Tough Folks

I'm caught in the shadows, the American South Somewhere between hypocrite and hallelujah Six generations of barely gettin' by Six generations of hate, what's it to ya? When the only thing harder than the work is the luck The outcome's as hopeful as the evenin' news And last November I saw firsthand What desperation makes good people do Life ain't fair Saddle up, boy, and see it through Tough times don't last Tough folks do See I come from a long line of Carolina farmers For years, tobacco was the answer It kept the lights on and put food on the table 'Til the doctors started callin' it cancer So we took to the hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains With a harvest of corn and some copper line And we found you can get a little slice of heaven With some sugar yeast water and a whole lotta time Life ain't fair Saddle up, boy, and see it through Tough times don't last But tough folks do Where I'm from a man's only worth the weight of his word and Respect ain't handed out, it's earned I've been runnin' with my back to the wall for seventeen years now And if it's one thing that I've learned, it's ... Life ain't fair Saddle up, boy, and see it through Tough times don't last But tough folks do Life ain't fair Saddle up, saddle up Life ain't fair Saddle up, saddle up Life ain't fair Saddle up, boy, and see it through Tough times don't last But tough folks do Tough times don't last But tough folks do