My mother told me Before she passed away Said: Son, when I'm gone Don't forget to pray 'Cause there'll be hard times Lord, those hard times Who knows better than I? Well I soon found out Just what she meant When I had to pawn my clothes Just to pay the rent Talkin' 'about hard times Who knows better than I? I had a woman Who was always around But when I lost my money She put me down Talkin' 'bout hard times Yeah, yeah, who knows better than I? Lord, one of these days There'll be no sorrow When I pass away And no more hard times Yeah, yeah, who knows better than I?