Come all you young companions
And listen unto me,
I'll tell you a story
Of some bad company.
I was born in Pennsylvania
Among the beautiful hills
And the memory of my childhood
Is warm within me still.
I did not like my fireside,
I did not like my home;
I had in view far rambling,
So far away did roam.
I had a feeble mother,
She oft would plead with me;
And the last word she gave me
Was to pray to God in need.
I had two loving sisters,
As fair as fair could be,
And oft beside me kneeling
They oft would plead with me.
I bid adieu to loved ones,
To my home I bid farewell,
And I landed in Chicago
In the very depth of hell.
It was there I took to drinking,
I sinned both night and day,
And there within my bosom
A feeble voice would say:
"Then fare you well, my loved one,
May God protect my boy,
And blessings ever with him
Throughout his manhood joy."
I courted a fair young maiden,
Her name I will not tell,
For I should ever disgrace her
Since I am doomed for hell.