Forgot the Famine cover art

Forgot the Famine

Written by Shane Pierson

Released May 15, 2026

I wrote this song after reading Deuteronomy 8, where Moses warns the children of Israel about a danger that comes after survival. It is the danger of being blessed, becoming comfortable, and slowly forgetting the God who carried you when you had noth...

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Lyrics

(Verse 1)

There's a room inside my house

Where I don't go anymore

It smells like dust and answered prayers

Stacked behind the door

I used to count my pennies slow

With my forehead on the ground

Now the gold starts to multiply

And I barely hear the sound

(Pre-Chorus)

Funny how a hungry man

Knows exactly where to kneel

Funny how a full one

Can forget how mercy feels

(Chorus)

Forgot the famine

When the table got full

Forgot the dry ground

When the rain barrel pulled

Got proud of the harvest

Like I planted the sun

Lord, I forgot who fed me

When the plenty had come

(Verse 2)

I got a coat for every season

Shoes that never touch mud

Windows looking over trees

And a gate that keeps out love

I used to pray for water

With a cracked cup in my hand

Now I drink without remembering

How You split the thirsty land

(Pre-Chorus)

Funny how the gold can shine

Till it blinds a grateful eye

Funny how the heart climbs up

And leaves the soul behind

(Chorus)

Forgot the famine

When the table got full

Forgot the dry ground

When the rain barrel pulled

Got proud of the harvest

Like I planted the sun

Lord, I forgot who fed me

When the plenty had come

(Bridge)

You were there in the hard years

In the dust and the heat

When the road had no answer

And the stones cut my feet

You gave bread I couldn't name

You gave water from stone

You gave strength for the morning

When I had none of my own

So take the crown off my thinking

Take the gold off my tongue

Let me bow before the Giver

Before the gift comes undone

(Final Chorus)

Forgot the famine

When the table got full

Forgot the dry ground

When the rain barrel pulled

Got proud of the harvest

Like I planted the sun

Lord, I forgot who fed me

When the plenty had come

(Outro)

When the house gets quiet

And the gold shines bright

Let me remember the desert

Let me remember the night

Let me remember the hunger

Let me remember the stone

Let me remember the hand

That never left me alone

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The Story

I wrote this song after reading Deuteronomy 8, where Moses warns the children of Israel about a danger that comes after survival. It is the danger of being blessed, becoming comfortable, and slowly forgetting the God who carried you when you had nothing.

That hit me hard.

There is something very human about praying with real hunger, real fear, and real dependence during the hard seasons, then getting to the other side and slowly letting pride rewrite the story. We start calling mercy "timing." We call provision "strategy." We call deliverance "hard work." We forget the famine when the table gets full.

This song is about that quiet drift.

It is about the person who once prayed over unpaid bills, uncertain outcomes, broken plans, and impossible roads, then later finds himself surrounded by blessings and begins to believe his own hands created all of it. That is a dangerous place for the soul. Prosperity can be beautiful, but it can also become blinding when gratitude starts to fade.

The message of "Forgot the Famine" is not that wealth, success, ambition, or progress are wrong. The warning is deeper than that. The warning is about forgetting. Forgetting who opened the door. Forgetting who gave strength when there was none left. Forgetting who brought water out of stone when there was no obvious way forward.

Deuteronomy 8 teaches that God gives us power to prosper, but that prosperity is supposed to point us back to Him. It should deepen our humility. It should make us more generous, more obedient, more aware, and more anchored. When it makes us proud, isolated, or self-convinced, the blessing starts becoming a burden.

This song is a confession and a reminder.

I need that reminder. I think a lot of us do.

Because most people do not walk away from God all at once. Sometimes we just get busy. We get full. We get admired. We get comfortable. We get a little more impressed with ourselves than we should be. Then one day we realize we still have the house, the table, the income, the opportunities, and the applause, but our heart has wandered from the One who gave us breath in the first place.

"Forgot the Famine" is meant to bring the listener back to remembrance.

Remember the wilderness. Remember the hunger. Remember the prayers nobody heard. Remember the strength that showed up when yours was gone. Remember the hand of God in the parts of your story you could never have engineered by yourself.

If this song does anything, I hope it helps people pause before taking credit for miracles. I hope it helps someone look around at the good things in their life and feel gratitude before pride has a chance to speak. I hope it reminds us that everything we build should still lead our hearts back to the Lord.

Scripture References

Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

Deuteronomy 8:11-14

And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

Deuteronomy 8:17-18

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