This

Thes

These past few days, I’ve spent a part of the early evening – my quiet time – with the singer Gillian Welch, and today I listed to “Hard Times” a half-dozen times and loved it so much I wanted to share it with you.

“There was a camp town man,

used to plow and sing

He loved that mule and the mule loved him

When the day got long as it does about now

I’d hear him singing to his mule cow

Calling, “come on my sweet old girl, and I’d bet

the whole damn world we’re gonna make it yet to

the end of the row.

singing “Hard times ain’t gonna

rule my mind

Hard times ain’t gonna rule my mind,

Bessie,

Hard times ain’t gonna rule my

mine no more.”

Said i’s a mean old world, heavy in need,

That big machine is just picking up speed

And we’re supping on tears, and

we’re supping on wine

We all get to heaven

in our own sweet time.

But the camp town man,

he doesn’t plow no more

I seen him walking down to

the cigarette store

Guess he lost that nag and he

forgot that song

Woke up one morning

and the mule was gone.

So come on, you ragtime kids,

and come on, you dogs, and sing

And pick up a dusty old horn

and give it a blow.

Playing “Hard times ain’t gonna

rule my mind, honey,

Hard times ain’t gonna rule  my

mind sugar,

Hard times ain’t gonna rule my mine no more.”

— Hard Times, Gillian Welch