Every day held a new surprise I watched the hunger burning in my sisters' eyes The pasteboard shack we called a home Would haunt me in my dreams 'Cause there's nothing soft about hard times There's nothing soft about hard times We never knew anything groovy A dime meant bread and not a movie The muscles that control my smile Were rarely ever used 'Cause there's nothing soft about hard times There's nothing soft about hard times I had to go, 'cause I could see I wasn't meant for poverty The family ties were broken soon I went off to find the moon So I sit on a bench in Jackson Square I drink my wine and I breathe the midnight air Tomorrow I'll just hit the street And bum another dime 'Cause there's nothing soft about hard times There's nothing soft about hard times I had to go, 'cause I could see I wasn't meant for poverty The family ties were broken soon I went off to find the moon So I sit on a bench in Jackson Square I'll drink my wine, and I'll breathe the midnight air Tomorrow I'll just hit the street And bum another dime 'Cause there's nothing soft about hard times There's nothing soft about hard times There's nothing soft about no, no, no, no, no, no, hard times There's nothing soft about hard times No, no, no, no, no, those hard times There's nothing soft about hard times I'm gonna tell you about the hard times There's nothing soft about hard times