John Mellencamp

Songwriter: John Mellencamp

Producer: John Mellencamp Don Gehman

[Verse 1]
One man
Does his work
He's not satisfied
Not at all
Feels like
That he's being used (Being used)
His self respect starts to fall
His frustration
Runnin' very very high
He takes it out
On the ones he loves
Because it's safe (It's safe)
And who they gonna tell
And he hates the cold-bloodedness
That runs inside

[Chorus]
Oh yes
It's hard times (Hard times)
For an honest man (For an honest man)
Very very very hard times
Hard times (Hard times)
For an honest man (For an honest man)
Very very very hard times

[Verse 2]
Sister (Sister)
She's got a lot of pride (A lot of pride)
You can see it when she walks into the room
But she's young (She's young)
And she's unaware
Of what a brutal world can do to you
So she loves a man
Lies like a dog
Tears her little world all apart
So the walls go up (Walls go up)
For the rest of her days
And there ain't no man can touch this girl's heart

[Chorus]
Oh yes
It's hard times (Hard times)
For an honest man (For an honest man)
Very very very hard times
Hard times (Hard times)
For an honest man (For an honest man)
Very very very hard times

[Bridge]
Hey hey
Hey hey
Hey hey

[Verse 3]
So we walk
From the front porch to the back yard
Just to laugh and say hello and say goodbye
But some days are hard, like a soldier's steel-toed boots
And the rent we pay to stay here gets high

[Chorus]
Oh yes
It's hard times (Hard times)
For an honest man (For an honest man)
Very very very hard times
Hard times (Hard times)
For an honest man (For an honest man)
Very very very hard times (Say it again now)
Hard times (Hard times)
For an honest man (For an honest man)
Very very very hard times
Hard times (Hard times)
For an honest man (For an honest man)
Very very very hard times

[Outro]
Hey hey
Hey hey
Hey hey
Hey hey

John J Mellencamp, also known as John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American musician, singer-songwriter, painter, and actor. He is known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock, which emphasize with the working class.

John Mellencamp has released 22 studio albums, with a career that began in 1976 and still goes on today.

His most recent release was 2014’s Plain Spoken

more tracks from the album

The Lonesome Jubilee

From the album

The Lonesome Jubilee (1987)

John Mellencamp popular songs

Hard Times for an Honest ManJohn Mellencamp

John Mellencamp

The Lonesome Jubilee