Come you ladies and you gentlemen and listen to my song.
I'll sing it to you right, but you might think it's wrong.
It may make you mad, but I mean no harm.
It's all about the renters on Penny's farm.
Hard times in the country, down on Penny's farm.
Well, you move on out to Penny's farm,
Plant a little crop o' 'bacco and little crop o' corn.
He'll come around and he'll plan and plot,
Till he gets himself a mortgage on everything you got.
Hard times in the country, down on Penny's farm.
You go to the fields and you work all day,
Till way after dark, but you get no pay.
Promise you meat or a little lard.
It's hard to be a renter on Penny's farm.
Hard times in the country, down on Penny's farm.
Well, here's George Penny coming into town,
With a wagon-load of peaches, not one of 'em sound.
He's got to have his money or somebody's check.
You pay him for a bushel and you don't get a peck.
Hard times in the country, down on Penny's farm.
Then George Penny's renters, they come into town,
With their hands in their pockets, and their heads hanging down,
Go in the store and the merchant will say,
"Your mortgage is due and I'm looking for my pay."
Hard times in the country, down on Penny's farm.
Goes down in his pocket with a trembling hand --
"Can't pay you all, but I'll pay you what I can."
Then to the telephone the merchant makes a call,
"They'll put you on the chain gang if you don't pay it all."
Hard times in the country, down on Penny's farm.
I'll sing it to you right, but you might think it's wrong.
It may make you mad, but I mean no harm.
It's all about the renters on Penny's farm.
Hard times in the country, down on Penny's farm.
Well, you move on out to Penny's farm,
Plant a little crop o' 'bacco and little crop o' corn.
He'll come around and he'll plan and plot,
Till he gets himself a mortgage on everything you got.
Hard times in the country, down on Penny's farm.
You go to the fields and you work all day,
Till way after dark, but you get no pay.
Promise you meat or a little lard.
It's hard to be a renter on Penny's farm.
Hard times in the country, down on Penny's farm.
Well, here's George Penny coming into town,
With a wagon-load of peaches, not one of 'em sound.
He's got to have his money or somebody's check.
You pay him for a bushel and you don't get a peck.
Hard times in the country, down on Penny's farm.
Then George Penny's renters, they come into town,
With their hands in their pockets, and their heads hanging down,
Go in the store and the merchant will say,
"Your mortgage is due and I'm looking for my pay."
Hard times in the country, down on Penny's farm.
Goes down in his pocket with a trembling hand --
"Can't pay you all, but I'll pay you what I can."
Then to the telephone the merchant makes a call,
"They'll put you on the chain gang if you don't pay it all."
Hard times in the country, down on Penny's farm.
×
![]()
Note for non-Italian users: Sorry, though the interface of this website is translated into English, most commentaries and biographies are in Italian and/or in other languages like French, German, Spanish, Russian etc.
