I worked in the cotton mill all of my life,
And I ain't got nothing but a Barlow knife,
It's hard times, cotton mill girls,
It's hard times everywhere.

CHORUS:
It's hard times cotton mill girls,
It's hard times cotton mill girls,
It's hard times cotton mill girls,
It's hard times everywhere.

In nineteen fifteen we heard it said,
"Move to the country and get ahead."
It's hard times cotton mill girls,
It's hard times everywhere.

CHORUS

Us kids worked twelve hours a day
For fourteen cents of measly pay.
It's hard times cotton mill girls,
It's hard times everywhere.

CHORUS

When I die, don't bury me at all,
Just hang me up on the spinning room wall,
Pickle my bones in alcohol,
It's hard times everywhere.

CHORUS