A tornado tore through a Midwest town
Wasn't nothin' in it's path it didn't take down
'Ept the Baptist church and a ball field
Then they rebuilt
Talk about tough people
She was four years old when they got the news
It was in her little lungs, it was stage two
Mama spent every night by her bed
And daddy shaved his head
Talk about tough people
Yeah, there were plenty of times she could've gave up
But she didn't
Nah, she fought like hell 'til she rang that bell in Memphis
Oh, there's a whole lotta bad in the world out there
Oh, and it's hard to keep goin' when it don't seem fair
Keep on fighting when you're back's against the wall
Keep on getting back up when you fall
Keep on keeping your head held high
'Cause I still believe
Hard work pays off
Good beats evil
And tough times make tough people
It's a single mom working two jobs a day
And a farmer barely getting by needing rain
It's a grandma waiting tables working through the pain
It's a cop on a call running in gun drawn
'Cause a shooter's in a schoolhouse hallway
Oh, there's a whole lotta bad in the world out there
Oh, and it's hard to keep goin' when it don't seem fair
Keep on fighting when you're back's against the wall
Keep on getting back up when you fall
Keep on keeping your head held high
'Cause I still believe
Hard work pays off
Good beats evil
And tough times make tough people
Oh, tough people
Yeah
He was dog tags, boots, and Army green
Shipped off somewhere to keep us all free
Came back in a box with a flag on it
Hits home don't it
Talk about tough people
Man, talk about some tough people, hey
Oh, there's a whole lotta bad in the world out there
Oh, and it's hard to keep goin' when it don't seem fair
But I still believe
Hard work pays off
Good beats evil
And tough times make tough people
Yeah, sure makes some tough people