Hard, Hard Times
"Hard, Hard Times" is a traditional Newfoundland folk song/ballad. There is an earlier version, from England, called "Rigs of the Times". The later version was written in 1936 at the time of the Great Depression by William Emberley of Bay de Verde and performed by Dick Nolan.
Emberley's verses, which passed quickly into tradition, are a local application of a pattern established by an 18th-century English broadside which ridiculed certain trades and later was often adapted to describe hard times. "Rigs of the Times" has been recorded by Shirley Collins, Martin Carthy, Maddy Prior and others. Steeleye Span recorded a related song from England after the Napoleonic Wars: "Hard Times of Old England".
Lyrics
Come all you good people I'll sing you a song,
About the poor people, how they get along;
They'll start in the Spring, finish up in the Fall,
And when it's all over they got nothin' at all.
And it's hard hard times.
Go out in the mornin', go on if it's still,
It's over the side you'll hear the line knell;
For out goes the jigger and freezes the cold,
And as for the startings all gone in the hole.
And it's hard hard times.
The fine side of fishing we'll have by and by,
The fine side of fishing we'll have a good buy;
Seven dollars for large and six-fifty for small,
Take out your West Indie, you've nothing at all.
And it's hard hard times.
When you got some spearin' they're hung out to dry,
It'll take all your time to brush off the flies;
To keep off the flies it is more than you'll do,
Then out comes the sun and she all splits in two.
And it's hard hard times.
Then next comes the carpenter to build you a house,
He'll build her so snug you'll scarce find a mouse;
With holes in the roof and the rain it will pour,
The chimney will smoke and it's open the door.
And it's hard hard times.
Then next comes the doctor the worst one of all,
Saying what is the matter with you all this Fall;
Says he will cure you of all your disease,
When the money he's got you can die if you please.
And it's hard hard times.
The best thing to do is to work with a will,
For when it's all finished you're hauled on the hill;
You're hauled on the hill and put down in the cold,
And when it's all finished you're still in the hole.
And it's hard hard times.