The Hard Way - Frankie Laine

The hard way to get here, the hard way to stay\nThe hard way to work and the hard way to play\nThe hard way, the long way, the rough way, the slow\nThe hard way to get here and the old hard way to go\nThey tell me that I first saw light in 1844\nIn a wagon in the hills of Tennessee\nAnd my mother soon lay dead with an arrow through her head\nSo it started out the old hard way for me\nThe hard way to get here, the hard way to stay\nThe hard way to work and the hard way to play\nThe hard way, the long way, the rough way, the slow\nThe old hard way to get here and the old hard way to go\nI hunted possum and raccoon to get my share of grub\nI fought the bear to rob the honey bee\nWhen I was only five, that is how I stayed alive\nEverything’s been the old hard way for me\nI never settled anywhere, ain’t never earned no pay\nA bottle’s words is steady company\nI never learned to ride, all I learned to do was fight\nEverything has been the old hard way for me\nThe hard way to get here, the hard way to stay\nThe hard way to work and the hard way to play\nThe hard way, the long way, the rough way, the slow\nThe hard way to get here and the old hard way to go\nThat bugle started blowin' back in 1861\nI pulled up stakes and volunteered with Lee\nI marched with old Stonewall, till I met a cannon ball\nEverything’s been the old hard way for me\nThe hard way to get here, the hard way to stay\nThe hard way to work and the hard way to play\nThe hard way, the long way, the rough way, the slow\nThe hard way to get here and the old hard way to go\nSo all good folk who come this way and then look upon this stone\nPlease say a prayer and set my spirit free\nWon’t you help me reach my goal 'cause I’m down here shovelin' coal\nEverything is still the old hard way for me\nEverything is still the old hard way for me\nEverything is still the old hard way for me