Better Times Are Coming

There are voices of hope that are borne on the air,
And our land will be freed from its clouds of despair,
For brave men and true men to battle have gone,
And good times, good times are now coming on.
Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!
Sound the news from the din of battle booming,
Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!
Sound the news from the din of battle booming,
Tell the people far and wide that better times are coming.
Tell the people far and wide that better times are coming.
2
Abra'm Lincoln has the army and the navy in his hands,
While Seward keeps our honor bright abroad in foreign lands;
And Stanton is a man, who is sturdy as a rock,
With brave men to back him up and stand the battle's shock.
3
Now McClellan is a leader and we'll let him take the sway,
For a man in his position, he should surely have his way.
Our nation's honor'd Scott, he has trusted to his might,
Your faith in McClellan put for we are sure he's right.
4
Generals Lyon and Baker and Ellsworth now are gone,
But still we have some brave men to lead the soldiers on;
The noise of the battle will soon have died away,
And the darkness now upon us will be turn'd to happy day.
5
Generals Sigel and Halleck they have conquered in the West,
And Burnside, victorious, he rides the ocean's breast,
The traitors and the rebels will soon meet their doom;
Then peace and prosperity will dwell in every home.
6
Captain Foote is commander of the Mississippi fleet,
For his flag he strikes and makes the traitors beat a quick retreat;
With iron-clad gun-boats he makes the rebels run,
While Grant makes our colors wave and glitter in the sun.
7
General Fremont the path-finder never lags behind,
He is gone to the mountains, new pathways to find,
His voice is for freedom, and his sword is for the right,
Then hail! noble Fremont the nation's delight.
8
From the land of the Shamrock there's stuff that never yields,
For we've brave Colonel Corcoran, and gallant General Shields;
From Meagher soon we'll hear, for we know that he is true,
And stands for the honor of the Red, White and Blue.
9
Here's health to Captain Ericsson, the Monitor and crew,
Who showed the southern chivalry a thing they never knew;
The Merrimac had slayed as St. Patrick did the toads,
Till Worden with the Monitor came into Hampton roads.

The Song of All Songs

As you've walked through the town on a fine summer's day,
The subject I've got, you have seen, I dare say;
Upon fences and railings, where ever you go,
You'll see the penny ballads sticking up, in a row;
The titles to read you may stand for a while,
And some are so odd, they will cause you to smile;
I noted them down as I read them along,
And I've put them together to make up my song.
Old songs! New songs! Ev'ry kind of song,
I noted them down as I read them along.
2
There was ' Abraham's Daughter ' ' Going out upon a spree, '
With ' Old Uncle Snow ' ' In the Cottage by the sea; '
' If your foot is pretty, show it ' ' At Lanigan's Ball; '
And ' Why did she leave him ' ' On the raging Canawl? '
There was ' Bonnie Annie ' with ' A jockey hat and feather; '
' I don't think much of you ' ' We were boys and girls together. '
' Do they think of me at home? ' ' I'll be free and easy still; '
' Give us now a good Commander ' with ' The Sword of Bunker Hill. '
3
' When this Cruel War is over, ' ' No Irish need apply, '
' For, every thing is lovely, and the Goose hangs high; '
' The Young Gal from New Jersey, ' ' Oh, wilt thou be my bride? '
And ' Oft in the Stilly Night ' ' We'll all take a ride. '
' Let me kiss him for his Mother, ' ' He's a Gay Young Gambolier; '
' I'm going to fight mit Sigel ' and ' De bully Lager-bier. '
' Hunkey Boy is Yankee Doodle ' ' When the Cannons loudly roar, '
' We are coming, Father Abraham, six hundred thousand more! '
4
' In the days when I was hard up ' with ' My Mary Ann, '
' My Johnny was a Shoemaker, ' or ' Any other Man! '
' The Captain with his whiskers ' and ' Annie of the Vale, '
Along with ' Old Bob Ridley ' ' A riding on a rail! '
' Rock me to sleep, Mother, ' ' Going round the Horn; '
' I'm not myself at all, ' ' I'm a Bachelor forlorn. '
' Mother, is the Battle over? ' ' What are the men about? '
' How are you, Horace Greeley, ' ' Does your Mother know you're out? '
5
' We won't go home till morning, ' with ' The Bold Privateer, '
' Annie Lisle ' and ' Zouave Johnny ' ' Riding in a Railroad Kerr; '
' We are coming, Sister Mary, ' with ' The Folks that put on airs. '
' We are marching along ' with ' The Four-and-Thirty Stars; '
' On the other side of Jordan ' ' Don't fly your Kite too high! '
' Jenny's coming o'er the Green, ' to ' Root Hog or die! '
' Our Union's Starry Banner, ' ' The Flag of Washington. '
Shall float victorious o'er the land from Maine to Oregon!