Released in 1994 by Sinéad O’Connor, ‘Famine’ is a fierce track which calls attention to the deliberate misinformation around the Irish ‘famine’, now better referred to as ‘The Great Hunger’. O’Connor’s song is a biting retaliation against the term ‘famine’ being continuously used to describe an act of deliberate repression by the British, calling out the destructive reality of colonialism and reminding listeners “there was no famine”.

Thirty-two years later, and Kate Nash has reignited the track and moulded it to the context of 2026 Britain, proving it to be just as relevant today as it was when first released.

Delving into her dual English and Irish nationality, Nash expertly blends synths, spoken word, hip-hop and traditional Irish instrumentals (even playing the first instrument she ever learnt - the tin whistle) to create a version of the track which honours O’Connor’s original while feeling refreshingly authentic and modern.

Crucially, Nash has included a powerful verse of her own, emphasising that “England doesn’t take responsibility for the destruction that it’s caused / For its empire and its commonwealth they left us uninformed”. She underscores the importance of remembering our history of “not just killing, crushing culture / Taking away identity and heritage, tradition and music” - that with empire comes mass annihilation and that in an increasingly unstable world “it is essential that we educate” about this past and let it inform current decisions, not let it get forgotten.

Nash makes it evidently clear that her version of the track is a direct response to growing nationalism in England today, featuring an England flag hanging out of a bedroom window in the single’s cover, and zooming in on various flags in the track’s Official Music Video (gorgeously directed by Tia O’Donnell). Nash is acutely conscious that much of England looks like this right now and wants to create an increased awareness and understanding of the implications of this without pointing fingers or making accusations.

The video also features a banner with the quote “the English don’t know their history”, which Nash displays around various London locations, including the Houses of Parliament.

On covering and adapting the track, Nash says herself that this history is “a sensitive, important, and timely issue to address and pertinent to today and the conversation surrounding immigration, war and the growing rise in nationalism” and that the track is “an invitation to interrogate our histories both personal and national”.

The cover ultimately echoes O’Connor’s original key message of compassion, education and accountability, that, “if there is ever gonna be healing there has to be remembering then grieving / So that there can be forgiving there has to be knowledge and understanding”.

Emily Sanderson

@emily.vs_

Image: Ellius Grace