The Hard Way

Bangin' my head up against the wall ever since I was a kid 

Could have took their advice for an easier life, but I guess I never did 

Fightin' off rednecks, getting handcuffed and hauled away 

Now I'm rottin' in hell in a county jail with nothing to say 

 

And I did it the hard way 

I did it the hard way 

I did it the hard way yeah 

I did it the hard way, now 

 

Blew my money as fast as I made it never saved a dime 

We're all marks for banks and credit cards when we're 25 

Ten years later, well the IRS came knockin' on my door 

They said son, you better pay us 500Gs before we ask for more 

 

And I did it the hard way 

I did it the hard way 

I did it the hard way yeah 

I did it the hard way, now 

 

In my broke down palace 

With a heart as big as Dallas 

Well young, dumb and risky  

With a liver full of whiskey 

Lookin' back on them days  

Being stuck in a cage 

Well I did it, I did it the hard way  

 

I did it the hard way 

I did it the hard way 

 

Tore up, drivin' a 454 and feelin' sky high 

Until Johnny Law read me my rights for a DWI 

Mandatory 30 days man in a little country jail 

Now I'm waitin' on cash from some biker crank just to pay my bail 

 

And I did it the hard way 

I did it the hard way 

I did it the hard way yeah 

I did it the hard way, now 

 

Well, luck of the Irish or divine fate either way I survived 

Now I'm kneelin' on my knees at the foot of my bed and I'm grateful I'm alive 

But the shitty committee's still raising Cain in the back of my head 

Lord give me the sense not to jump the fence and wind up dead 

 

And I did it the hard way 

I did it the hard way yeah 

(I did it the hard way) 

(I did it the hard way) 

(Well I did it the hard way yeah) 

(Uh huh)