The Ramblin' Letters: Music
Hard Times on the Bayou
Tune of Robert's Farm,aka, Tenant's Farm updated for N.O. post Katrina
Hard Times on the Bayou
Come a ladies and gentlemen listen to my song
I’ll sing it to you right but you might hear it wrong
Just a little picture of a story I’ll tell
About a Gulf Coast city that you all know well
It’s hard times on the bayou, livin’ down in New Orleans
Well everybody knows how Katrina came to town
And when the levees broke how our city did drown
High water pushin’ people out of their homes
Can’t believe what happened in the Superdome
It’s hard times on the bayou, livin’ down in New Orleans
There’s people that are leavin’, there’s people coming back
People in their mansions, people in their shacks
Emergency preparedness, evacuation plans
Garland Robinette is getting word out to his fans
It’s hard times on the bayou, livin’ down in New Orleans
We got spotty reception on our cellular phones
People getting stranded on a bumpy road home
Double lane closures on the Mississippi bridge
Got a Congressman with 90,000 dollars in his fridge
It’s hard times on the bayou, livin’ down in New Orleans
We got homeless seeking shelter underneath the interstate
FEMA trailer fumes that are causing folks to ache
Its hard to find a doctor; its hard to find a nurse
Some say its getting better, Lord, I hope it don’t get worse
It’s hard times on the bayou, livin’ down in New Orleans
A man in the east wants to rebuild his home
Can’t get a permit ‘cause its in a flood zone
Says that his wife has been drivin’ to tears
Since the judge throughout the suit against the Corps of Engineers
It’s hard times on the bayou, livin’ down in New Orleans
Well the property taxes are rising through the roof
Overworked cops suiting armor bulletproof
National Guard troops stationed all around
Heard the mayor’s got his family livin’ in another town
It’s hard times on the bayou, livin’ down in New Orleans
Well I wouldn’t have believed it but one day I saw
Senator John Edwards in the Lower Ninth Ward
Anderson Cooper with his cameras pointed at us
Brad and Angelina just a-walking on passed us
It’s hard times on the bayou, livin’ down in New Orleans
Well I’ll go to the Mardi Gras and have me some wine
I’ll go to the Jazz Fest and pass a good time
But all of good times will come to an end
And hurricane season will be coming back again
It’s hard times on the bayou, livin’ down in New Orleans
Well I went down to city hall but no one was there
Except for a choir united in prayer
Praying that Charity won’t forever be closed
And if another storm comes that the levees will hold
It’s hard times on the bayou, livin’ down in New Orlean