Lyrics:

(The hard way, the hard way)



The hard way to get here, the hard way to stay

The hard way to work and the hard way to play

The hard way, the long way, the rough way, the slow

The hard way to get here and the old hard way to go



They tell me that I first saw light in 1844

In a wagon in the hills of Tennessee

And my mother soon lay dead with an arrow through her

head

So it started out the old hard way for me



The hard way to get here, the hard way to stay

The hard way to work and the hard way to play

The hard way, the long way, the rough way, the slow

The old hard way to get here and the old hard way to go



I hunted possum and raccoon to get my share of grub

I fought the bear to rob the honey bee

When I was only five, that is how I stayed alive

Everything's been the old hard way for me



I never settled anywhere, ain't never earned no pay

A bottle's words is steady company

I never learned to ride, all I learned to do was fight

Everything has been the old hard way for me




The hard way to get here, the hard way to stay

The hard way to work and the hard way to play

The hard way, the long way, the rough way, the slow

The hard way to get here and the old hard way to go



That bugle started blowin' back in 1861

I pulled up stakes and volunteered with Lee

I marched with old Stonewall, till I met a cannon ball

Everything's been the old hard way for me



The hard way to get here, the hard way to stay

The hard way to work and the hard way to play

The hard way, the long way, the rough way, the slow

The hard way to get here and the old hard way to go



So all good folk who come this way and then look upon

this stone

Please say a prayer and set my spirit free

Won't you help me reach my goal 'cause I'm down here

shovelin' coal

Everything is still the old hard way for me



Everything is still the old hard way for me



Everything is still the old hard way for me