"The Hard Way" lyrics

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