Lord, we're under the light And havin' hard times Mommas worried about Papa and the empty grocery shelf Papa's working down under the ground slowly killing himself He's working in the mines, havin' hard times Yeah, he's workin' in the mines and havin' hard times It's the same way in the city working in the factory It takes all the overtime you can get just to feed your family Workin' on the line and havin' hard times Yeah, workin' on the line and havin' hard times And what used to be a dollar ain't worth a silver dime There is no such thing as security When you're having all those hard, hard times I know about some farmers outside of East Moline They couldn't work their fields this year 'cause they couldn't buy gasoline They're plantin' by the sides and havin' hard times Yeah, they're plantin' side, still havin' hard times And what used to be a dollar ain't worth a silver dime And there is no such thing as security When you're having all those hard, hard times Mommas still worried about Papa and the empty grocery shelf Papa's still working down under the ground he's slowly killing himself Working in the mines, havin' hard times Lord, workin' in the mines and still havin' hard times You don't have to worry no more, mama Papa's gonna pull us through some how Working in the mines, havin' hard times