Written by: John Mellencamp

One man
Does his work
He's not satisfied
Not at all
Feels like
That he is being used
His self respect starts to fall
His frustration
Runnin' very very high
He takes it out
On the one he loves
Because it's safe
And who they gonna tell
And he hates the cold-bloodedness
That runs inside

Chorus
Oh yes
It's hard times
For an honest man
Very very very hard times
Hard times for an honest man
Very very very hard times

Sister
She's got a lot of pride
You can see it when she walks into the room
But she's young
And she's unaware
Of what a brutal world can do to you
So she loves a man
He lies like a dog
Tears her little world all apart
So the walls go up
For the rest of her days
And there ain't no man can touch this girl's heart

Chorus

So we walk
From the front porch to the back yard
Just to laugh and say hello and say good-bye
But some days are hard, like a soldier's steel-toed boots
And the rent we pay to stay here gets high

Chorus