One man does his work
He's not satisfied not at all
Feels like that he's being used
His self respect starts to fall
His frustration
Running very very high he takes it out
On the ones he loves, because it's safe
And who they gonna tell
And he hates that cold-bloodedness
That runs inside

Oh yes
It's hard times, for an honest man
Very, very hard times
Hard times, for an honest man
Very, very hard times

Sister,
She's got a lot of pride
You can see it when she walks into the room
But she's young
And she's unaware
Of what a brutal world can do to you
So she loves a man
He lies like a dog
Tears her little world all apart
So the walls go up
For the rest of her days
And there ain't no man can touch this
Girls heart

Oh yes.
It's hard times, for an honest man
Very, very hard times
Hard times, for an honest man
Very, very hard times

So we walk
From the front porch to the back yard
Just to laugh and say hello and
Say goodbye
But some days are hard, like a
Soldier's steel-toed boots
And the rent we pay to stay here
Gets high

Oh yes.
It's hard times, for an honest man
Very, very hard times
Hard times, for an honest man
Very, very hard times

Copyright: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Writer(s): JOHN MELLENCAMP