Orphan Girl
Orphan Girl is a tribute to the Irish girls who were sent to Australia during the 1840s and 1850s as part of the "Earl Grey Scheme." This was a government-supported program that took young Irish girls, many of them orphaned by the Great Famine, from overcrowded workhouses in Ireland and sent them to Australia to work as domestic servants or to marry. It was a way of easing overcrowding in workhouses and providing labor in the growing Australian colonies.
The song captures the voice of a young Irish girl, saying goodbye to her homeland and loved ones, full of uncertainty and sorrow, but also a glimmer of hope for a better life in a faraway land. Like much of Brendan Graham’s writing, it has deep emotional resonance and historical awareness, making it feel personal and universal all at once.
Karen Matheson's interpretation of "Orphan Girl" has been praised for its emotional depth and poignant delivery. The song narrates the experiences of young Irish girls sent to Australia during the 1840s under the Earl Grey Scheme, capturing their hopes and hardships.
Praise for Orphan Girl
“‘Standout track though has to be her (ie Karen Matheson) rendition of Brendan Graham’s wonderful Orphan Girl.”
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— The Living Tradition.
“Orphan Girl tells the very folky tale of orphaned Irish women sent to Australia to find ‘’a better life’’. It’s a wondrous song”
— Folking.com
“‘‘While no doubt a Folk Song at heart … the fragile and achingly beautiful Orphan Girl, from the pen of Irish writer Brendan Graham about the tragic tale of thousands of young orphan girls in Ireland in the 1840’s and transported to the New World that was Australia has a theatrical feel to it and I don’t think it would take too much of a stretch to imagine this song being the cornerstone of a Hit Musical.”
— Rocking Magpie