Long Hard Road
Nitty Gritty Band Lyrics

Way back in my memory there's a scene that I recall
I remember a distant memory of a rundown cabin in the woods.

Of a little run-down cabin in the woods
The cabin was small and in poor condition and located in the forest.

Where my dad never promised that our blue moon would turn gold
My father never made any false promises to us.

But he laid awake nights wishin' that it would.
However, he hoped that things would improve for our family.

When the world was on our radio, hard work was on our minds.
While the world was changing, we were busy working hard and living a simple life.

We lived our day-to-day in plain dirt fashion,
Our daily life was modest and basic.

With ol' overalls and cotton balls all strapped across your back
We wore overalls and carried cotton balls on our backs, a symbol of hard work in agriculture.

Man, it's hard to make believe there ain't nothing wrong.
It was difficult to ignore the difficulties of life despite the happy moments.

But momma kept the Bible read and daddy kept our family fed,
Despite the hardships, our parents provided for us and instilled strong values in us.

And somewhere in between I must have grown
As time passed, I matured and grew up.

Cause someday I was dreamin' that a song that I was singin'
I had a dream that a song I sang would take me where I wanted to go.

Takes me down the road to where I want to go.
I believed that singing would help me accomplish my dreams.

Now I know, it's a long hard road
I realize that achieving my dreams is difficult and will require much effort.

Sometimes I remember when I stay up late at night,
Occasionally, I think about the past when staying awake late at night.

When the sun-up came, we got up and went
We woke up early every day and started working.

In the shadows of a working' day, our moonlight hours spent
Our leisure time was scarce because we worked during the day and rested at night.

Singin' songs along with Gramma's radio.
We sang along to the radio with our grandmother.

Now I'm beatin' down a ol' blacktop road, sleepin' in a sack,
Now I am traveling on a deserted road, sleeping in a sleeping bag.

Livin' in my memories all in vain
I am living in my past memories, which are no longer relevant.

'Cause those city lights ain't all that bright, compared to what its like
City life is not as impressive as the natural phenomena I used to observe.

To see lightning bugs go dancin' in the rain.
I long to see lightning bugs dancing in the rain again.

Momma played the guitar then, and daddy made the saw blade bend,
My mother played guitar and my father used to make tools from saw blades.

And raindrops played the tin roof like a drum.
Raindrops would make a noise as they hit the tin roof of our cabin, similar to a drum beat.

But I just kept on dreamin' that a song that I was singin'
Despite the change in my life, I continued to dream that my singing would take me where I wanted to go.

Takes me down the road to where my name is known.
I believed that if I kept singing, I could become famous and recognized by others.

Now I'm gone, and its a long hard road
Now, that I have left my old life behind, I realize that the journey ahead will be difficult.

Yes, I know, Its a long hard road.
I am aware that the path to success and fulfillment is a challenging one.