The Hard Road 

(Music & Lyrics by Keith Brown)

(Dedicated with love to Keith, Sr. & Ruby Sherwood Brown) 

  

It was in the Great Depression, he was born in ’32, 

Was in the state of Pennsylvania where he made his grand debut, 

He was the third son out of four 

And growing up, the times were lean, 

It was a hard time to be living in a land caught in between. 

  

There was a move to Oklahoma in the year of ’33, 

Where the land was hot and dusty just as far as one could see, 

And then a move in 1940 took him to the Bluegrass State, 

Where a woman stole his heart and took his name 

And sealed his fate. 

 

It was a hard road with the future yet unseen, 

Stretching out on the horizon just as far as it could be, 

It was a crossroad, nothing certain, nothing won, 

And nothing guaranteed that they’d succeed until the task was done. 

 

She bore him sons in ’53 and then again in ’56, 

They balanced work and play and school by day all firmly in the mix, 

They held their head up high against the sky 

Thru good times and thru bad, 

And thru it all found time to be our mom and be our dad. 

 

It was a long road with a future bright and new, 

And that’s when she bore Number 3 in Nineteen-Seven-Two, 

It was a good life because they somehow found a way, 

To live the code and bear the load until this very day. 

 

It was a hard road with the future yet unseen, 

Stretching out on the horizon just as far as it could be, 

It was a crossroad, nothing certain, nothing won, 

And nothing guaranteed that they’d succeed until the task was done. 

 

 

© 2019 Haunted Mesa Music (ASCAP)   
All rights reserved. Used by permission.