Uploaded July 2011 | Updated September 2026, 13 hours ago
Bob Dylan Folksingers Choice - Hard Times In New York (11)
Radio Show with Cynthia Gooding
March 11th 1962
Bob Dylan Folksingers Choice - Hard Times In New York (11)
Radio Show with Cynthia Gooding
March 11th 1962









![Skip James - Hard Time Killin Floor Blues
Skip James - Hard Time Killin Floor Blues
Nehemiah Curtis Skip James (June 9,[1] 1902 October 3, 1969[2]) was an American delta blues singer, guitarist, pianist and songwriter. Born in Bentonia, Mississippi, he first learned to play guitar from another bluesman from the area, Henry Stuckey. His guitar playing is noted for its dark, minor sound, played in an open D-minor tuning with an intricate fingerpicking technique. James first recorded for Paramount Records in 1931, but these recordings sold poorly due to the Great Depression, and he drifted into obscurity. After a long absence from the public eye, James was rediscovered in 1964 by three blues enthusiasts, helping further the blues and folk music revival of the 1950s and early 60s. During this period, James appeared at several folk and blues festivals and gave live concerts around the county, also recording several albums for various record labels. He died in 1969 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His songs have influenced several generations of musicians, being adapted by Kansas Joe McCoy, Robert Johnson, Cream, Deep Purple, Chris Thomas King, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Beck, Big Sugar, and Rory Block.
Lyrics
Hard times is here
An evrywhere you go
Times are harder
Than thever been befo
Um, hm-hm
Um-hm
Um, hm-hm
Um, hm-hm-hm
You know that people
They are driftin from do to do
But they cant find no heaven
I dont care where they go
Um, hm-hm
Um-uh-hm
Mm-hm-hm
Um, hm-hm-hm
People, if I ever can get up
Off a-this old hard killin flo
Lord, Ill never get down
This low no mo
Um, hm-hm-hm
Hm, um-hm
Hm, hm-hm
Hm, hm-hm-hm
Well, you hear me singin
This old lonesome song
People, you know these hard times
Cant last us so long
Hm, hm-hm
Hmm, hmm
Hm, hm-hm
Hm, hm-hm, oh Lord
You know, youll say you had money
You better be sho
But these hard times gon kill you
Just drive a lonely soul
Um, hm-hm
Umm, hmm
Umm, hm-hm
Hm, hm-hm-hm
Umm-hm
Hmm-hm-hm
Umm-hm
Hm-hm-hm
Hmm, hm-hm-hm Skip James - Hard Time Killin Floor Blues](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/orDprwmKmac/mqdefault.jpg)
