Train blog and hunger stones

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So, I’m on the train from Norwich to London and the internet is so slow I can’t load my learning programme and do my homework. Makes a change from it being eaten by the dog, I guess.

But then, dogs can’t eat homework these days, can they? Like my training, a lot of it is digital. Or do kids still have to hand in written essays and assignments?

So apart from emails (done) and checking my social media (doesn’t take long), what should I do with this time? Be creative!

So we have this short little blog which is of no consequence to anyone but me. I will, however, share a song I wrote recently. I saw in the news that the ‘hunger stones’ are now visible again in rivers in Europe where the water levels have fallen so these large stones, engraved by previous generations in other times of drought, are visible again.

They are called hunger stones because drought often partnered famine. And people wrote on these stones not only to mark a difficult time, but perhaps also to warn us too (one poignant message on a stone is ‘If you see me, weep’). But when have humans ever listened or learned from history?

So on another internet-poor train journey I wrote the words, and had a tune in my head. Then in an evening after work I sang the song directly into my Suno and it created this version, which has totally captured the feel that I wanted for this.

Not exactly a cheerful ditty, but I am a folk singer, after all. Here’s the lyrics:

The hunger stones, the hunger stones
Skull like on the river bed
The hunger stones, The hunger stones
A warning to us all it’s said
Watch the waters as they recede
Watch the skies and seasons turn
Watch the corn dry in the field
Watch the fields of barley burn

The hunger stones , the hunger stones
They’ve a story we must hear
The hunger stones, The hunger stones
Warn us that a change is here
Watch the river’s banks grow dry
Watch the eagle in the sky
Watch the hungry hunt for life
Watch the weakest of them die

Listen to the hunger stones
Learn the lesson if we may
Mark our names upon the stones
Until the good rains come again

The hunger stones, the hunger stones
Told us that this was to come
The hunger stones, the hunger stones
No one listened to their song
Watch the world as drought comes down
Watch the world as dust prevails
Watch the world that changes now
Watch the crops and harvests fail

Glaciers fall and rivers burst
Storms and thunder rage untamed
Listen to the hunger stones
They warn us what will come again

The hunger stones x 4

(C) Carolyn Sheppard September 2026

Useful links:

• Hear my song here: Stream The Hunger Stones by CarrieSheppard | Listen online for free on SoundCloud
• Hunger stone - Wikipedia
• dw.com/en/hunger-stones-the-history-behind-if-you-see-me-weep/a-78345729
• Independent article on the drought revealing the stones
• My Suno profile (more of my music enhanced by AI) 

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