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 Hard times, oh, yeah 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' 'bout hard times Hard times, oh, yeah Who knows a woman better than I? I had a woman Who was always around But when I lost my money And she put me down Talkin' 'bout hard times You know those Yeah, yeah, who knows better than I? Yeah, Lord, one of these days There'll be no sorrow When I pass away And no more hard times I say: No more hard Yeah, Lord, who knows Yeah, Lord, better than I?