[Verse 1]
Change the oil when you’re supposed to
Drink the things you could make a toast to
No such thing as luck, and don’t lose touch with the ones you grew up close to
I always thought that there was plenty of fish out there in that blue sea
'Til I caught and lost the one that was made for me

[Chorus]
I learned the hard way
No stranger to the long way
Gotta treat her right, you won’t know what you lost until you’re lonely
And the score ain’t always even
Some doors are made for leavin’
Take it from me that most good things in life just don’t come easy
I learned the hard way
I learned the hard way

[Verse 2]
Keep the people by your side
And good friends are hard to find
Only thing that they ain’t making any more of here is time
So say I love you if you mean it
And go practice what you’re preachin'
When it comes to God, ain’t always gotta see it to believe

[Chorus]
I learned the hard way
No stranger to the long way
Gotta treat her right, you won’t know what you lost until you’re lonely
And the score ain’t always even
Some doors are made for leavin’
Take it from me that most good things in life just don’t come easy
I learned the hard way
I learned the hard way
[Verse 3]
I’ve learned you can’t go undefeated
Life comes and goes in seasons
And everything that happens always happens for a reason
The hard way, the hard way

[Chorus]
I learned the hard way
No stranger to the long way
Gotta treat her right, you won’t know what you lost until you’re lonely
And the score ain’t always even
Some doors are made for leavin’
Take it from me that most good things in life just don’t come easy
I learned the hard way
I learned the hard way

[Outro]
I learned the hard way
I learned the hard way