I been a-havin' some hard travelin', I thought you knowed
I been a-havin' some hard travelin' way down the road
I been a-havin' some hard travelin', hard ramblin', hard gamblin'
I been a-havin' some hard travelin', Lord
I been ridin' them fast rattlers, I thought you knowed
I been ridin' them flat-wheelers way down the road
I been ridin' them blind passengers, dead enders, kickin' up cinders
I been a-havin' some hard travelin', Lord
I been a-hittin' some hard rock minin', I thought you knowed
I been a-leanin' on a pressure drill way down the road
Hammer flyin', air hose suckin',
six foot of mud, and I sure been a-muckin'
And I been a-hittin' some hard travelin', Lord
I been a-hittin' some hard harvestin', I thought you knowed
North Dakota to Kansas City way down the road
Cuttin' that wheat, stacking that hay,
and I'm tryin' to make about a dollar a day
And I been a-havin' some hard travelin', Lord
I been workin' at Pittsburgh Steel, I thought you knowed
I been a-dumpin' that red-hot slag way down the road
I been a-blastin', I been a-firin', I been a-pourin' red-hot iron
And I been a-hittin' some hard travelin', Lord
I've been a-layin' in a hard rock jail, I thought you knowed
I been a-layin' out ninety days way down the road
Damned old judge, he said to me, "it's ninety days for vagrancy"
And I been hittin' some hard travelin', Lord, whoah!