Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes is the seventh studio album by American punk rock band Social Distortion, released on January 18, 2011.

[11] Asked in April 2007 about Social Distortion's plans for the coming months, Ness replied, "I had a song that was pretty much the template for the new album, and we went in and recorded it.

"[12] In July 2007, Ness told Billboard.com that Social Distortion had "a lot of songs" that never appeared on Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll, and was revisiting demos that he had recorded in 1994.

[13] Asked in December what the current status of the album was, Ness told The Denver Post that the band was still writing new material and doing a new song in a setlist but would have to stop performing live before recording could take place.

[18] In October, guitarist Jonny "2 Bags" Wickersham told Boston Examiner that Social Distortion was expected to enter the studio on February 1 for a late spring release.

He said the self-produced, still-untitled album, which he hopes to release before the end of the year, would feature the classic Social Distortion sound – a combination of punk, rockabilly and country, presumably.

He explained, "It's funny – the record reminds me very much of Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell, but also I'm bringing elements of early New York '70s punk, influences that maybe haven't come out as prominently in my writing in the past.

[21] On May 20, 2010, Social Distortion updated their Twitter with this post saying, "the album is tracked... finishing up writing and getting ready to head back into the studio to record vocals."

[22] At a show in Poughkeepsie, New York on July 27, 2010, Ness revealed that the new Social Distortion album would be called Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes and also promised a November release date.

AllMusic's Mark Deming gave the album a rating of three-and-a-half stars out of five and states that it "is clearly the work of a band that still gives a damn about their rock & roll, no matter how familiar the surroundings.

While 2004's Sex, Love and Rock 'N' Roll saw Ness digging deeper into personal concerns, Hard Times finds him stepping back a few paces; while 'Can't Take It with You,' 'Gimme the Sweet and Lowdown,' and 'Still Alive' find Ness waxing philosophical, most of these songs exist in the world of cool cars, tough dames, and bad-luck guys who've been part of his regular cast of characters since the album Prison Bound in 1988.