Broken Down

AKAHard up and broken down
Hard up yet broken down
First Published1868

Writer/composerHarry CliftonRoudRN7446

Music Hall PerformersHarry Clifton
Folk performancesCollected from the singing of:
Richmond, Ted ; USA ; Arkansas ; 1931
Vance, Randolph ; Arkansas ; 1941
Ellertson, Ephraim ; USA, Utah ; 1946
Wood, Jane ; USA ; Arkansas ; 1961
BROKEN DOWN
Written and Sung by Harry Clifton

Once I'd money plenty,
And friends too, by the score,
Then fortune smiled upon me,
And no-one passed my door;
Now I'm poor and lonely,
And not worth half-a-crown,
No-one seems to know me,
I'm completely broken down!

I wander through the world,
And meet with many a frown!
No-one seems to notice me,
Because I'm broken down

With an ample fortune,
I went it rather fast!
The pace was almost killing,
And I found it couldn't last;
Too proud to put the kerb on,
I thought byself high-bred,
And now for want of bread,
At times, I have to fast instead.

Our immortal Shakespeare
Says, 'All the world's a stage,
And every man must play his part.'
From childhood to old age;
And when I think of days gone by,
How, I was made the tool
Of rogues and sharps, 'tis then I know
'My part has been the fool!'

Friends could recognise me,
When Poole he made my coat,
But when I had no 'Note to change',
How soon they 'changed their note!'
An object sad and needy
I wander through the town,
A living paradox am I,
'Hard up!' yet 'broken down!'

[Final chorus]
I wander through the world,
And meet with many a frown!
The times to try your friends, you'll find,
Is when you're broken down.

A song written and sung by the prolific Harry Clifton, it was widely published on both sides of the Atlantic in the late 19th and early 20th century, both as official sheet music and in semi-legal songsters and broadsides.

Newspaper reports suggest that in the 1870s the song was sung by professional and amateur performers all over the English-speaking world (UK, New Zealand, Australia, America and Canada). These reports suggest it was often sung under the title Hard up and broken down.

It was later collected from the singing of several traditional American singers in the mid twentieth century, for example it was collected as a “Mormon Folksong” from the singing of Ephraim Ellertson in Utah in 1946 (another Clifton song later collected as a Mormon Folksong was Where there’s a will there’s a way)

Here is a version from the University of Arkansas Ozark Folksong Collection:

Hard up and broken down, Jane Wood, May 1961

Sources:

Thanks to Robert Waltz for additional information.

Last Updated on February 24, 2026 by John Baxter | Published: February 22, 2026

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