Cover art for Hush-a-Bye Hard Times by Dolly Parton

Hush-a-Bye Hard Times

Produced by

Nov. 17, 19801 viewer

Hush-a-Bye Hard Times Lyrics

Many years you have lingered around my cabin door
Oh hard times come again no more
Oh hard times come again no more

Oh hush-a-bye hard times, go ye away
'Cause my hungry baby wants a gingerbread cake
Not a cow in the barnyard, no money to spend
Not an egg in the hayloft, no little red hen

So hush-a-bye baby, don't cry no more
Your mama can't give you what you're crying for
There's a wolf at the door with an angry cold hungry stare
He keeps howling of hard times and the cupboard is bare

Oh hush-a-bye hard times, go ye to rest
'Cause my ragged baby wants a new ruffled dress
And she wants some new shoes with buckles to wear
And she wants some silver bows for her golden hair

So hush-a-bye baby, don't cry no more
Your mama can't give you what you're crying for
There's a wolf at the door with an angry cold hungry stare
He keeps howling of hard times and the cupboard is bare

Hush-a-bye baby, don't cry no more
Your mama can't give you what you're crying for
Hush-a-bye hard times go ye away
I don't intend to be treated this way
So hush-a-bye baby
Hush-a-bye hard times
Hush-a-bye baby
Don't cry no more
Hush-a-bye hard times
Hush-a-bye baby
Hush-a-bye hard times
Come ye no more

Many years you have lingered around my cabin door
Hush-a-bye hard times
Come ye no more
Hush-a-bye baby
Hush-a-bye hard times
Hush-a-bye baby
Don't cry no more
Hush-a-bye hard times
Hush-a-bye baby
Hush-a-bye hard times
Come ye no more

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

To learn more, check out our transcription guide or visit our transcribers forum

About

This song bio is unreviewed
Genius Annotation

Hush-a-Bye Hard Times is the second track on Parton’s critically acclaimed 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs album.

It is a mash-up of the American folk tune “Hard Times (Come Again No More)” by Stephen Foster (1854), and the British lullaby “Rock-a-Bye Baby,” originally published in Mother Goose’s Melody (1765), republished in 1791 using the “Hush-a-Bye Baby” phrasing.

Both the text and music for the first portion of the song are directly lifted from Foster’s “Hard Times,” and the folk song’s familiar lyrics, e.g., “hard times come again no more,” and “many years you have lingered around my cabin door” are alluded to throughout.

Each verse also starts with lyrics from “Hush-a-Bye Baby,” but Parton created some of her own lyrics and melodic twists to give the song a modern, country spin.

Credits
Produced By
Written By
Release Date
November 17, 1980
Tags
Comments