"before long", "not before long", "not long before"...

[sula54]

Dear all,

What are the differences among the 3 sentences?

...............................................
Before long, I got up.
Not before long, I got up.
It was not long before I got up.
................................................

Do they all mean "soon"?
(From my dictionary the most proper one should be "before long"...)

[Tdol]

The first and third are basically the same. I wouldn't use the second.