Lyr Req: It's a Hard Life

Subject: Lyric REQ: It's a hard life
From:
Date: 27 Dec 96 - 01:09 PM

Heard 12/28 on 91.9 Boston Folk Radio

Subject: RE: Lyric REQ: It's a hard life
From: Susan of DT
Date: 27 Dec 96 - 06:32 PM

I suspect there are lots of songs starting that way. The one that comes to my mind is It's a hard life for a girl on the cut (about a fisherman's wife). That's in the database: search for [hard life]. The square brackets keep the phrase together rather than searching for the separate words.

Subject: RE: Lyric REQ: It's a hard life
From: Heather
Date: 31 Dec 96 - 10:15 AM

Actually it comes at the end of each verse. It's a hardlife. I's a hard life. It's a very hard life.

Subject: Lyr Add: IT'S A HARD LIFE WHEREVER YOU GO
From: Kevin
Date: 31 Dec 96 - 01:30 PM

Hi Heather,
I don't know if this is what you are looking for, but it might be.


IT'S A HARD LIFE WHEREVER YOU GO
By Nanci Griffith

1. I am a backseat driver from America
We drive to the left on Falls Road.
And the man at the wheel's name is Seamus,
We pass a child on the corner he knows.
And Seamus says "what chance has that kid got?"
And I say from the back, "I don't know."
He says there's barbed wire at all of these exits
And there ain't no place in Belfast for that kid to go.

CHORUS 1: 'Cause it's a hard life, it's a hard life; it's a very hard life
It's a hard life wherever you go.
And if we poison our children with hatred
Then the hard life is all that they'll know.
And there ain't no place in Belfast for that kid to go.

2. Cafeteria line in Chicago,
The fat man in front of me
Is calling black people trash to his children
And he's the only trash here I see.
And I'm thinking this man wears a white hood
In the night when his children should sleep.
But they'll slip to their windows and they'll see him
And they'll think that white hood's all they need.

CHORUS 2: 'Cause it's a hard life, it's a hard life; it's a very hard life
It's a hard life wherever you go.
And if we poison our children with hatred
Then the hard life is all that they'll know.
And there ain't no place in Chicago for those kids to go.

3. I was a child in the sixties
When dreams could be held through TV
With Disney and Cronkite and Martin Luther
And I believed, I believed, I believed.
Now I am the backseat driver from America
And I am not at the wheel of control.
And I am guilty, I am war, and I am the root of all evil,
Lord, and I can't drive on the left side of the road.

CHORUS 3: 'Cause it's a hard life, it's a hard life; it's a very hard life
It's a hard life wherever you go.
And if we poison our children with hatred
Then the hard life is all that they'll know.
And there ain't no place in this world for those kids to go,
'Cause it's a hard life wherever you go.


Happy New Year!
Kevin

---

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uynZmOt31ls

Subject: RE: Lyric REQ: It's a hard life
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 31 Dec 96 - 08:56 PM

Hi Kevin- and many thanx!

Subject: RE: Lyric REQ: It's a hard life
From:
Date: 01 Jan 97 - 05:44 AM

Thanx Kevin. Chords or tab available? .

Subject: RE: Lyric REQ: It's a hard life
From: Kevin
Date: 02 Jan 97 - 10:10 AM

Chords and tabs are available at:

http://bubblegum.uark.edu/OLGA/g/griffith_nanci/its_a_hard_life.crd

Kevin

Subject: RE: Lyric REQ: It's a hard life
From: Heather
Date: 02 Jan 97 - 04:13 PM

That's it! Thanks so much.

Subject: RE: Lyric REQ: It's a hard life
From:
Date: 15 Jan 97 - 07:33 PM

Heather, I dont know if this is the one you're looking for but there is a song entitled "It's a hard life" in the movie musical "Oliver" which was a musical adaptation of "Oliver Twist"

Subject: Hard Life
From:
Date: 18 Dec 98 - 08:35 PM

Looking for the lyrics to 'Hard Life' or 'A Hard Life'. I know Nancy Griffith does it. I don't know if she wrote it. -erika

Subject: Lyr Add: IT'S A HARD LIFE WHEREVER YOU GO
From: Katrina
Date: 18 Dec 98 - 09:00 PM

Hope you can read this - lyrics/tabs/ chords


IT'S A HARD LIFE WHEREVER YOU GO
(Nanci Griffith)
-------------------------------------------------
* Actually in C; capo 5.
* The whole song has pretty much the same chords, illustrated by the following pattern (the strumming is just an example, taken from the intro). The only exception is the beginning of the chorus.

   D           C(9)         G
  E 0h2-2-2-2-2-3---3-3-3-3-|3---3-3-3---3-----3-3-3-|
  B 3---3-3-3-3-3---3-3-3-3-|3---3-3-3---3-----3-3-3-|
  G 2---2-2-2-2-0---0-0-0-0-|0---0-0-0---0-----0-0-0-|
  D 0---0-0-0-0-0h2-2-2-2-2-|0---0-0-0---0-----0-0-0-|
  A ------------0h3-3-3-3-3-|0h2-2-2-2---2-----2-2-2-|
  E ------------------------|0h3-3-3-3---3-----3-3-3-|
    d   d u d u d   d u d u  d   d u d   d     u d u    <--strumming
  
  D  C(9)  G  G    D  C(9)  G  G[intro]
  
          D         C(9)        G     G
  I am a backseat driver from America
     D             C(9)         G    G
  We drive to the left on Falls Road
          D            C(9)            G    G
  And the man at the wheel's name is Seamus
            D             C(9)        G    G
  We pass a child on the corner he knows

And Seamus says, now what chance has that kid got
And I say from the back, I don't know
He says there's barbed wire at all of these exits
And there ain't no place in Belfast for that kid to go

               C(9)              G                 C(9)      G
  'Cause it's a hard life, it's a hard life, it's a very hard life
         D             C(9)      G    G
  It's a hard life wherever you go
            D             C(9)        G     G
  And if we poison our children with hatred
           D             C(9)               G    G
  Then the hard life is all that they'll know
                   D            C(9)            G        G
  And there ain't no place in Belfast for that kid to go

Cafeteria line in Chicago
The fat man in front of me
Is calling black people trash to his children
And he's the only trash here I see
And I am thinking this man wears a white hood
In the night when his children should sleep
But they'll slip to their windows and they'll see him
And they'll think that white hood's all they need

'Cause it's a hard life, it's a hard life, it's a very hard life
It's a hard life wherever you go
And if we poison our children with hatred
Then the hard life is all that they'll know
And there ain't no place in Chicago for those kids to go

I was a child in the Sixties
When dreams could be held through T.V.
With Disney and Cronkite and Martin Luther
And I believed, I believed, I believed
Now I am the backseat driver from America
And I am not at the wheel of control
And I am guilty, I am war, and I am the root of all evil
Lord, and I can't drive on the left side of the road

'Cause it's a hard life, it's a hard life, it's a very hard life
It's a hard life wherever you go
And if we poison our children with hatred
Then the hard life is all that they'll know
And there ain't no place in this world for those kids to go
'Cause it's a hard life wherever you go


NOTE for a 2nd guitar:
Judy Neuwirth ([e-mail]) tells me that Frank Christian
(a friend and backup guitarist of Nanci Griffith's) was her guitar
teacher at one point, and he said that when he toured with Nanci, he
played these chords over Nanci's D C G sequence (NO capo for Frank's chords)...

G: x-x-12-12-10-10
F: x-x-10-10-8-8
C: x-x-5-5-5-3

(also xx5533 for C)

Subject: RE: Hard Life
From: Roger in Baltimore
Date: 18 Dec 98 - 09:06 PM

erika,

Yes, it is a Nanci Griffith (note the *i* in Nanci) tune. She wrote it. It appears on her 1989 CD entitled Storms (MCAD 6319). The title is *It's a Hard Life Wherever You Go*. You have come to the right place for lyrics. If you type in [It's a hard life] in the search section at the top right of this page, you will find the lyrics to this song. You may be new, erika, so I will also give you a CLICK HERE LINK for the lyrics. The advantage of checking the DT is you don't have to wait for some Mudcatter to totter along and show you the way.

Nanci says this is her most important song.

Enjoy the music.

Roger in Baltimore

Subject: RE: Hard Life
From: The Shambles
Date: 19 Dec 98 - 11:05 AM

Thanks to you all. What a good song that is.

I'm glad that some Mudcatter's did totter along or I wouldn't have found it either. That is one advantage of posting the request and the resulting comments, it does bring the song to more peoples attention. Thanks again.

Subject: RE: Hard Life
From:
Date: 19 Dec 98 - 12:39 PM

Thanks - I did try the search first but didn't get anywhere, maybe because I spelled Nanci(y)'s name wrong. -erika

Subject: It's a Hard Life
From:
Date: 24 Feb 01 - 01:43 PM

This is my first time on this site. I was told that you provided guitar chords along with the lyrics. I was wondering if I am doing something wrong. I would like chords to many of Nancy Griffith's songs. Can I search by artist? and how to I get the chords?

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: It's a Hard Life
From: GUEST,Eric
Date: 24 Feb 01 - 02:42 PM

I am not a member of the list but I drop in regularly. I do not think that chords are available here. However if you go to http://www2.bitstream.net/~acs/music/ng/ you can find some of Nanci's stuff.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: It's a Hard Life
From: Joe Offer
Date: 24 Feb 01 - 02:58 PM

Hi, Janet - we do have chords here and there, but generally don't make a point of collecting chords. We usually look for the lyrics and the tune, and let people work out chords on their own. If there's a specific song you'd like chords for, post a request and somebody will usually help you - but it's unlikely that you'll find chords for more than just a few Nanci songs here. Click here for a good Nanci Griffith page. Click here for the Cowpie Country Music Archive, which has chords for a few Nanci songs, including It's a Hard Life (click). Great song, isn't it?

-Joe Offer (e-mail sent)-

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: It's a Hard Life
From: rangeroger
Date: 24 Feb 01 - 09:14 PM

When I first heard Nanci doing this song it blew me away. I had to learn it right away. I lived in Fallbrook CA. at the time and it was also the home of Tom Metzger of the White Aryan Resistance. I used to play at an open mike every Wed. at a local watering spot called the Packing House. Mr Metzger frequented the place.I learned the song and lay in wait for him to come in so I could sing it directly to him.

He never did.

rr