My mother told me before she passed away Said, "Son, when I'm gone, don't forget to pray 'Cause there'll be hard times, Lord those hard times Who knows better than I" Well I soon found out just what she meant When I had to pawn my clothes just to pay the rent Talkin' 'about hard times, hard times Who knows better than I I had a woman, Lord, who was always around But when I lost my money, she put me down Talkin' 'bout hard times, you know those hard times Yeah, Lord, who knows better than I Lord, one of these days, there'll be no sorrow When I pass away And no more hard times Yeah, yeah, who knows better than I Yeah, Lord, who knows better than I