and sporting heroes that memorable memories are made.