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  1. Tracks
  2. Paramore
  3. After Laughter
  4. Hard Times
Hard Times by Paramore

SINGLE

Paramore

Hard Times

Release date: 11th May 2017

From After Laughter
Track 1
3:03
AlternativeMusicRock
Spotify Apple Music More on Paramore

About This Track

The lead single from 'After Laughter', released on 19th April 2017, 'Hard Times' announces Paramore's fifth album with a disorienting brightness. The production leans into a playful 1980s palette, all tropical shimmer and neon synth-pop, whilst Hayley Williams catalogues a litany of anxieties. She asks to wake up fine, to be told she's alright, to know when it's safe to come out. The contrast is deliberate: the music offers postcard-perfect escape whilst the lyrics remain trapped under the weight of the real world.

Williams adopts the voice of someone walking around with a little rain cloud hanging overhead, wondering why she even tries, still unsure how she survives. The chorus cycles through its refrain with a grim cheerfulness, hard times taking you down and laughing when you cry. There's no closure offered, only the immediate reality of still standing. A Dork five-star record, 'After Laughter' finds peace in vulnerable honesty, and 'Hard Times' sets that tone from the opening track.

The song was written by Williams and guitarist Taylor York, released through Fueled by Ramen, and marked the first new studio material from the band in over four years. It remains a coming-of-age statement for when the world says you should have it all figured out by now, and Paramore have never done what was expected.

"Hard Times" is a single by Paramore, from the album After Laughter, released 11th May 2017. The track is 3:03 long. It's filed under Alternative. Full lyrics are available below. Dork has published 20 articles about Paramore.

About the Artist

Paramore

Paramore

Lyrics

Hard Times

All that I want
Is to wake up fine
Tell me that I'm alright
That I ain't gonna die

All that I want
Is a hole in the ground
You can tell me when it's alright
For me to come out

(Hard times)
Gonna make you wonder why you even try
(Hard times)
Gonna take you down and laugh when you cry
(These lives)
And I still don't know how I even survive
(Hard times, hard times)
And I gotta get to rock bottom
(Ooh!)

Walking around
With my little rain cloud
Hanging over my head
And it ain't coming down

Where do I go?
Give some sort of sign
You hit me with lightning!
Maybe I'll come alive

(Hard times)
Gonna make you wonder why you even try
(Hard times)
Gonna take you down and laugh when you cry
(These lives)
And I still don't know how I even survive
(Hard times, hard times)
And I gotta hit rock bottom
(Ooh!)

Tell my friends I'm coming down
We'll kick it when I hit the ground
Tell my friends I'm coming down
We'll kick it when I hit the ground

When I hit the ground
When I hit the ground
When I hit the ground
When I hit the ground

(Hard times)
Gonna make you wonder why you even try
(Hard times)
Gonna take you down and laugh when you cry
(These lives)
And I still don't know how I even survive
(Hard times) Hard times
(Hard times) Hard times

(Hard times)
Gonna make you wonder why you even try
(Hard times)
Gonna take you down and laugh when you cry
(These lives)
And I still don't know how I even survive
(Hard times) Hard times
(Hard times)

Makes you wonder why you even try
Makes you wonder why you even try
Makes you wonder why you even try
Makes you wonder

Still don't know how I even survive
Still don't know how I even survive
Still don't know how I even survive
Still don't know how
I survive
And I gotta get to rock bottom
(Ooh!)

Lyrics provided by LRCLIB

View full lyrics page →

Track details

From After Laughter

3:032017Single
Listen
Album
After Laughter
After Laughter
Paramore
12th May 2017
Track number
1
Release year
2017
  1. 1Hard Times
    3:03
  2. 2Rose-Colored Boy
    3:33
  3. 3Told You So
    3:09
  4. 4Forgiveness
    3:40

More from Paramore

Albums & EPs

Re: This Is Why
Re: This Is Why
2023
This Is Why
This Is Why
2023
Paramore (Deluxe Edition)
Paramore (Deluxe Edition)
2013
Paramore
Paramore
2013
Brand New Eyes (Deluxe)
Brand New Eyes (Deluxe)
2009
Brand New Eyes
Brand New Eyes
2009

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  2. Big Man, Little Dignity (Re: DOMi & JD BECK)Re: This Is Why
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  4. C'est Comme Ça (Re: Wet Leg)Re: This Is Why
  5. C’est Comme Ça (Re: Wet Leg)Re: This Is Why
    2:25
  6. Crave (Re: Claud)Re: This Is Why
    3:30
  7. David Byrne Does Hard Times
  8. Everywhere
  9. Faces In Disguise
  10. Liar (Re: Romy)Re: This Is Why
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    • Credits

    Production & Engineering

    Writer
    Hayley Williams, Taylor York
    Producer
    Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Taylor York
    Engineer
    Carlos de la Garza, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Mike Schuppan, Taylor York
    Drums
    Zac Farro
    Guitar
    Taylor York
    Keyboards
    Hayley Williams, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Taylor York, Zac Farro
    Vocals
    Hayley Williams
    Additional Mixing
    Mike Schuppan, Taylor York
    Assistant Engineer
    Kevin Boettger
    Background Vocals
    Hayley Williams, Taylor York, Zac Farro
    Bass Guitar
    Justin Meldal-Johnsen
    Bells
    Zac Farro
    Marimba
    Taylor York
    Mastering Engineer
    Dave Cooley
    Mixing Engineer
    Carlos de la Garza
    Percussion
    Hayley Williams, Taylor York, Zac Farro
    Programmer
    Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Taylor York
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