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There’s Better Things to Do

[Peggy Seeger]

Peggy Seeger wrote There’s Better Things to Do, in 1958 as a marching song for the first Aldermaston march against the H bomb. The melody is the gospel song There’s Better Things. She sang this song on her and Ewan MacColl’s 1960 Folkways album New Briton Gazette Vol. 1.

Jenn Butterworth sang Better Things on her and Will Pound’s 2023 album Volume 1.

Lyrics

Peggy Seeger sings There’s Better Things to Do

Kind friends, I want to warn you
Because I love us all,
No doubt you read your papers,
But the half can never be told.
Politicians they try and fool you
And get you to agree
To blow this world to glory
And end humanity.

Chorus (after each verse):
But there’s better things to do
Than blow this world in two;
You could live into your old age
And your kid’ll be normal too.
There’s better things for you
That all on earth must do:
Gotta pledge your feet on the road to peace
And see your journey through.

Now some folks think that danger
Can’t reach this peaceful shore,
They must see planes and soldiers
Before they call It war.
Kind friends, I will remind you,
The atom’s very small.
It’ll blow you all to glory
And you can’t see it at all.

Now some folks they are holy,
In the Bible it is told
That judgement comes tomorrow
So today pray for your soul.
But that is not sufficient
Tomorrow is today.
They’ll blow you all to glory
While we just sit and pray.