Well, it's hard to play the steel guitar when the singer's out of tune
And the drums will lose their place if the bass comes in too soon
Them harmonies are hard on me in the middle of the afternoon
And it's hard to play the steel guitar when the singer's out of tune
Well, I'll be talkin' to the man at the monitors
And the local sound guy's fired
Just how am I supposed to hear up here?
The boys are sick and tired
We've played a lot of places
And there's one that holds true
It's hard to play the steel guitar
When the singer's out of tune
And the goddamned plane with the gear
Didn't make it here so it made us late
We missed the check and the house tech left
And the gunners took our stage
If they don't turn off that fog machine
I'm gonna shoot somebody soon
'Cause it's hard to play the steel guitar
When the band's all turnin' blue
Well, it's hard to play the steel guitar when the singer's out of tune
And the drums will lose their place if the bass comes in too soon
Them harmonies are hard on me in the middle of the afternoon
And it's hard to play the steel guitar when the singer's out of tune, ow!

♪
There's feedback, buzz and hummin'
How the hell is this place wired?
It's a bunch of thugs that run this club, the promoter is a liar
There's a reason that they call a guarantee a guarantee
Well, it's hard to play the steel guitar
When you might be playin' for free
♪
Well, it's hard to play the steel guitar when the singer's out of tune
And the drums will lose their place if the bass comes in too soon
Them harmonies are hard on me in the middle of the afternoon
Well, it's hard to play the steel guitar when the singer's out of tune (uh-huh)