Lyr. Add: MOTHERLESS CHILDREN HAVE A HARD TIME

Motherless children have a hard time
Motherless children have a hard time, mother's dead
They'll not have anywhere to go, wanderin' around from door to door
Have a hard time.

Nobody on earth can take a mother's place when mother is dead, Lord
Nobody on earth takes mother's place,
when you were startin', paved the way
Nobody treats you like mother will, when mother is dead.

Your wife or husband may be good to you, when mother is dead, Lord
They'll be good to you, mother's dead
A wife or a husband may be good to you,
but, better than nothing has proved untrue
Nobody treats you like mother will when, when mother is dead, Lord.

Lord Lord Lord
Well some people say that sister will do, when mother is dead
That sister will do when mother's dead
Some people will say that sister will do,
but, as soon as she's married, she turn her back on you
Nobody treats you like mother will.

And father will do the best he can, when mother is dead, Lord
Well, the best he can do when mother is dead
Father will do the best he can,
so many things a father can't understand
nobody treats you like mother will.

Motherless children have a hard time, when mother is dead, Lord
Motherless children have a hard time, mother's dead
They'll not have anywhere to go,
Wanderin' around from door to door
Have a hard time.

Blind Willie Johnson, Columbia C2K-52835 ©. Harry's Blues Lyrics Online. The sound clip is inactive. There may be mistakes in the website's transcription of the lyric; it is copied as given with one or two corrections of obvious mistakes.
@blues @lament
I would not classify this song as either spiritual or gospel; religion is not mentioned. I don't know why the Lomax's placed it there.