Yesterday’s sombre post made me think of another throwback Thursday track, The Hard Way by DC Talk.
Heading back to 1992 for this one.
It makes me nostalgic to write that, but this song is not nostalgic. It’s bitter. Sometimes in life we get kicked down, then kicked in the guts. Then kicked once more when we thought we were just about to get up again.
The clip may have aged a bit but the track hasn’t. Still, there’s something disturbingly timeless about the faces of the incarcerated.
I love the outro of this song too. Not just because at this point the clip includes a great MLK quote, but because the musical quality is somehow so poignant. Enjoy.
Yours having to find out for herself,
Alison
Some people gotta learn the hardway
I guess I’m the kinda guy
That has to find out for myself
I had to learn the hardway, Father
I’m on my knees and I’m crying for help
Now I’ve been high and I’ve been low
I’ve been some places that you will not go
I never thought there would come the day
When I wished I never would’ve lived this way
But I’ve been searching for a long, long time
I thought the devil was a friend of mine
I turned my back on everything that was true
And wasted years that belong to you
Some people gotta learn the hardway
I guess I’m the kinda guy
That has to find out for myself
I had to learn the hardway, Father
I’m on my knees and I’m crying for help
It took so long for me to see
That I’m a victim of nature and me
Left to myself I realise
I am the maker of my own demise
But you accept me every time and again
And never mention just how selfish I’ve been
Why must it always take me so long to see
That I have fallen but you will forgive me
Some people gotta learn the hardway
I guess I’m the kinda guy
That has to find out for myself
I had to learn the hardway, Father
I’m on my knees and I’m crying for help
Some people gotta learn the hardway
I guess I’m the kinda guy
That has to find out for myself
I had to learn the hardway, Father
I’m on my knees and I’m crying for help
The warning signs are like flares in the night
Still I proceed my greed is in spite of the fire
I know that’s bound to burn
Why is it that I always gotta learn…
The hardway, the hardway, I had to learn the hardway
The hardway, the hardway, I had to learn the hardway
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Toby Mckeehan
The Hardway lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing
