Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen is an African-American spiritual song that originated during the Civil War. The lyrics expresses the pain suffered by the slaves and offers them hope through passionate religious beliefs. Although the song has been around since the time of slavery in the Southern U.S., it was not published until 1867. Over the years, it has been covered by notable musicians including Marian Anderson, Lena Horne, Louis Armstrong, Harry James, Paul Robeson, and Sam Cooke.
Appearance on MWC[]
In "My Mom, The Mom", Peggy, Kelly and Bud sing the song to Al to mock him after he complains that he has to now pay $60 to replace Bud's lost winter jacket and that it would have cost a lot less back in his day.
In "England Show (Part 1)", a group of dogs next to Buck sing the song while they sit in their dog kennels.
In "Kelly Doesn't Live Here Anymore", after Peg declares that she doesn't have a daughter (as Kelly is working as a waitress and going against Peg and the Wanker tradition of the women in the family never working), she recites the opening lines of the song before noticing all the food that Kelly brought home from her job.
Lyrics[]
Nobody knows the trouble that I've seen
Nobody knows my sorrow
Nobody knows the trouble that I've seen
Glory hallelujah
Nobody knows the trouble that I've seen
Nobody knows my, my sorrow
Nobody knows the trouble that I've seen
Glory hall glory hallelujah
Sometimes I'm up and sometimes I'm down
Oh, yes lord
You know sometimes almost to the ground
Oh, oh yes lord
Still, nobody knows the trouble that I've seen
Nobody, nobody knows my, my sorrow
Nobody knows the trouble that I've seen
Glory hallelujah
If you get there before I do
Oh, oh yes lord
Don't forget to tell all my friends I'm coming too
Whoa, oh yes lord
Still, nobody knows the trouble that I've seen
Nobody knows my sorrow
Nobody knows the trouble that I've seen
Glory hall hallelujah