It’s hard to part from friends afar,
To leave and go away from them.
We never know the circumstance,
The where and when we’ll gather next

Who knows the changes that will come?
The moves we make in life ahead.
The Lord will lead; if wise, we heed.
(My friends; stay on that path that’s marked.)

Yes, when we part, we may go back
To join our fam’ly in our home.
And I agree, that is our spot,
Our lot in life, our place to fill.

We don’t—and can’t—forget those friends.
They’re far away, in distant states.
They live their lives; we live our own.
We call them, write them: keep in touch.

And then, sometimes, when fortune smiles
We get together, reunite.
We see how time has changed each one,
Catch up on news, have good old times

We see their face and hear their voice.
It’s good to be with them again,
Meet ones that make their fam’ly now.
But then we must again depart