Image and caption: Negro plowing corn. He is a tenant; raises mainly tobacco; has lived here for four years. The cornfield is grassy and poor. On dirt road from Highway 144. Person County, North Carolina. He is saying “You ain’t looking for money, is you?” Person County, North Carolina, Farm Security Administration – Office of War Information Photograph Collection (Library of Congress), LC-USF34- 019921-E

Lyrics:

Just when you think you’ll get ahead
The worst bad luck will stop you dead
And leave you deeper in hock than you started instead-- 
The way a poor man’s lot gets harder every day

Just when you’re sure you can’t take no more--
‘Cause  you’ve got trouble in spades, and debt galore 
Here comes a bankerman knocking on your front door--
‘Cause  a poor man’s lot gets harder every day

When you’re most in need of catching a break
You’re leastest likely to get a fair shake
It’s enough to keep a poor man lying awake---

‘Cause just when you mostest need a hand
You’ll find there ain’t much kindness in this land
It’s a sad fact but easy to understand 
Why a poor man’s lot gets harder every day

So I wish you the bestest luck my friend
‘Cause til these hardest hard times end
It’s a fat chance our fortune’s will be on the mend--
‘Cause  a poor man’s gets harder every day