Hard time here and everywhere you go
Times is harder than ever been before.
And the people are driftin' from door to door
Can't find no heaven, I don't care where they go.
Hear me tell you people, just before I go
These hard times will kill you just dry long so.
Well, you hear me singin' my lonesome song
These hard times can last us so very long.
If I ever get off this killin' floor
I'll never get down this low no more
No-no, no-no, I'll never get down this low no more.
And you say you had money, you better be sure
'Cause these hard times will drive you from door to door.
Sing this song and I ain't gonna sing no more
Sing this song and I ain't gonna sing no more
These hard times will drive you from door to door.
Times is harder than ever been before.
And the people are driftin' from door to door
Can't find no heaven, I don't care where they go.
Hear me tell you people, just before I go
These hard times will kill you just dry long so.
Well, you hear me singin' my lonesome song
These hard times can last us so very long.
If I ever get off this killin' floor
I'll never get down this low no more
No-no, no-no, I'll never get down this low no more.
And you say you had money, you better be sure
'Cause these hard times will drive you from door to door.
Sing this song and I ain't gonna sing no more
Sing this song and I ain't gonna sing no more
These hard times will drive you from door to door.
inviata da Pluck - 24/2/2025 - 22:44
Nota da SongMeanings.
There are great contrasts between versions of this song, the 1931 version you can hear Skip James singing this song like he means it, and it is very contemporary to his period in time.
This song is basically about being poor and having to move from door to door, or home to home, job to job. A "Killin' Floor" is old 30's slang for a slaughter house where the blacks would often have the worst jobs of all. The slaughter house was the only placement of work many black americans who migrated north to the Illinois region at this time could get a job at.
In the 1960's version he seems to be singing this song in retrospective of his life and in my opinion sounds even sadder.
Skip James - Hard Time killing Floor Lyrics & Meanings | SongMeanings https://search.app/mFBssJyUQ86vzj1r9
There are great contrasts between versions of this song, the 1931 version you can hear Skip James singing this song like he means it, and it is very contemporary to his period in time.
This song is basically about being poor and having to move from door to door, or home to home, job to job. A "Killin' Floor" is old 30's slang for a slaughter house where the blacks would often have the worst jobs of all. The slaughter house was the only placement of work many black americans who migrated north to the Illinois region at this time could get a job at.
In the 1960's version he seems to be singing this song in retrospective of his life and in my opinion sounds even sadder.
Skip James - Hard Time killing Floor Lyrics & Meanings | SongMeanings https://search.app/mFBssJyUQ86vzj1r9
Pluck - 25/2/2025 - 15:58
Nota di traduzione .
Al secondo verso della terza strofa troviamo " dry long so ".
Cito dal Forum WeenieCampbell.com :
skip james hard time killin floor blues lyrics
....."If he does say "dry long so" in the later version, it means "for sure" or that's "a certainty". I once worked with several young men (in their 30s) from a family that still had strong ties back to Mississippi and Louisiana. One day I heard one of them use the expression, more popularly known from the Robert Johnson song Come On In My Kitchen. I asked him what he meant and he said, "You know, it's a dead cert." .....
https://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/inde...
Al secondo verso della terza strofa troviamo " dry long so ".
Cito dal Forum WeenieCampbell.com :
skip james hard time killin floor blues lyrics
....."If he does say "dry long so" in the later version, it means "for sure" or that's "a certainty". I once worked with several young men (in their 30s) from a family that still had strong ties back to Mississippi and Louisiana. One day I heard one of them use the expression, more popularly known from the Robert Johnson song Come On In My Kitchen. I asked him what he meant and he said, "You know, it's a dead cert." .....
https://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/inde...
Pluck - 26/2/2025 - 21:54
Lingua: Italiano
"Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" ( Skip James )
- Versione JR Ella*
Hard time here and everywhere you go
Time’s harder than ever been before.
Mmm mmm mmm mmm
When the people are driftin' from door to door
Can't find no Heaven, I don't care where they go.
Mmm mmm mmm mmm
But you say you’ve got money, but better be sure
This hard time will drag you down from door to door.
Mmm mmm mmm mmm
But you say you’ve got money, better be sure
This hard time will drag you down from door to door.
Mmm mmm mmm mmm
If I ever get off this killin' floor
I swear I'll never get down this low no more
Mmm mmm mmm mmm
I say hard time here and everywhere you go
This hard time ’s harder than ever been before.
Mmm mmm mmm mmm
And the people are driftin' from door to door
Can't find no Heaven, I don't care where they go.
https://youtu.be/2g254CZHsC4?si=3FIg8MiZLEEDazSr
- Versione JR Ella*
Hard time here and everywhere you go
Time’s harder than ever been before.
Mmm mmm mmm mmm
When the people are driftin' from door to door
Can't find no Heaven, I don't care where they go.
Mmm mmm mmm mmm
But you say you’ve got money, but better be sure
This hard time will drag you down from door to door.
Mmm mmm mmm mmm
But you say you’ve got money, better be sure
This hard time will drag you down from door to door.
Mmm mmm mmm mmm
If I ever get off this killin' floor
I swear I'll never get down this low no more
Mmm mmm mmm mmm
I say hard time here and everywhere you go
This hard time ’s harder than ever been before.
Mmm mmm mmm mmm
And the people are driftin' from door to door
Can't find no Heaven, I don't care where they go.
https://youtu.be/2g254CZHsC4?si=3FIg8MiZLEEDazSr
* Jean-Rene “JR” Ella is a guitarist/singer-songwriter.
He was born in Cameroon (Africa), lived in France, and eventually moved to the US. He currently lives in Sacramento, CA.
https://atimetobeblue.com/author/sg-admin-01/ - 2023
****
Jean-Rene “JR” Ella - Note Autobiografiche
….. "Growing up in Cameroon, music was everywhere. Choirs performed in churches on Sundays, with harmonies so beautiful they left you speechless. They sang at weddings, and they sang at funerals, with a burst of energy that lifted you off the ground. Music was a remedy for grief and a shout for joy".
………." But when I heard the blues, it felt like a culmination of all the musical experiences I had lived to that point. A genre steeped in its African heritage, I found not only the music, but also the history behind it. Acoustic blues particularly moved me to my core: It featured the call and response so common to traditional African songs, except in the blues the response came from a guitar. I felt the authenticity of the pain and the sorrow of the performers, but also the healing they found in singing about it. I fell in love with Nehemiah “Skip” James, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Lightnin’ Hopkins and of course, Robert Johnson, among many others".
“JR” Ella Official Artist Biography Page
https://atimetobeblue.com/about/
He was born in Cameroon (Africa), lived in France, and eventually moved to the US. He currently lives in Sacramento, CA.
https://atimetobeblue.com/author/sg-admin-01/ - 2023
****
Jean-Rene “JR” Ella - Note Autobiografiche
….. "Growing up in Cameroon, music was everywhere. Choirs performed in churches on Sundays, with harmonies so beautiful they left you speechless. They sang at weddings, and they sang at funerals, with a burst of energy that lifted you off the ground. Music was a remedy for grief and a shout for joy".
………." But when I heard the blues, it felt like a culmination of all the musical experiences I had lived to that point. A genre steeped in its African heritage, I found not only the music, but also the history behind it. Acoustic blues particularly moved me to my core: It featured the call and response so common to traditional African songs, except in the blues the response came from a guitar. I felt the authenticity of the pain and the sorrow of the performers, but also the healing they found in singing about it. I fell in love with Nehemiah “Skip” James, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Lightnin’ Hopkins and of course, Robert Johnson, among many others".
“JR” Ella Official Artist Biography Page
https://atimetobeblue.com/about/
inviata da Pluck - 18/3/2025 - 11:02
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Hard Time Killing Floor Lyrics by Skip James
Il più blues di tutti i blues....... Dal ventre profondo e violato dell'America rurale, nel nome degli esclusi e dei reietti, di chi ha perso tutto, degli oppressi, degli emarginati e degli sfollati, la voce dell'angelo del Delta Skip James si leva come un canto di preghiera e di speranza. Inafferrabile, straziante, celeste. «Hard times is here and everywhere you go / Times are harder than ever been before». Siamo nel pieno della grande depressione e lo stesso James, dopo avere registrato una ventina di brani per la Paramount (ce ne sono arrivati 18, anche se il diretto interessato raccontava di averne incisi 26), sarà costretto ad appendere la chitarra al proverbiale chiodo fino al 1964, anno in cui sarà rintracciato da John Fahey e compagni nell'ospedale di Tunica, nel cuore del Mississippi. Preludio a un ritorno sulle scene da maestro che gli avrebbe restituito, almeno in parte, quello che il più grande disastro della storia americana gli aveva tolto.
Disaster song: 10 brani dalla tradizione americana - Il giornale della musica