Hard times here, hard times over yonder
Don't the stars shine pretty my love
Blood runs deep, souls run deeper
They rise as high as heaven above
My father, he died in the cane
Of what, they're still not certain
They said that he felt no pain
But my poor mother, she's still hurtin'
My wife, she stands by me
Though I know so many times I let her down
She knows the kind of man I want to be
And she knows that I'd be lost without her now
Hard times here, hard times over yonder
Don't the stars shine pretty my love
Blood runs deep, souls run deeper
They rise as high as heaven above
I wonder about the meaning of it all
And I wonder, will the crazy people win
What will happen when I refuse to crawl
Will they stand aside and let a brother in
Hard times here, hard times over yonder
Don't the stars shine pretty my love
Blood runs deep, souls run deeper
They rise as high as heaven above
To me it's all the same
I need no explanation
Come the sun or come the rain
Come the Great Emancipation