Those Were the Hard Times

To have lived back when this country was new, A very hard time, but they did what they had to do. The government gave land grants, but they had to improve what they were given, And just like today they had slackers and they had those who were driven. Much of the country was raw and wild and had to be tamed, With courage and the willingness to use their guns, that's how the wild west was named. Outlaws and Indians, and then the real threat were the bears and lions, And bad water or no water and snakes of every size and kind. But they had hope and determination and the will that only God can instill, They wanted a better life for themselves and their families and this was their only deal. Everybody pulled their own weight even the young worked back then, There was just so much to do and it seemed like so little time to do it in. But out of these hard times came a breed of men like none since, With courage and kinship, always willing to come to a neighbors defense. Helping each other through hard times was the only help these courageous people had, Having it rough was a way of life, they never looked on it as being bad. No electricity, no running water, no inside plumbing, how could they survive? They had intestinal fortitude, they didn't know they were being deprived. They took each day as it came and did the best that they could, Just thankful for what they had and considered each day alive to be good.