My mother told me 'Fore she passed away Said son when I'm gone Don't forget to pray 'Cause there'll be hard times Lord those hard times Who knows better than I Well I soon found out Just what she meant When I had to pawn my clothes Just to pay the rent Talkin' 'bout hard times Lord those hard times Who knows better than I I had a woman Who was always around But when I lost my money She put me down Talkin' 'bout hard times Hard times Yeah yeah who knows better than I Lord one of these days There'll be no more sorrow When I pass away And no more hard times No more hard times Yeah yeah who knows better than I