Bobby Bare and Shel Silverstein struck a partnership in the '70s that yielded the number one hit "Marie Laveau" and a few concept albums, of which Hard Time Hungrys is one. Created during the mid-'70s' economic recession, the album takes a hard look at poverty and unemployment, tempered with touches of world-weary humor. The songs are preceded by interview segments in which everyday people tell Bare of their plights, while the back cover photo shows a man picking through an alley trash can. "Alimony" and "Back Home in Huntsville Again" were the album's two hits, but both were only moderately successful, perhaps because the country audience preferred escapism to stark reality. Another explanation is that Silverstein's songs are not quite up to the level of those on his first collaboration with Bare, 1973's Sings Lullabys, Legends And Lies, although the powerful subject matter and the talent of the principals make this an admirable and rewarding album.
BOBBY BARE
HARD TIME HUNGRYS
RCA Victor APL1-0906April/1975
Produced by Bobby Bare & Bill Rice
Red Lane - guitarBill Rice - guitar/piano/vocals
Bobby Thompson, Chip Young - rh.guitar
Loyd Green - steel/dobro
Ron Oates, Bobby Wood - piano
Jerry Carrigan, Larrie Londin - drums
Joe Allen, Henry Strzelecki - bass
Jeannie Bare, Bobby Bare Jr - vocals
Recorded:
Apr-May/1974, RCA Victor Studio, Nashville
"...See it everywhere you look all up and down the road - homes for sale, furniture for sale, people for sale. Talk to the people... listen to them... men out of work... prices out of sight... buy a piece of pie and a cup of coffee... look at the cook... listen to the waitress... pay 84c leave her a tip... try to buy a piece of gum with what's left... listen to the president... things will be better... six more months. Read the papers - unemployment up again, food prices up again, soap 33c a bar, stay dirty... read the sport section... pretend it will all go away... listen to the new president... things will be better. GM lays off 8,000 more, sugar $4,00 a 5 pound bag... listen to the people... I remember back in '31... just like the last time... people would line up... waited all day long for... but it's not going to be like the last time... nothing is ever like the last time. These aren't the same people, they're not gonna stand in a law-abiding line, they're not gonna wait, they're not gonna believe who can they believe. As the guy said in the grocery store things can just get so high then it's all gotta come down to place else for it to go so it's all coming down... what do we do about it? An album of songs? Big deal. We aren't gonna sing our way through this one, make the people aware? Hell the people are aware. Milk is 93c a half a gallon. The people are damned well aware anyway. Bobby and I decided to do this album we talked to some people. We heard some stories, here they are. The songs, the stories, the people telling. Here it is. We don't know if it will do any good, how do you sing your way through this one..." - Shel Silverstein, April 1975 -
Well I don't know I don't know how old a man you are
But I know what it was in the early 30's
How was it
It was rough but the way it's goin' right now a year from now you watch it
What
When people's all out of jobs and no money to support the economy
What have you got
What
Huh
What have you got
You've got a depression that's what you've got
1.
HARD TIME HUNGRYS
(Shel Silverstein)« © '74 Evil Eye Music, BMI »
There's an old man sittin' in a rented room
Sittin' and watchin' the wall
Tryin' to remember the good ole days
And wonderin' why the kids don't call
They used to go drivin' in the summer sun
When his woman was alive
Now he reads his Gideon Bible and waits
For his welfare check to arrive
He got the hard time hungrys doin' the best that he can
Lord the hard time hungrys are spreadin' all over the land
There's a Tennessee housewife shoppin' in the market
Wearin' her last year's jeans
She picks up a roast then changes her mind
Puts it back down and buys some more beans
Her old man's workin' in the filling station
And what's he gonna say
When he sits down to a table full of nothin'
After workin' like a dog all day
Got the hard time hungrys doin' the best that they can
I see the hard time hungrys spreadin' all over the land
A Mississippi farmer he's watchin' the sky
Wondering if it's gonna rain
The payment's due on the tractor Lord
And the subsidy's been taken away
And in New York City a taxicab driver
Screams at the world outside
Cause it sure is hot and nobody's got
The money for a cross town ride
Lord they got the hard time hungrys...
Now I ain't no preacher and I ain't no teacher
But one thing's sure as the sun
If the dollar keeps a droppin' and prices keep a risin'
The worst is yet to come
We got the hard time hungrys I feel it touchin' my hand
Lord I see the hard time hungrys spreadin' all over the land
Yes I see the hard time hungrys spreadin' all over the land
**********
They don't have to ask a man if he's broke
See a bunch of them cattle like that I got another bunch over yonder
Whatcha you goin' do with all them cattles you got over there
Huh
Said whatcha goin' do with all them cattles you got over there
I don't know I guess I'll feed all I got and try to give the son of a bitch away
Bout all a man can do talk about something else
You don't wanna talk about farmin'
Hell no
What do you wanna talk about
Nothin'
Nothin'
Uh huh
What'd you raise this year
Nothin'
What are you gonna raise next year
Hair I guess
May go with that can't go with anything else
2.
FARMER FEEDS US ALL
(Ray Cooder)« © '74 Tonopah And Tidewater Music, BMI »
We worked through spring and winter
Through the summer and through the fall
But the mortage worked hardest
And the steadiest of us all
It worked on nights and Sundays worked each holiday
It's settled down among us and it never went away
The farmer comes to town with his wagon broken down
The farmer is a man who feeds us all
If you'd only look and see I know you will agree
That the farmer is a man who feeds us all
Yeah the farmer is a man the farmer is a man
Buys on his credit till the fall
Then they take him by the hand and they lead him from his land
And the merchant he's the man who gits it all
The banker says he's broke the grocer's up in smoke
They forget that it's the farmer feeds us all
It would put them to the test if the farmer took a rest
Then they'd know that it's the farmer feeds us all
Yeah the farmer is a man the farmer is a man
Lives on his credit until Fall
Well his pants're wearin' thin his condition it's a sin
Because the taxes on the farmer feeds us all
I said the farmer is a man the farmer is a man
The farmer is a man who feeds us all
**********
It was years and years way back
And he built ark and built ark out of gopher wood
Talk to me ain't I right
You're right
And he preached it within and without
But the people was still frollickin' and dancin' just like they're doin' today
Oh listen hear just like they're doin' today
And we recall that we're talkin' about a woman
You know look at Sampson
Sampson was the strongest man ever was on earth
And that's why I I I warn you bout certain classes of these women if your hair's long
Sampson they worried about Sampson's strength
Couldn't nobody find out where Sampson's strength lied
But he got foolin' round one of these concubines
See what I'm talkin'
I don't know whether you have ever
Yes I have too
Got to foolin' round one of these concubines
And she got foolin' with Sampson got foolin' with Sampson
Look at the Bull's hair over yonder look
And very he's very strong but one day he better be careful
He better be careful now
He'll lay his head in the wrong place sometime
And he'll get his head get his hair cut off
3.
ALIMONY
(Shel Silverstein)« © '69 Hollis Music, BMI »
Alimony alimony work till my fingers are bloody and boney
Me oh my oh goodness sake I'm paying for my mistake
Ali-money I call it ali-money you married men may think it's funny
Till one fine day you awake and find you're paying for your mistake
Every Friday when I get my pay
I put it in an envelope and mail it away
Same old song with a little more blues in it
I'm paying for it while someone else's usin' it
Alimony alimony I thought I bought steak and it was all baloney
Me oh my oh goodness sake I'm paying for my mistake
[ guitar ] Alimony alimony I thought I bought steak and it was all baloney
Me oh my oh goodness sake I'm paying for my mistake
Every payday paying for my mistake yes I am friends
**********
And he just bought the junk stuff
Just bought the junk stuff
The iron stuff you know
The iron
No furniture he didn't deal in any of that
What else
Old wagon wheels wagon horse shoes auction shoes ole chains
Why they sellin' it
I don't know I just wonder
But that was the prettiest stuff I ever looked at
4.
TWO FOR A DOLLAR
(Bobby Gosh)« © '74 Chrysalis Standards, BMI »
Last Saturday morning I shut off the alarm
Drove out in the valley to old Dan Cook's farm
A sign on the fence post put up with one nail
Read 10 a.m. sharp a big public sale
At least forty people were out in the yard
Looking for bargains they were dealing real hard
To buy up the pieces and find out the worth
Of fifty years living so close to the earth
Who'll give me five I got five now who'll give me ten
I'll call out the numbers and you just say when
For a lifetime of mem'ries some happy some sad
Two for a dollar the price sure ain't bad
No bids for the carriage rottin' out by the shed
The one that they drove on the night they were wed
Five bucks for the brass bed a little bit worn
Not much for the place where the five kids were born
And the old parlor piano still sounded alright
Just as good as it did many Saturday nights
And the big round oak table where dinner was made
Brought almost as much as the tiffany shade
Who'll give me five I got five now who'll give me ten...
Two for a dollar the price sure ain't bad
**********
Yeah I got out I was I was happy to be out but then I was scared
Scared of what
I was afraid to cross a street and I was afraid to go places
Eat in restaurants I kept thinkin' that everybody was lookin' at me
Everybody kept starrin' at me
And I found that that most of the people that I seen on the corner you know
That had been in prison with me and that had been out for awhile
They all had you know new cars and new clothes and things like that
And I didn't have those things and I felt the only way I could get em was to steal
So you know I started stealin' to try to keep up with my friends you know
And ended up back in prison
5.
BACK HOME IN HUNTSVILLE AGAIN
(Shel Silverstein)« © '74 Evil Eye Music, BMI »
Open the gates up hey screw did you miss me
Jimmy I see that you found a new friend
Warden come down here and kiss me hello
Cause I'm back home in Huntsville again
This suit that I'm wearing cost two hundred dollars
But I got it free with a three dollar knife
I got tailor made shirts with them long pointy collars
And all it's gonna cost is ten years of my life
So open the gates up hey screw did you miss me...
I've been rousted and turned out at three in the morning
I've been roughed up and shook down and stood on my ear
I've tried to find work but they called me a jailbird
So I went for the bundle and I've wound up back here
So open the gates up hey screw did you miss me...
I found me a woman as warm as the sunshine
Took her a year to slip out of her dress
She talked about havin' a little rose covered cottage
But roses cost money and you know the rest
So open the gates up hey screw did you miss me...
Yes I'm back home in Huntsville again
**********
Just like everybody else
Laid us off
Been there twenty-one years and got laid off
Why
Reduction in force and cut back on everythin'
I don't know what it's comin' to
6.
DADDY'S BEEN AROUND THE HOUSE TOO LONG
(Shel Silverstein)« © '74 Evil Eye Music, BMI »
[ with The Family ]
(Daddy's been around the house too long
He's watchin' TV drinking beer and singing crazy songs
He don't ever yell at us so something must be wrong
Cause daddy's been around the house too long)
(Daddy he just says the times are bad
He gets up drinks his coffee and reads the want ads
Then he wanders round the house or maybe mows the lawn
Daddy's been around the house too long)
Oh I wanna hear that factory whistle blow
Just the way it used to sound before
And maybe it'll scare away the wolf that's at my door
I wanna hear that factory whistle blow
(Daddy used to spend his weekends lazy
Now momma says he's bout to drive her crazy
He's in the kitchen fussing till the Secret Storm comes on
Daddy's been around the house too long)
I wanna hear that factory whistle blow
Yeah daddy's been around the house too long
**********
7.
WARM AND FREE
(Shel Silverstein)« © '74 Evil Eye Music, BMI »
Warm and free warm and free that's all it takes to get a hold on me
Warm and free warm and free you never know how low you can be
Till you go into an an all-nite cafe grab somebody's dirty old cup
Walk right up to the hot water boiler and fill that sucker up
Then you add some ketchup salt and tabasco sure smells good to me
Then sloopity-slop you suck it up it's warm and it's free
Oh warm and free warm and free...
Till you sneak into a party on the Saturday night
And say hey I'm a friend of Stan's
And you ease into the kitchen open up the fridge
And gobble up everything you can
Then you crawl into the bed neath a big pile o'coats
And try to get yourself some sleep
This life ain't swell but what the hell you're warm and you're free
Oh warm and free warm and free...
Till you go into a bar and meet a middle aged lady
Let her buy you a drink or two
You look into her eyes till she says
I've got a son bout the very same age as you
Then you say you remind me of my very own mama
As her hand slips to your knee
She ain't Raquel but what the hell it's warm and it's free
Oh warm and free warm and free...
**********
But now we are livin' just as good as the poor white people
8.
ABLE BODIED MAN
(Jerry Foster - Bill Rice)« © '70 PolyGram Int, ASCAP »
I'm calling from the station and I haven't got much time to let you know
Got a ticket for Missouri and there's things I need to say before I go
If I could I'd have you meet me but I don't see how I can
I don't have enough to pay your fare
There's a factory in Columbus hirin' now I understand
And they're looking for an able bodied man
Baby you should get some money in a letter that I mailed two days ago
But when I wrote the letter saying you could come to me I didn't know
That I was gonna lose my job in such a little while
So now I guess we'll have to change our plan
They may not hire me in Columbus but I'm pretty sure they will
Cause they're looking for an able bodied man
If I'd had more education I'd've made a better life for me and you
But just simple manual labor is the only kind of work that I can do
The bus is loadin' for Missouri so I guess I'd better go
Hon I'll call you up as soon as I can
I'll be sending you a ticket cause I know I'll get the job
If they're looking for an able bodied man
I'll be sending you a ticket cause I know I'll get the job
And remember I'm your able bodied man
**********
The younger generation today won't put up with it
They won't they won't take it layin' down like we did
What you think they'll do
They'll go out and do somethin' about it
What
Whatever it takes to get it
Whatcha think that'll be
They get 'em a gun if they have to
They are doin' it already ain't they
9.
TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS IN PENNIES
(Shel Silverstein)« © '74 Evil Eye Music, BMI »
I broke into the bank on Sunday and you should see the money I got
I couldn't drag it home until Monday cause it sure weighed an awful lot
Then I sat down to count it and much to my surprise
A whole lotta little round little brown coins rolled out in front of my eyes
I got a hundred thousand dollars in pennies not one paper dollar or dime
And I really don't think there's many rich men with a problem like mine
And I really don't think this is any kind of ending for a perfect crime
I got a hundred thousand dollars in pennies and I'm spendin' it a penny at a time
Now a steak would sure taste delicious and I've forgotten how beer would feel
But the man might get suspicious if I gave him five hundred pennies for a meal
So I guess I'll weigh myself again and buy another stick o'gum
I got a hundred thousand dollars in pennies and I'm a livin' like a penniless bum
I've got a hundred thousand dollars in pennies...
I could buy myself a big limousine and be a livin' like a movie star
But I'd have to hire a truck to haul the pennies to the place where you buy the car
And I'd have to have a wagon to haul the pennies to the place I'd hire the truck
I got a hundred thousand dollars in pennies and I ain't got a penny's worth o'luck
I've got a hundred thousand dollars in pennies...
I got a hundred thousand dollars in pennies and I'm spendin' it a penny at a time
**********
And he usually hangs out around 4th avenue where the trash cans are
And we's lookin' for him wanted to get him to talk to him about things
But we couldn't find him nobody had seen him around lately anyway
10.
BOTTLES AND BOXES
(Roger Murrah)« © '74 ATV Songs, BMI »
Bottles and boxes and ten miles a day
He walks slowly making his rounds
Picking up bottles and boxes and papers
And anything else we throw down
He's hump-backed and wrinkled but unlike Van Winkel
He doesn't sleep his life away
And he speaks so seldom that some of us wonder
Just what the old man has to say
Some folks laugh at him but he doesn't notice
He goes right on bout his day
Picking up bottles and boxes and papers
And pieces of life thrown away
[ piano ] Too big and tattered are clothes that he gathered
From boxes thrown into the street
He hides from the rain under store building awnings
And stays in the shade in the heat
Sisters and mothers and daddys and brothers
He has none as far as I know
Just bottles and boxes they're his little Fort Knoxes
But to us they're just somethin' to throw
Some folks laugh at him but he doesn't notice
He goes right on bout his day
Living with bottles and boxes and papers
And pieces of life thrown away
[ piano ] Bottles and boxes and ten miles a day
He walks slowly making his rounds
Picking up bottles and boxes and papers
And anything else we throw down
**********
Stick up my thumb then my finger
The big cars seldom stop
The big Cadillacs and Lincolns they don't even look at you
They got the stereo on and they're goin'to town
Yeah but I don't blame em man
I don't
They got some place to go
I never stopped and picked up anybody in a Cadillac either
11.
TRUCK DRIVER TRUCK DRIVER
(Shel Silverstein)« © '74 Evil Eye Music, BMI »
Truck driver truck driver stop your Diamond T
Do you have room inside your rig for a highway bum like me
Hey thank you very much
Don't suppose you could sorta scoot over a little bit
And give me a little more room cause I got long legs
And it's a long way to where I'm goin'
Truck driver truck driver let your diesel roll
Now do you have one cigarette for a man who's wet and cold
Hey thank you very much
Ah I don't reckon you got one of those filter tips instead
I don't really like them regular cigarettes
It's bad for your lungs you know what I mean
It's a long way to where I'm goin'
Truck driver truck driver lemme ask you one thing more
If I can't sleep in your sleeper cab can I sleep on your trailer floor
Thank you very much
I don't suppose I could sorta borrow your jacket
To kinda cover up and get warm with
Cause I'm cold and it's a long way to where I'm goin'
Truck driver truck driver I see in that plastic frame
A picture of a sexy blonde and you know that's my kind of dame
Man I'd really like to grab onto those your wife huh
Well it's a long way to where I'm goin' oh yeah
Truck driver truck driver thank you for the ride
Now if you lend me a dollar and half I'll move on down the line
Well they ain't no need to get mad about
Some folks don't never do nothin' to nobody
And I ain't gonna ride with you no more
Yeah Mister you sure got a good lookin' old lady I'd like to get a hold o'her
**********
Looks like it
Five of us three kids my wife and I
Anybody else
Sort of rough
I don't know
It may be like it was in thrirty-two when I was a child
That's the way it seems like it's going to be to me
So I worked out of Atlanta for my brother
And of course they told him they didn't have no work for him
So he had to lay me off
I got three girls and one boy
I got one sixteen and one twełve and eleven and nine
All of em's in school
You know it makes it kind of rough
They's a bunch
This is the first time I've ever you know went through this
I been employed there ever since 60
I don't have any family well I just know I got laid off
This is my first time I don't know much about it
Well I think this is just part of it I mean to expect
Cause we make parts for cars and stuff you know
Refrigerators and everything
Well just about all the employees of the company
What are they gonna do
I guess they're gonna come over here and get in line
12.
UNEMPLOYMENT LINE
(Shel Silverstein)« © '74 Evil Eye Music, BMI »
In the unemployment line in the unemployment line
I see the butcher and the baker a faker and a quaker
And an old girl friend of mine
There's white collars blue collars and no collars too
Talking bout the bad new times
And we all get together every Wednesday afternoon
In the unemployment line
Now who do you think was there today talking bout food and rent
There was a hard hat a fat cat a girl from the laundromat and one ex-president
I raised my eyes and prayed to the Lord please save this world of mine
Then I turned around and I saw God standin' in the unemployment line
In the unemployment line in the unemployment line
Hey I'll see all of you in a week or two in the unemployment line
**********
