Lyr Add: Hard Times, Oscar Brand,Laughing America

Subject: Lyr Add: Hard Times, Oscar Brand,Laughing America
From: Mrrzy
Date: 14 Sep 20 - 04:37 PM

Hard Times

As sung by Oscar Brand on Laughing America

Chorus: And it’s hard, hard times

Cho
Come listen a while and I’ll sing you a song
About modern times and it won’t take too long
How every body is striving to buy
And cheating each other and no one knows why
Cho
Father and mother and sister and brother
Cousin and uncle is cheating each other
The way that the cheating is going on here
If a fellow is honest they think that he’s queer
Cho
Just notice your butcher who sells you the meat
If he ain’t your friend then my friend, you don’t eat
He charges you double for what’s on his list
And he weighs in his elbow, his thumb and his fist
Cho
Now then there’s the merchant, so honest we’re told
Whatever he sells you, my friend, you’ve been sold
You’d better watch out so he don’t do you dirt
Or you’ll leave his establishment minus your shirt
Cho
Then there’s the doctor- I like to’ve forgot
With all of his smiles he’s the worst of the lot
He’ll pill you he’ll purge you for half you possess
Then keep you half dead so he gets all the rest
Cho
Now consider the lover who murmurs and sighs
And swears that he worships your nose and your eyes
He speaks in such wonderful colors and shades
For he’s practiced so often on other young maids
Cho
Why there isn’t a fellow who hasn’t some plan
For cheating the pants off of some honest man
With everyone turning to evil or worse
Perhaps we had better start cheating back first
Cho
Cho

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Hard Times, Oscar Brand,Laughing America
From: Mrrzy
Date: 14 Sep 20 - 04:38 PM

I was astounded not to find this version anywhere, I had to type it up myself.

Ever tried to type up the lyrics to a song while listening to the Singaround? A new exercise in brain oddities.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Hard Times, Oscar Brand,Laughing America
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Sep 20 - 08:51 PM

https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1011&context=englishunsllc

Lyrics start p.103. However, it's the song Oscar parosied (if indeed he wrote the parody).

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Hard Times, Oscar Brand,Laughing America
From: cnd
Date: 21 Feb 21 - 09:14 PM

Mrrzy, sorry I'm so late to seeing this!

I've always really enjoyed Brand's playing and singing and am constantly shocked by how scarce his work online is. I know his reputation in the history community has suffered a bit by his propensity to, err, "remember" lyrics to songs no one else had heard before, but musically I've enjoyed most of his works I've heard.