Light & Tense

It’s been a long dark night
And I’ve been a waitin’ for the morning
It’s been a long hard fight
But I see a brand new day a dawning
I’ve been looking for the sunshine
You know, I ain’t seen it in so long
And everything’s gonna work out just fine
And everything’s gonna be all right
That’s been all wrong.

Dolly Parton

I love the way Dolly Parton mixes three tenses in the opening verse of this song. (Above, in the setting arranged by Craig Hella Johnson, performed by Conspirare.)

Past: “It’s been a long dark night.”

Present: “I see a brand new day dawning.”

Future: “Everything’s gonna be all right.”

It doesn’t happen all at once. But over time, everything will work out fine.

(Plus: a regular reminder to listen to Dolly Parton’s America)


This song will always be associated with 2020 to me – this arrangement was meant to be at the center of the performance set we took to Europe last summer. I can’t hear it without seeing the students who didn’t get this experience, thanks to COVID-19. But I know that everything’s gonna be all right.