The Kingston Trio was formed in 1957 in the Palo Alto, California area by original lineup of Dave Guard (1934–1991), Bob Shane (1934–2020), and Nick Reynolds (1933–2008), who were just out of college. Greatly influenced by The Weavers, the calypso sounds of Harry Belafonte, and other semi-popular folk artists such as the Gateway Singers and the Tarriers, they were discovered playing at a college club called the Cracked Pot by Frank Werber, a local publicist then working at the Hungry i. He became their manager, and secured them a one-shot deal with Capitol Records.
Their first hit was a catchy rendition of an old-time folk song, "Tom Dooley", which went gold in 1958. It was so popular that it entered popular culture as a catchphrase: Ella Fitzgerald, for example, parodies it during her recorded version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". It won them the first Grammy award for Best Country & Western Performance in 1959. The next year, they won the first Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording category for the album The Kingston Trio at Large.
At one point in the early 1960s The Kingston Trio had four albums at the same time among the Top 10 selling albums, a record unmatched for nearly 40 years. In spite of this, they had a relatively small number of hit singles.
The group's music was simple and accessible, with much use of tight vocal harmony, signature riffs (often played on the banjo), and repetitive choruses. Capitol producer Voyle Gilmore[1] enhanced their vocal sound to great effect with reverb and the relatively new process of doubletracking, in which the performers sang along with their own pre-recorded part to produce a stronger sound than with a single voice, in part due to a natural time gap of a fraction of a second between the original recording and the overdubbed part. At first pairs of tape recorders were used, then later multitrack recording machines, to produce the effect.
Guard left the band in 1961 as part of a disagreement over its musical direction. He formed the group Whiskey Hill Singers, and was replaced by John Stewart, who led the group through several more years of popularity until the arrival of The Beatles and British invasion rock bands pushed them from the charts.
In 1967 the Trio disbanded after a final performance at the Hungry i, June 17, 1967.
Shane, the lone member to resist the break-up of the Trio, started a new group, aptly named, "The New Kingston Trio," in 1969. Eventually, Shane was successful in reaching a contractual agreement with his former partners, Guard, Reynolds, and Werber, to secure and license once again, the original name, "The Kingston Trio" (unencumbered by the adjective new), in 1976.(Blake et al. 1986.) Shane still owns the property today, 2006.
For a number of years in the 1980s Reynolds, one of the original three members, rejoined Shane.
In 2004 Shane retired from the group due to health problems. He was replaced by Bill Zorn, who had been with Shane in an iteration of the group called The New Kingston Trio; Zorn also has been a member of The Limeliters.
In 2005 Bobby Haworth (a one-time member of The Brothers Four) left the group to be replaced by Rick Dougherty, who also had been a member of The Limeliters.
As of 2006, The Kingston Trio consisted of George Grove, Bill Zorn and Rick Dougherty.
in October 2017, Grove, Zorn, and Dougherty were replaced as the Trio by new licensees Reynolds and Marvin and their friend, Tim Gorelangton. In 2018, Josh Reynolds left the group and was replaced by Bob Haworth, who became a member of the band for the third time. At the end of 2018, Haworth left the group and was replaced by Don Marovich.
Hard Ain'T It Hard
The Kingston Trio Lyrics
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To love one who never did love you
Oh, well, it's hard, ain't it hard, ain't it hard, great God?
To love one who never will be true?
Well, there is a house in this old town
And that's where my true love lays around
And she sits down upon another's knee (do tell)
Oh, well, it's hard, ain't it hard, ain't it hard? (oh, yes)
To love one who never did love you
Oh, well, it's hard, ain't it hard, ain't it hard, great God?
To love one who never will be true?
Oh, well, the first time I seen my true love
She was a-standin' by my door
And the last time I seen her false-hearted smile
She was dead on that bar-room floor (Poor girl)
Oh, well, it's hard, ain't it hard, ain't it hard? (oh, yeah)
To love one who never did love you
Oh, well, it's hard, ain't it hard, ain't it hard, great God?
To love one who never will be true?
Well, who's gonna kiss your ruby lips?
Who's gonna hold your little hand?
And who's gonna do, well, you know what!
When I'm down in that promised land? (hey)
Oh, well, it's hard, ain't it hard, ain't it hard? (oh, yeah)
To love one who never did love you
Oh, well, it's hard, ain't it hard, ain't it hard, great God?
To love one who never will be true? (pick it, do it!)
Oh, well, don't go drinkin' and gamblin'
Don't go there your sorrows for to drown
Oh, well, this hard liquor place is a low-down disgrace
It's the meanest damn place in this town
Oh, well, it's hard, ain't it hard, ain't it hard? (oh, yes)
To love one who never did love you
Oh, well, it's hard, ain't it hard, ain't it hard, great God?
To love one who never will be true? (here we go!)
Oh, well, it's hard, ain't it hard, ain't it hard? (oh, yes)
To love one who never did love you
Oh, well, it's hard, ain't it hard, ain't it hard, great God?
To love one who never will be true?
The Kingston Trio’s “Hard Ain’t It Hard” is a bluesy, country-influenced song that tells the story of a man who loves a woman who doesn’t love him back. The singer is struggling to come to terms with the fact that his love is unrequited, and that his love interest is not faithful to him. The opening lines, “It's hard, ain't it hard, ain't it hard? (oh, yes) / To love one who never did love you”, set the tone for the rest of the song, as the singer laments the challenges of loving someone who doesn’t feel the same way.
The song goes on to describe the singer’s love interest, who is unfaithful and sits “down upon another's knee / And tells him what she never will tell me”. The chorus repeats the idea that it’s difficult to love someone who doesn’t love back, as the singer questions if he will ever find a love that is true. The song concludes with a warning against drowning one’s sorrows in “his liquor place”, which is “the meanest damn place in this town”.
Overall, “Hard Ain’t It Hard” is a mournful song that speaks to the challenges of unrequited love and the pain that comes with it. The lyrics are straightforward and the delivery is somber, serving to highlight the emotional weight of the words.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, well, it's hard, ain't it hard, ain't it hard? (oh, yes)
It's really difficult to love somebody who never loved you
To love one who never did love you
It's tough to love somebody who never had love feelings for you
Oh, well, it's hard, ain't it hard, ain't it hard, great God?
It's really difficult to love somebody who never stays loyal
To love one who never will be true?
It's tough to love somebody who never keeps the promises
Well, there is a house in this old town
There's a building in this old town
And that's where my true love lays around
That's where my true love stays
And she sits down upon another's knee (do tell)
She sits on another person's knee, which is remarkable
And tells him what she never will tell me
She tells him secrets that she never shares with me
Oh, well, the first time I seen my true love
The first time I saw my true love
She was a-standin' by my door
She was standing in front of my door
And the last time I seen her false-hearted smile
The last time I saw her fake smile
She was dead on that bar-room floor (Poor girl)
She was lying dead on the floor of the bar (poor girl)
Well, who's gonna kiss your ruby lips?
Who's going to give you a kiss?
Who's gonna hold your little hand?
Who's going to hold your small hand?
And who's gonna do, well, you know what!
Who's going to do intimate stuff with you when I'm gone?
When I'm down in that promised land? (hey)
When I'm in the afterlife
Oh, well, don't go drinkin' and gamblin'
Don't indulge in alcohol and gambling
Don't go there your sorrows for to drown
Don't go there to forget your problems
Oh, well, this hard liquor place is a low-down disgrace
This bar that serves hard liquor is terrible
It's the meanest damn place in this town
It's the most horrible place in this city
To love one who never did love you
It's tough to love someone who never has love feelings for you
Oh, well, it's hard, ain't it hard, ain't it hard, great God?
It's really difficult to love somebody who never stays loyal
To love one who never will be true? (here we go!)
It's tough to love somebody who never keeps their promises
Oh, well, it's hard, ain't it hard, ain't it hard? (oh, yes)
It's really difficult to love somebody who never loved you
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: WOODY GUTHRIE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind