I remember growing up like it was only yesterday,
Mom and Daddy tried so hard to guide me on my way,
But the hard times and the liquor drove the easy love away,
And the only love I knew about was hard love.
It was hard love every hour of the day,
When Christmas to my birthday was a million years away.
And the fear that came between them drove the tears into my play,
There was love in Daddy's house but it was hard love.

I recall the gentle courtesy you showed me as I tried
To dissemble in politeness all the love I felt inside.
But for every song of laughter was another song that cried,
This ain't no easy weekend, this is hard love.
It was hard love every step of the way.
Hard to be so close to you, so hard to turn away.
But when all the stars and sentimental songs dissolve away
There was nothing left to sing about but hard love.

So I loved you for your courage and your gentle sense of shame,
And I loved you for your laughter and your language and your name,
And I knew it was impossible, but I loved you just the same,
Though the only love I gave to you was hard love.
It was hard love, it was hard on you I know,
When the only love I gave you was a love I couldn't show.
You forgave a heart that loved you as your lover turned to go,
Leaving nothing but the memory of hard love.

So I'm standing in this phone booth with a dollar and a dime,
Wondering what to say to you to ease your troubled mind.
For the Lord's cross might redeem us but our own just waste our time.
And to tell the two apart is always hard love.
So I'll tell you that I love you even though you're far away
And I'll tell you how you've changed me as I live from day to day.
How you helped me to accept myself and I'll not forget to say
That it's never wasted even when it's hard love.
Yes it's hard love, but it's love just the same,
Not the stuff of fantasy, but more than just a game.
And the only kind of miracle that's worthy of the name,
For the love that heals our lives is mostly hard love.