"Well, it's _got_ to be. Good-by!"

The time jes melts like a late, last snow,--
When it's _got_ to be, it melts!
But I aim to keep a cheerful mind,
Ef I can't keep nothin' else!
I knowed, when I come to twenty-one,
That I'd soon be twenty-two,--
So I waved one hand at the soft young man,
And I said, "Good-by to _you_!"

It's _got_ to be, and it's _goin'_ to be!
So at least I always try
To kind o' say, in a cheerful way,--
"Well, it's _got_ to be.--Good-by!"

They kep' a-goin', the years and years,
Yet still I smiled and smiled,--
For I'd said "Good-by" to my single life,
And I now had a wife and child:
Mother and son and the father--one,--
Till, last, on her bed of pain,
She jes' smiled up, like she always done,--
And I said "Good-by" again.

It's _got_ to be, and it's _goin'_ to be!
So at least I always try
To kind o' say, in a humble way,--
"Well, it's _got_ to be. Good-by!"