Digital Tradition Mirror

Brighter Days in Store

(This score available as ABC, SongWright, PostScript, PNG, or PMW, or a MIDI file)
Pennywhistle notation and Dulcimer tab for this song is also available

Brighter Days in Store

I will sing of the Mormons, the people of the Lord,
Since the time that Joseph prayed for light,
And the way they've been guided by Jesus' holy word,
And saved by the power of his might.

cho: 'Tis the song, the sigh of the Mormons,
     Hard times, hard times long have pressed us sore;
     Many days they have lingered around our cabin door,
     But now we've brighter days in store.

Each time that the wicked have tried to overthrow
And to bring the work of God to naught,
The way has been opened for the saints to escape,
A ram in the thicket was caught.

The grasshoppers, crickets, and mobbers all combined
Were powerless to crush our noble cause;
The more we are hated, the more we are maligned,
The more the Church of Jesus grows.

Tune: Hard Times Come Again No More (Stephen Foster)
"Through all their hardships and persecutions the Mormon people always
had a hope burning brightly within them that all would work out for
the best. Even after they arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, trials still
were heaped upon them. Persecutors followed them; the government sent
an army to put down their presumed rebellion; even the elements and
insects seemed to be against them. Through all this they remained
steadfast, believing, and rightly so, that brighter days lay ahead.
"(Music of the Mormons, p. 40)
This is one version that the Mormons made of the famous Stephen Foster
song. It is said to have been a favorite of Brigham Young. Some of the
versions were less serious, one was about irrigation and had the chorus
"Ditches, ditches, ditches break no more."

JW
oct97

Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!