[Verse 1]
Back in '39 she was 26
The wife of a soldier trying to raise four kids
On rationed out beans and watered down milk
Trying to keep them all warm with a patchwork quilt
That great depression ended about 1945
But grandma lived to be 92
See, tough times don't last
Tough people do

[Chorus]
Tough people pull themselves up by the bootstraps
When they hit hard luck
And they stay strong and they keep on fighting
Like they don't know how to lose
Tough times don't last
Tough people do

[Verse 2]
Those talking heads on CNN
Say we'll never get out of this hole we're in
The price of gas is up and the market's down
And there's a bunch of empty houses in every town
Well, I'd interrupt that program with a little headline of my own
This just in from the old red, white and blue
Tough times don't last
Tough people do
[Chorus]

[Verse 3]
I've been out of work since mid July
My bank account's about bone dry
Been looking for a job no luck so far
But I bought a little time when I sold my car
Well, I'll go dig a ditch if that's what it takes
Baby, somehow or another we'll get through

[Outro]
Tough times don't last [x2]
Tough people do [x2]