When across the ocean wide,
Where the heav­ing wa­ters flow,
Came the May­flower o’er the tide,
With our fa­thers long ago;
When they neared the rocky strand,
And their chor­us rent the air,
Children in that pil­grim band
Clasped their lit­tle hands in pray­er,
Children in that pil­grim band
Clasped their lit­tle hands in pray­er.

Sweetly rang their ev­en­ing hymn
O’er that re­gion vast and wide,
Through the for­est dark and dim,
And the rock­ing pines re­plied.
’Twas a cold De­cem­ber night,
And the earth was robed in snow,
But the stars with mel­low light
Blest our fa­thers long ago,
But the stars with mel­low light
Blest our fa­thers long ago.

When the ear­ly buds were seen,
And the ro­bin’s song was heard
Children fro­licked on the green,
Happy as the wood­land bird;
Culled the dai­sy young and fair,
Watched the brook­let’s qui­et flow,
Banished ev­ery cloud of care
From our fa­thers long ago,
Banished ev­ery cloud of care
From our fa­thers long ago.

When our coun­try’s ban­ner bright
Told her deeds of no­ble worth,
Children hailed its ra­di­ant light,
Hailed the land that gave them birth.
Children now re­joice to hear,
All their youth­ful hearts can know,
And the pre­cepts still re­vere
Of their fa­thers long ago,
And the pre­cepts still re­vere
Of their fa­thers long ago.