Come here ladies and gentleman   Listen to my song   Play it to you right   But you may think it wrong   May make you mad   But I mean no harm   It's just about the renters   On Penny's farm   It's a hard time in the country   Down on Penny's farm       Go into the fields   And you work all day   Deep into the night   But you get no pay   Promise you some meat   Or a little bucket of lard   It's hard to make a living   On Penny's farm   It's a hard time in the country   Down on Penny's farm       Hear George Penny   He'll be coming into town   With a wagon load of peaches   Not a one of them sound   Gotta get his money   Gotta get a check   Pay you for a bushel   But you never get a peck   It's a hard time in the country   Down on Penny's farm       George Penny's renters   They be coming into town   With their hands in their pockets   And their heads hanging down   Go to the merchant   And the merchant he'll say,    “your mortgage it is due   And I'm looking for my pay”    It's a hard time in the country   Down on Penny's farm       Deep into his pocket   With a trembling hand,    “can't pay you what I owe   But i'll pay you what I can”    Down to the merchant   And the merchant make a call   Put you on the chain gang   Don't pay at all   It's a hard time in the country   Down on Penny's farm