[John Legend]
 Yeah-yeah, ooohhhhhhhhh
 So many hard times
 Yea-yeahhhhhh, ooohhhhhhhhhh
 Yeahhhh-yeah-yeah-yeah, yeah-yeahhhh
 YEAHHHHH, yeah-yeah
YEAHHHHHHHHHH

 Cold, cold eyes upon me they stare
People all around me and they're all in fear
They don't seem to want me but they won't admit
 I must be some kind of creature up here having fits
 From my party house, I'm afraid [bad word] outside
 Although I'm filled with love, I'm afraid they'll hurt my pride
 So I play the part I feel they want of me
 And I pull the shades so I won't see them seeing me

 [Hook: John Legend - 2X]
 Having hard times, in this crazy town
 Having hard times, there's no love to be found

 [John Legend]
 Yeah, yeah, yeah
 In my party house I feel like meeting others
 Familiar faces, creed and race, a brother
 But to my surprise I find a man [bad word]  Although he be my brother, he wants to hold me up

 [Hook: John Legend - 2X]

 [Black Thought]
Check it out, seventeen years and counting
Of tryna climb up the rough side of the mountain
Friends warned me I'mma have to do it without them
 No problem really, it was never about them
So my house, I [bad word] out from
 Cause every day a drought, then a shadow of [bad word] I'm down to do whatever if it betters my [bad word] The city's like the Audubon Ballroom waiting on Malcolm
Cause people wanna see my blood flow like fountains
I got nowhere to go and still feel like bouncing
I'm looking for the closest window I can rap from
 Or for the highest speaker-box that I can shout from
And I'm hoping to feel like something is real
But it's no hope when you are but a spoke in a wheel
 brick in a wall, tryna find an opening still
 Having hard times, tryna climb over the hill

 [John Legend]
 Yeah, so many hard times, yeah, yeah
 Sleeping on motel floors, yeah, yeah
 Knocking on my brother's door
 Eating Spam, Oreos
 Drinking Thunderbird baby, yeaaaaaaahhhh

 [Hook: John Legend - 4X]

 [John Legend]
 Yea-yeah, yea-yeah, yeah
 Yeah, yeah, yeaaaahhh, yeah
 Yeah, mmmmm, yeah, yeaaah
 So many hard times, yeah, yeah
 Sleeping on motel floors, yeah, yeah
 Knocking on my brother's door
 Eating Spam and Oreos
 Drinking Thunderbird baby, ohhhhhhhhh, yeah
 I don't wanna do it no more
 No-no-no, no-no
 I don't wanna go back there no more
 No-ohhhhhh
 I don't wanna, I don't wanna, I don't wanna, I don't wanna..