Singled Out: Chris Walz's Hard Times Come Again No More

03-14-2025

(aM) Chicago based folk performer and guitarist Chris Walz released his new album, "All I Got And Gone" today, and to celebrate we asked him to tell us about the track "Hard Times Come Again No More".Here is the story:

I used to do "Hard Times Come Again No More" as part of a flatpicking medley along with other instrumental tunes on the guitar. I might start off by playing "Wildwood Flower," and then go into "Home Sweet Home," "Whiskey Before Breakfast," and maybe end with "Hard Times." They work together nicely as a showcase for some solo flatpicking on the guitar.

Somewhere along the way, I started to think about the song itself, and how the sentiment of "Hard Times Come Again No More" had some relevance. I started to think about some of the imagery in the song; taking a moment from your own everyday life to reflect, and maybe act, in a positive way, on the needs of people who are less fortunate. The idea of the haves and have-nots is so prevalent, and the wish that the hard times, whatever that means for each of us, will someday be less. I also think that it's interesting that a song written in the 1850s should still have relevance today.

In typical bluegrass style fashion, the lyrics have a somewhat reflective quality, and the guitar part is more upbeat. So many bluegrass songs are like that. In my arrangement, I wanted to try to strike a balance between the sentiment of the words and the pulse of the guitar part.

What I tried to do in the studio was to record in an "old-school" fashion. I wanted everything to be complete takes with no punches or fixes of notes. It's the sound that the records I grew up with have. And I wanted to try to capture that with this whole album. The only concession I made to modern digital wizardry was, if I was going along through a take and hit some bad notes or missed some words, I would keep the rhythm going and pick up where I left off. Then, in the control room, the engineer, John Abbey, and I would snip out the part where the mistake was. So it would all be from the same take and with the same energy. So maybe I'm not a complete perfectionist, but it's close.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more here