By the spring of 1970, April Wine had relocated from Halifax to Montreal and were making a self-titled album for Aquarius Records. This first album established Myles Goodwyn as a composer with the song "Fast Train" receiving much airplay throughout Canada and becoming the main reason April Wine was able to record a second album. In the fall of 1971, original member Jim Henman left the band and was replaced by Montreal native Jim Clench.
Famed producer Ralph Murphy worked with the group on their second album, titled 'On Record'. Murphy's mission was to give April Wine a major international hit, and he came very close to doing just that. The album pushed the band into the North American public spotlight for the first time. You Could Have Been a Lady, originally recorded in England by Hot Chocolate, was a phenomenal hit for April Wine. This song provided the band with a #1 hit in Canada and allowed them to crack Billboard's Top 30 in the USA where it remained for 11 weeks. On Record also included another notable tune; a cover of Elton John's Bad Side Of The Moon.
Following the Gold success of the second album it was clear that April Wine had the chance to become one of Canada's most significant rock bands. Ralph Murphy would be back to produce the follow up album but there would be changes in the band. By the completion of Electric Jewels a new April Wine would emerge. This band would no longer include the Henman brothers.
Early in 1973 the two remaining members, Myles Goodwyn and Jim Clench, faced the dilemma of taking the band to the next level. After a few auditions Jerry Mercer and Gary Moffet joined the band and April Wine became a tighter, flashier band. The two new members helped to complete album number three; Electric Jewels. This album remains a fan favorite with such classic songs as Weeping Widow, Just Like That and Lady Run Lady Hide. It provides a great example of the writing talents of Goodwyn and Clench. The following spring the band hit the road with a national tour called The Electric Adventure. This tour was the first to use dramatic lighting and pyrotechnic displays as an integral part of their show, a feature that would prove to be extremely popular during their international stardom and would lend influence to various emerging artists, Garth Brooks for one.
Forever For Now, the band's sixth album, included a Canadian music milestone for the band; the best selling Canadian single the band ever released. Both the single, You Won't Dance With Me, as well as the album reached critical acclaim with the single reaching Gold and the album reaching Gold then Platinum in Canada.
Many people consider Stand Back to be one of the band's greatest accomplishments. This album provided the hits Tonight Is A Wonderful Time To Fall In Love and I Wouldn't Want To Lose Your Love but the non-hits were even more remarkable. Songs like Cum Hear The Band, Slowpoke, Don't Push Me Around and Oowatanite helped push Stand Back to Double-Platinum status in Canada.
With the release of The Whole World's Goin' Crazy, Steve Lang had replaced Jim Clench on bass guitar. This album made April Wine the first Canadian band to achieve Platinum advance sales orders and included another April Wine classic in the ballad Like A Lover, Like A Song.
Forever For Now, the band's sixth album, included a Canadian music milestone for the band; the best selling Canadian single the band ever released. Both the single, You Won't Dance With Me, as well as the album reached critical acclaim with the single reaching Gold and the album reaching Gold then Platinum in Canada.
Following the release of Live At The El Mocambo a fifth member was added to the band. Brian Greenway joined the lineup for the summer 1977 tour and gave the group some added flexibility. Brian could sing, write and play harmonica but his greatest contribution to April Wine was on guitar. Since Myles was a surprisingly skilled keyboard player it was invaluable to have a third guitar player and April Wine could now create arrangements for three guitars which would develop into the group's trademark power rock image during the following years.
The band's seventh studio album would prove to be the group’s turning point. It was the third single from First Glance that made April Wine an international success. Radio listeners in Flint Michigan made Roller a top request number. This single was eventually a Top 30 hit in the U.S.A. and First Glance became the band's first Gold record outside of Canada. Roller remained on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart for 11 weeks while First Glance stayed on Billboard's 200 Album chart for 11 weeks as well. 1979 proved to be a very good year for Canadian Wine indeed.
Major artists such as Rush, Journey and Styx requested that April Wine open their shows in the United States. American audiences were finally being exposed to this "new" band called April Wine. Canada's best kept secret was finally out in the open.
It was a confident group that recorded Harder...Faster in the summer of 1979. The album featured the hardest rock that April Wine had ever recorded. This album included such powerful songs as I Like To Rock, which American radio embraced, and Say Hello which went to the top of the charts in Canada. The popularity of these songs helped keep the album on Billboard's 200 Album charts for a whopping 40 weeks! Harder...Faster helped the group collect more Gold and Platinum awards on both sides of the border.
The first months of 1980 saw April Wine touring as Nazareth's opening act throughout the United States. In city after city promoters remarked on the powerful pairing of the bands. Most felt that the show would be a better draw if April Wine headlined. The time had finally come for April Wine to take top billing outside of Canada. A decade of hard work had finally paid off.
The group's ninth studio album, The Nature Of The Beast, became April Wine's greatest success. Released in January of 1981, the first single Just Between You and Me broke Billboard's Top 20 and remained on the their Hot 100 Singles chart for 16 weeks. The same song hit position number 11 on Billboard's Album Rock Track chart and charted for an incredible 10 weeks. Later that year the millionth copy of the album was sold in the U.S.A. and April Wine had finally attained international "Platinum" status. The song Crash And Burn was even featured in an NBC Movie of the Week! The album remained on Billboard's 200 Album chart for 34 weeks peaking at the 26th position. The album went on to claim more awards for the group as it collected Gold and Platinum on both sides of the border and Double Platinum in Canada.
During the 1980's April Wine had the strongest concert repertoire ever and the demand for appearances had never been greater. They were in demand in Canada, the United Sates, England and Germany. In fact it seemed their popularity was traveling more than they were. There was the feeling that the band could tour forever.
Whether writing the songs, producing them, or promoting them, Myles Goodwyn had been working against some kind of "deadline" for the last three years with no significant time off. He needed a break... so he took one. After a hiatus of 18 months, during which the band recorded Power Play with such cutting edge hits as Anything You Want You Got It and Enough is Enough, the band was ready to tour again. The 1982 Power Play tour was the largest tour April Wine had ever attempted. It incorporated the most elaborate stage the band had ever used. Their return to Canada, after two years away, saw them sell out shows across the country. Yes the band was welcomed home with open arms but Power Play, even though successful, did not meet with the critical international acclaim that the group's previous two albums enjoyed. Both Enough Is Enough and If You See Kay charted on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks and remained there for a number of weeks but Enough Is Enough only remained on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart for 8 weeks. However the album itself peaked Billboard's 200 Album chart at 37 and remained on the chart for a strong 20 weeks, still a phenomenal accomplishment, but perhaps not enough for this perfectionist band from Canada.
With the release of Animal Grace, the group's eleventh undertaking, things took a turn for the worse. This Could Be The Right One entered the charts very quickly but stalled just as abruptly. The album had taken an extremely long time to record and a rift had begun to form in the band.
In a move that seemed to symbolize the distance between Myles and the band, he and his family moved to the Bahamas. The group would get together once more for a farewell tour of Canada. The tour was a bittersweet one, with the die-hard fans realizing what lay ahead. A twelfth studio album was released that featured only two remaining members of the group; Myles and Brian. The rest had decided to go their separate ways.
In late 1988 Myles moved back to Montreal and started to receive phone calls from the United States about the possibility of a new April Wine album. The demand was there and Myles had already been talking to the other band members about a possible reunion. In July of 1992 April Wine played its first concert in 8 years to a sold out audience in the Canadian province of Manitoba. For the balance of that summer they played to sold out shows right across Canada. The band was welcomed home again!
The demand south of the border was strong as well. The band was selling out shows across the States with 20,000 people coming out to see them in San Antonio, Texas. In fact St. Louis, Missouri ended up adding a second show and the scalpers in Las Vegas were getting a high dollar for the valued tickets.
In 1992 the band consisted of Myles Goodwyn, Brian Greenway, Jerry Mercer, Jim Clench and Steve Segal. The group’s thirteenth studio album, Attitude, was released in 1993. It was their first studio release in 10 years. Attitude went Gold in Canada, driven by the hit If You Believe In Me. Segal remained with the band for the 1994 release of studio album number fourteen; “Frigate”.
1995 saw Steve Segal leave April Wine. April Wine returned to their roots as a 4 piece Rock band with 2 guitars, bass and drums as they were when they first started out in 1969.
From 1995 to 2000 April Wine continued to tour Canada and the USA doing 80-100 shows a year playing to their ever growing legions of fans.
The studio album, “Back To The Mansion” released in 2001 was April Wine's 15th studio album and first new release since 1994, and featured original members Myles Goodwyn (vocals, guitars and keyboards), Brian Greenway (guitars, vocals), Jim Clench (bass, background vocals), Jerry Mercer (drums).
“April Wine Live 2003” was released in spring of 2003 and featured the band’s live
stage show. It was recorded in Kitchener Ontario. It also featured Carl Dixon on keyboard,vocals and guitar who had joined the band for 3 tours.
June of 2004 saw April Wine travel to Sweden to be part of “Sweden Rock 2004”
They shared the stage with HEART, FOGHAT, UFO and many others.
In 2006 April Wine celebrated their 37th anniversary together with the release of their 16th studio album, “Roughly Speaking”. (Released November 21st 2006)
Jim Clench left the band in January of 2007. He was replaced by Breen LeBoeuf, a talented Bassist and Singer, and a longtime friend of Jerry and Brian. Breen brings the experience of his many years as a member of the legendary Quebec rock band “Offenbach” with him to April Wine. The fans accepted Breen right from the first show
at Higher Ground in Burlington Vermont in February of 2007.
In November 2008, April Wine signed with ARM Entertainment of St. Paul, MN. as the April Wine’s agency in the USA. Roger Anderson and his company have been booking many shows for the band in the USA to the delight of American fans. S.L. Feldman & Associates continues to represent April Wine in Canada.
Late 2008 also saw the departure of Jerry Mercer from the band. About to turn 70 years of age in April of 2009, Jerry decided to retire. Jerry had been the driving drumming force of April Wine for 35 years!
Blair Mackay joined April Wine as the new drummer in January 2009. Blair has a Master of Music degree in performance, and like Breen, was accepted by the fans right from the first show, coincidentally at Higher Ground in Vermont.
In March of 2009, April Wine was inducted into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame during Canadian Music Week in Toronto. They also received The Lifetime Achievement Award for being part of Canadian Music History for 40 years.
On April 18th of 2010 at the Juno Awards, April Wine will be inducted in to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
2010 sees the band continue their hectic pace touring both the United States and Canada to acclaimed reviews. They continue to satisfy fans with a live mix of straight ahead rock n' roll and power ballads, an April Wine mainstay.
In 2010, April Wine enters into their 40th year as a band ... quite an accomplishment for any rock n' roll band!
Hard Times
April Wine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When the college professor has no class
And the quarterback would rather pass
And the pump jockey complains of gas
It's hard times, hard times
When the taxi driver he can't hack it
And the tennis player can't stand the racket
When allies refuse to pack it, it's hard times
When the elevator can't find the floor
And the doorman he can't find the door
When they give to the rich what they take from the poor, it's hard times
Seems your money's gone before it's spent
If you're not busted then you're badly bent
To give it away doesn't make any sense, it's hard times
Hard times, hard times, real hard times, hard times
Now grandma forgets how to knit
And the wise man has lost his wit
And my tailor feels unfit, it's hard times, hard times
When the fashion model's lost her poise
And Santa clause smashes all the toys
When boys could be girls, and girls could be boys, it's hard times
Hard times, hard times, real hard times, hard times
When the clock on the wall's got no time for jokes
And kreskin says it's all a hoax
When the surgeon general chain smokes, it's hard times
When the truck driver don't want to truck
And the hockey player won't touch the puck
And the rock musician don't want to fool around, it's hard times
Hard times, hard times, real hard times
Harder times, hard times
I was talking to this lady the other day and she was telling me..........
The lyrics to April Wine's song "Hard Times" are a series of cleverly crafted juxtapositions that use irony and satire to comment on society's collective struggles during difficult times. The song opens with the repeated phrase "hard times," suggesting that the listener is in for a litany of complaints and grievances. The first verse describes a world in which traditional roles and expectations are upended: the college professor has no class, the quarterback would rather pass (i.e. not play), and the pump jockey complains of gas. This sets the tone for the rest of the song, which continues to depict a world in chaos and crisis.
The second verse introduces economic themes, describing how money seems to disappear before it can even be spent. The line "When they give to the rich what they take from the poor" suggests a corrupt or rigged system, where the wealthy benefit at the expense of the less fortunate. The third verse continues to pile on absurdist scenarios to illustrate the extent of the hard times: grandma forgets how to knit, the wise man has lost his wit, and the tailor feels unfit. The final stanza incorporates political commentary, with references to the Surgeon General chain-smoking and hockey players refusing to play.
Overall, "Hard Times" uses humor and irony to highlight the struggles and absurdities of life during challenging periods. The song is a commentary on economic inequality, societal values, and political dysfunction. It suggests that during hard times, anything can happen, and the world we take for granted can be turned on its head.
Line by Line Meaning
Hard times, hard times, hard times, hard times
Times are tough, very tough
When the college professor has no class
Even a college professor is having a hard time finding work
And the quarterback would rather pass
Even the star quarterback doesn't want to play anymore
And the pump jockey complains of gas
Even the gas station attendant complains about the cost of gas
It's hard times, hard times
Times are really tough
When the taxi driver he can't hack it
Even the taxi driver can't make a living anymore
And the tennis player can't stand the racket
Even the tennis player can't handle the stress anymore
When allies refuse to pack it, it's hard times
Even allies won't support each other in tough times
When the elevator can't find the floor
Even technology is failing in tough times
And the doorman he can't find the door
Even simple jobs can become difficult in tough times
When they give to the rich what they take from the poor, it's hard times
In tough times, the poor suffer while the rich get richer
Seems your money's gone before it's spent
Money is so scarce that it disappears quickly
If you're not busted then you're badly bent
If you're not broke, you're still struggling to make ends meet
To give it away doesn't make any sense, it's hard times
Giving away money or possessions is not an option in such tough times
Now grandma forgets how to knit
Even the elderly are losing their abilities in tough times
And the wise man has lost his wit
Even the wise are losing their minds in such tough times
And my tailor feels unfit, it's hard times, hard times
Even specialized jobs like tailoring are not secure in such tough times
When the fashion model's lost her poise
Even the most beautiful people are losing their perfection in tough times
And Santa clause smashes all the toys
Even children's joy is affected in such tough times
When boys could be girls, and girls could be boys, it's hard times
In such tough times, societal norms and values are breaking down
When the clock on the wall's got no time for jokes
Even the clock is keeping a serious tone in such tough times
And kreskin says it's all a hoax
Even entertainers are disillusioned and losing hope in such tough times
When the surgeon general chain smokes, it's hard times
Even the professionals are losing touch and making mistakes in such tough times
When the truck driver don't want to truck
Even the tough truck driver doesn't want to work in such tough times
And the hockey player won't touch the puck
Even the skilled hockey player is refusing to play in such tough times
And the rock musician don't want to fool around, it's hard times
Even the free-spirited rock musician is feeling weighed down by such tough times
Hard times, hard times, real hard times
These are not just hard times - they are extremely difficult
Harder times, hard times
Things are only getting worse - times are continuing to be tough
Lyrics © ON THE MANTEL MUSIC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DEAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
L C
My older brother had this when I was a kid. I always played it on my record player when he was gone somewhere.. I’ve been singing it off and on ever since.
This is a great tune.
Chris McCarron
A wonderful song!
Loss Orderly
Super
Todd Williams
We're livin' in hard times, people.
DJ Fincham
Sounds very similar to "Big John" by Jimmy Dean in '61.
Paul Sawyer
Yeah, kind of an homage. Myles grew up with old country music.
Mike Walker
Just post by Myles on the April Wine FB:
"American songwriter and singer, Jimmy Dean ( also Jimmy Dean Sausages) had a hit song in 1961 with Big Bad John. In nineteen hundred and seventy-seven I called Jimmy Dean. I told him I had some lyrics that I wanted to put to the music of Big Bad John. He said he would need to hear the lyrics before he decided. I sent the lyrics and he really liked them and so I recorded this toe tapper, called Hard Times.
I hope you get a smile out of it.
Bye the bye, my dear friend Pam Marsh does the talking over the outtro and did a great job. Pam and I were in a cover band called East Gate Sanctuary in 1968. I went from that band to April Wine and she to a wonderful group called Everyday People. I spoke with her yesterday and she's doing great.
Take care..manly hugs to all."
Rob Boimistruck
When Kreskin says it's all a hoax!