Sit down by the side of your mo­ther, my boy,
You have on­ly a mo­ment, I know;
But you’ll stay till I give you
My part­ing ad­vice,
’Tis all that I have to be­stow.
You leave us to seek for em­ploy­ment, my boy,
By the world you have yet to be tried;
But in all the temp­ta­tions and strug­gles you meet,
May your heart in the Sav­ior con­fide.

Refrain

Hold fast to the right,
Hold fast to the right,
Wherever your foots­teps may roam;
O for­sake not the way of sal­va­tion, my boy,
That you learned from your mo­ther at home.

You’ll find in your satch­el a Bi­ble, my boy,
’Tis the book of all oth­ers the best;
It will teach you to live,
It will help you to die,
And lead to the gates of the blest.
I gave you to God, in your cra­dle, my boy,
I have taught you the best that I knew;
And as long as His mer­cy per­mits me to live,
I shall ne­ver cease pray­ing for you.

Refrain

Your fa­ther is com­ing to bid you good­bye,
O how lone­ly and sad we shall be;
But when far from the scenes
Of your child­hood and youth,
You’ll think of your fa­ther and me.
I want you to feel ev­ery word I have said,
For it came from the depths of my love;
And, my boy, if we ne­ver be­hold you on earth,
Will you pro­mise to meet us above?

Refrain