THERE'S A GOOD TIME COMING
Stephen Collins Foster, 1846

1
There's a good time coming, boys,
A good time coming,
A good time coming:
We may not live to see the day,
But earth shall glisten in the ray.
Of the good time coming
Cannon bells may aid the truth,
But thought's a weapon stronger;
We'll win our battle by it's aid;
Wait a little longer.
2
There's a good time coming, boys,
A good time coming,
A good time coming;
The pen shall superced the sword,
And right, not might, shall be the lord.
In the good time coming;
Worth, not birth, shall rule mankind,
And be acknowledg'd stronger;
The proper impulse has been giv'n;
Wait a little longer.
3
There's a good time coming, boys,
A good time coming,
a good time coming;
War in all mens eyes shall be
A monster of inequity.
In the good time coming,
Nations shall not quarrel then,
To prove which is stronger;
Nor slaughter men for glory's sake;
Wait a little longer.
4
There's a good time coming, boys,
A good time coming,
A good time coming:
Shameful rivalries of creed
Shall not make the martyr bleed,
In the good time coming.
Religion shall be shorn of pride,
And flourish all the stronger;
And Charity shall trim her lamp;
Wait a little longer.
5
There's a good time coming, boys,
A good time coming,
A good time coming;
And a poor man's family,
Shall not be his misery.
In the good time coming;
Ev'ry child shall be a help,
To make his right arm stronger;
The happier he, the more he has;
Wait a little longer.
6
There's a good time coming, boys,
A good time coming,
A good time coming;
Little children shall not toil
Under, or above the soil.
In the good time coming.
But shall play in healthful fields,
Till limbs and minds grow stronger;
And ev'ry one shall read and write;
Wait a little longer.
7
There's a good time coming, boys,
A good time coming,
A good time coming;
The people shall be temperate,
And shall love instead of hate,
In the good time coming.
They shall use, and not abuse,
And make all virtue stronger;
The reformation has begun;
Wait a little longer.
8
There's a good time coming, boys,
A good time coming,
A good time coming;
Let us aid it all we can,
Ev'ry woman ev'ry man,
The good time coming.
Smallest helps, if rightly giv'n,
Make the impulse stronger;
'twill be strong enough one day;
Wait a little longer.

Sheet music first published by Peters & Field, Cincinnati; Peters & Webster, Louisville; and Firth, Pond & Hall, New York, 1846; "lines from the London Daily News; dedicated to Miss Mary D. Keller."
Sheet music in American Memory and Lester S. Levy Collections.
Midi at There's a Good Time Coming

Verse six with "Little children shall not toil, Under, or above the soil," is an early condemnation of child labor in the mines and in the fields.
The song is a good companion piece for "Hard Times Come Again No More."