Back in 39 she was 26
The wife of a soldier tryin' to raise four kids
On rationed out beans and watered down milk

Tryin' to keep 'em 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
Tough people pull themselves up by the bootstraps

When they hit hard luck
And they stay strong and they keep on fightin'
Like they don't know how to lose

Tough times don't last
Tough people do
Those talkin' heads on cnn

Say we'll never get out of this hole we're in
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
Tough people pull themselves up by the bootstraps
When they hit hard luck

And they stay strong and they keep on fightin'
Like they don't know how to lose
Tough times don't last

Tough people do
I've been out of work since mid july
My bank account's about bone dry

Been lookin' 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
Tough times don't last
Tough times don't last

Tough people do
Tough people do