**(Verse 1)**
Back when I was just a boy, no shoes upon my feet,
I'd trudge five miles to that old schoolhouse through snow and blazin' heat.
No fancy bus to carry me, no daddy's truck to ride,
Just me and that dusty road, with the wind cuttin' deep inside.
**(Chorus)**
It was up hill both ways, in the pourin' rain or shine,
Barefoot through the brambles, Lord, that mountain was mine.
We worked from dawn till dusk, no complainin', no fuss,
Up hill both ways, son, that's how we grew up tough.
**(Verse 2)**
Plowed the fields with a mule team, hands blistered raw and sore,
Chopped wood till my back was breakin', then begged the Lord for more.
No electric lights a-glowin', just a kerosene lamp's faint gleam,
But we made it through the hard times, livin' on hope and dreams.
**(Chorus)**
It was up hill both ways, in the pourin' rain or shine,
Barefoot through the brambles, Lord, that mountain was mine.
We worked from dawn till dusk, no complainin', no fuss,
Up hill both ways, son, that's how we grew up tough.
**(Verse 3)**
Now you young folks got it easy, with cars and radios loud,
Sittin' 'round complainin' while we elders stand proud.
We didn't have your gadgets, but we had grit in our souls,
Fought through the Great Depression, diggin' deep in them coal holes.
**(Chorus)**
Yeah, it was up hill both ways, in the pourin' rain or shine,
Barefoot through the brambles, Lord, that mountain was mine.
We worked from dawn till dusk, no complainin', no fuss,
Up hill both ways, son, that's how we grew up tough.
**(Outro - Fade on Chorus)**
Up hill both ways... that's how we grew up tough.
DickemDown
