There's an old man sitting in a rented room
Sitting and watching the wall
Trying to remember the good old days
And wondering why the kids don't call
They used to go driving in the summer sun
When his woman was alive
Now he reads his Gideon Bible and waits
For his welfare check to arrive
He got the hard time hungrys
Doing the best that he can
Lord the hard time hungrys
Are spreading all over the land
There's a Tennessee housewife shopping in the market
Wearing her last used jeans
She picks up a roast
Then changes her mind
Puts it back down and buys some more beans
Her old man's working in the filling station
And what's he gonna say
When he sits down to a table full of nothing
After working like a dog all day
He got the hard time hungrys
Doing the best that he can
I see the hard time hungrys
Spreading all over the land
A Mississippi farmer he's watching the sky
Wondering if it's gonna rain
The payment's due on the tractor Lord
And the subsidy's been taken away
And in New York City a taxicab driver
Screams at the world outside
Cause it sure is hot and nobody's got
The money for a cross town ride
Lord they got the hard time hungrys
Doing the best that they can
I see the hard time hungrys
Spreading all over the land
Now I ain't no preacher
And I ain't no teacher
But one thing's sure as the sun
If the dollar keeps a dropping
And prices keep a rising
The worst is yet to come
We got the hard time hungrys
I feel it touching my hand
Lord I see the hard time hungrys
Spreading all over the land
Yes I see the hard time hungrys
Spreading all over the land