Hard Times Come Again No More

Stephen C. Foster 1826 (Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania) – 1864 (New York City, New York)



Let us pause in life's pleasures and count its many tears,
While we all sup sorrow with the poor;
There's a song that will linger forever in our ears;
Oh, hard times come again no more.

Chorus:

'Tis the song, the sigh of the weary,
Hard times, hard times, come again no more,
Many days you have lingered around my cabin door,
Oh, hard times, come again no more.

While we seek mirth and beauty and music light and gay,
There are frail forms fainting at the door;
Though their voices are silent, their pleading looks will say
Oh, hard times come again no more.

Chorus

There's a pale drooping maiden who toils her life away,
With a worn heart whose better days are o'er:
Though her voice would be merry, 'tis sighing all the day,
Oh, hard times come again no more.

Chorus

'Tis a sigh that is wafted across the troubled wave,
'Tis a wail that is heard upon the shore,
'Tis a dirge that is murmured around the lowly grave,
Oh, hard times come again no more.

Chorus

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 25, 2023

56 sec read
145

Quick analysis:

Scheme xxxA xaaA babA bxbA cacA
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 946
Words 183
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Stephen C. Foster

Stephen Collins Foster, known as "the father of American music", was an American songwriter known primarily for his parlor and minstrel music. more…

All Stephen C. Foster poems | Stephen C. Foster Books

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    How many syllables an Iambic Pentameter line must have?
    A 12
    B 3
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    D 20