It's hard to grasp how this cliché-strewn dirge, about a couple walking to a ship to escape the great famine, got from page to stage.

Oral lore has it that there was a great famine in the area between 1635 and 1642.

The great famine of the 1590s began the period of famine and decline in the 17th century.

A great famine raged during the first four months of his administration.

Several months after the said fire, a great famine occurred.