Listening to country/gospel music, one frequently hears the phrase “the bye and bye.” What /where is the “bye and bye.”
It’s the “by and by.”
That would be Heaven. Often phrased as the sweet by and by.
It comes from the Bible, used several times in Mark. And it does mean “soon” or “presently.”
However, in gospel songs, it can mean the hereafter:
or it can mean a promise that you’ll get to heaven some day.
“By and by” as an adverbial phrase means at some future time. “Then he’ll take them home to glory by and by.” = He’ll take them home to glory eventually. Here “glory” refers to heaven.
“By and by” as a noun phrase means a time in the future. “In the sweet by and by, We shall meet on that beautiful shore.” = “In the sweet future, we’ll meet on that shore.” Here “that beautiful shore” refers to heaven. The by and by is sweet because of being in heaven then.
“By and by” does not mean heaven itself, but a future time which, in gospel songs, is when we’ll be in heaven.