To William Dressler, Esq.
"The World As It Is" (25 Feb 1853)
Song or Quartette
by George Frederick Root, 1820-1895

New York: William Hall & Son, 239 Broadway
Plate No. 2285
[Source: 540220@LoC]

1.
This world is not so bad a world 
As some would like to make it, 
Tho’ whether good or whether bad, 
Depends on how we take it; 
For if we scold and fret all day, 
From dewy morn ’till even’, 
This world will ne’er afford to man, 
A foretaste here of heaven.

2.
This world in truth’s as good a world
As e’er was known to any,
Who have not seen another yet,
(And these are very many)
And if the men and women too,
Have plenty of employment,
Those surely must be hard to please
Who cannot find enjoyment.

3.
This world is quite a clever world
In rain or pleasant weather,
If people would but learn to live
In harmony together;
Nor seek to burst the kindly bond
By love and peace cemented,
And learn that best of lessons yet—
To always be contented.

4.
Then were this world a pleasant world,
And pleasant folks were in it,
The day would pass most pleasantly
To those who thus begin it;
And all the nameless grievances,
Brought on by borrowed troubles,
Would prove as certainly they are,—
A mass of empty bubbles.