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