PEOPLES BALLADS
       for the
Piano Forte or Reed Organ
"Envy Not Thy Neighbour" (22 April 1873)
(Song & Chorus)
Words by Richard Arthur.
Music by Mark Mason.
[pseud. of Septimus Winner, 1827-1902]

[Source: 04291@LoC;
Philadelphia: Sep. Winner & Son;
Plate No. 4.12.73-3]

1.
Envy not thy neighbor
  Whether young or old,
Paying for thy labor
  With his gotten gold;
All the petty trifles
  That a purse may buy,
Can purchase not a noble heart
  With honor beating high.

CHORUS
Up and then be doing;
  Work your best to win;
Wait not till tomorrow,
  But today begin,
Up and then be doing;
  Strive the best you can;
For ev'ry toiler in the land
  May prove himself a man.

2.
Enny not the wealthy
  Looking down with scorn,
On the poor and lowly,
  Good tho' humbly born;
Covet not his treasures
  Rich as he may be,
For tho' a poor mechanic you're
  As goog a man as he.

(CHORUS)

3.
Covet not the station
  Of the millionaire,
Tho' thy home be humble--
  Scant thy daily fare.
You may be as happy--
  All may go as well
Tho' but a common workingman
  No goods, nor gold to sell.

(CHORUS)

4.
Curse the corporations
  Hoarding bread and coal,--
Buying Legistlatures
  Void of heart and soul;
Let not wealthy classes
  Wear you bone and blood,
To gain their selfish purposes
  And hold them for their good.

(CHORUS)

5.
Rich men buy their pardons,
  Poor men die in jail,
Rulers have their prices,--
  Caste and soul for sale.
Bankers beg your money--
  Savings of the past
And hold it for a reason, but
  They rob you at the last.

(CHORUS)

6.
Rise then, O ye people!
  Constitute a band,
Joining millions
  O'er your native land,
Bear no wrong taxation
  Such as now ye feel,
For capitol will make you slaves
  If you but choose to kneel.

(CHORUS)