Kneel down by the side of your mother, my boy
You have only a moment I know
But stay till I give you this parting advice
It is all that I have to bestow

Chorus
Hold fast to the right, hold fast to the right
Wherever your footsteps may roam
Forsake not the way of a salvation, my boy
That you learned from your mother at home

You will leave here to seek your employment, my boy
By the world you have yet to be tried
But in the temptations and trials you will meet
May your heart to the Savior confide

I gave you to God in your cradle, my boy
And taught you the best that I knew
And as long as His mercies permit me to live
I shall never stop praying for you

You will find in your satchel a Bible, my boy
It's the book of all others, the best
It will help you to live and prepare you to die
And lead to the gates of the blessed