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