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  1. Tracks
  2. Ruel
  3. Free Time
  4. Hard Sometimes
Hard Sometimes by Ruel

TRACK

Ruel

Hard Sometimes

Release date: 12th September 2019

From Free Time
Track 4
4:29
PopMusic
Spotify Apple Music More on Ruel

About This Track

Ruel confronts the disorientation of life on the road, where ambition and absence collide. The song traces a familiar loneliness: missing home whilst the world there continues without him, catching inside jokes on his phone, feeling mentally elsewhere even when present. He tries to be happy, he sings, but it's hard sometimes. The melody sits in that gap between confession and resignation, letting the repetition do the emotional work. What emerges is less a crisis than a recognition of the cost. Ruel acknowledges his own distance, the coldness that creeps in when he's caught up in his thoughts, the selfishness that pressure breeds. He doesn't dramatise it; he simply names it, turning the song into a kind of apology to the people he's left behind, and to himself for not being where his head is.

"Hard Sometimes" is a track by Ruel, from the album Free Time, released 12th September 2019. The track is 4:29 long. It's filed under Pop. Full lyrics are available below. Dork has published 12 articles about Ruel.

About the Artist

Ruel

Ruel

Lyrics

Hard Sometimes

I'm waking up my mind
I'm just trying to kill the silence
I'm ripping off the blinds
I'm just trying to let some light in
But I've been on the road
I've been missing home
See it on my phone that the world back there
Keep spinning 'round without me

I'm waking up my mind
I'm ripping off the blinds

Oh I (Oh I)
Try to be happy but it's hard sometimes
But life (But life)
Just seems to happen right before my eyes
'Cause I feel like I'm not there
'Cause my head is up somewhere
Far away from all my friends
I just want that back again
Oh I (Oh I)
Try to be happy but it's hard sometimes
It's hard sometimes

But when I come off cold
I'm not doing it on purpose
You caught me in a hole
That I dig for myself when I'm nervous
I've been on the road
I've been missing home
See it on my phone that my friends back there
Got inside jokes without me
Oh, woah
Don't mean to come off cold
I don't want to be alone

Oh I (Oh I)
Try to be happy but it's hard sometimes (Hard sometimes)
But life (But life)
Just seems to happen right before my eyes (Before my eyes)
'Cause I feel like I'm not there
'Cause my head is up somewhere
Far away from all my friends
I just want that back again
Oh I (Oh I)
Try to be happy but it's hard sometimes
(Hard sometimes)

I don't feel like myself and
I can't help being selfish
Sometimes the pressure gets the best of me
Oh I, oh I

Oh I
Try to be happy but it's hard sometimes
But life
Just seems to happen, it's just passing by, oh
'Cause I feel like I'm not there
'Cause my head is up somewhere
Far away from all my friends
I just want that back again
Oh I (Oh I)
Try to be happy but it's hard sometimes
(Hard sometimes)
'Cause it's hard sometimes

Lyrics provided by LRCLIB

View full lyrics page →

Track details

From Free Time

4:292019
Listen
Album
Free Time
Free Time
Ruel
13th September 2019
Track number
4
Release year
2019
  1. 1Don't Cry
    3:07
  2. 2Real Thing
    3:12
  3. 3Painkiller
    3:34
  4. 4Hard Sometimes
    4:29
Watch the music video

Ruel — Hard Sometimes

Ruel — Hard Sometimes
4:29

 

Hard Sometimes

More from Ruel

Albums & EPs

Kicking My Feet
Kicking My Feet
2025
Adaptations - EP
Adaptations - EP
2024
4TH WALL
4TH WALL
2023
Bright Lights, Red Eyes - EP
Bright Lights, Red Eyes - EP
2020
Ready
Ready
2018
Free Time
Free Time

Explore

More tracks by Ruel

  1. Debbie Don't Cry
    3:00
  2. Don't Say That
    3:30
  3. Don't Say That
    3:30
  4. Don't Say That
  5. Hate Myself
    2:33
  6. Hate Myself
    2:33
  7. Hate Myself
    2:33
  8. I Can Die Now
    2:51
  9. I Can Die Now
    2:51
  10. I Can Die Now
    2:51

Showing 10 of 50

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5Face to Face
3:24
  • 6Unsaid
    3:47
  • 7Free Time
    3:38
  • —Don’t Cry
  • —Hard Sometimes
    4:29
  • —Painkiller
    3:34
  • —Free Time
    3:38

    • Credits

    Production & Engineering

    Writer
    M-Phazes, Ruel, WRABEL
    Producer
    M-Phazes
    Engineer
    Mike Avenaim
    Keyboards
    WRABEL
    Additional Production
    WRABEL
    Assistant Engineer
    Tim Watt
    Background Vocals
    WRABEL
    Mastering Engineer
    Matt Colton
    Mixing Engineer
    Eric J Dubowsky
    READ MORE ABOUT RUELREAD MORE ABOUT RUELREAD MORE ABOUT RUELREAD MORE ABOUT RUEL
    READ MORE ABOUT RUELREAD MORE ABOUT RUELREAD MORE ABOUT RUELREAD MORE ABOUT RUEL
    Ruel - Kicking My Feet & Screaming
    Reviews

    Ruel - Kicking My Feet & Screaming

    These songs rarely look away from heartbreak, regret and self-doubt.

    18 Jun 2026 • 12:40 pm
    Ruel stops holding back: “Now, who gives a shit?”
    Features

    Ruel stops holding back: “Now, who gives a shit?”

    After years of being labelled a pop prodigy, Ruel is rewriting his own narrative. The London-born, Sydney-raised singer first broke through as a teenager, but with 'Kicking My Feet' and the upcoming 'Kicking & Screaming', he's embracing big feelings and unapologetic joy. Growing up might just be his best era yet.

    12 Jun 2026 • 9:45 am
    Ruel has unveiled his slow-burning pop anthem, ‘Debbie Don’t Cry’
    News

    Ruel has unveiled his slow-burning pop anthem, ‘Debbie Don’t Cry’

    The Australian singer-songwriter previews the second half of his new double-album.

    25 May 2026 • 8:50 pm
    Ruel has dropped his latest track 'Hate Myself'
    News

    Ruel has dropped his latest track 'Hate Myself'

    The track previews double-album second instalment 'Kicking My Feet & Screaming'.

    24 Apr 2026 • 8:53 am
    The May 2026 issue of Dork is available now, featuring Earl Sweatshirt & MIKE, Eric Cantona and Ruel
    News

    The May 2026 issue of Dork is available now, featuring Earl Sweatshirt & MIKE, Eric Cantona and Ruel

    There's also Dry Cleaning, Slayyyter, Haute & Freddy, The Itch and more.

    10 Apr 2026 • 3:00 pm
    Ruel - Kicking My Feet
    Reviews

    Ruel - Kicking My Feet

    Ruel steps further into his own lane one heartfelt chorus at a time.

    21 Oct 2025 • 10:40 pm