Little, lovely, friendly town
Bright beneath your maple trees -
With your dooryards sending out
Lilac scent upon the breeze;
Through the hurried years, I trust,
In the changes you have made
That you kept your dooryards sweet,
Kept your arching trees for shade;
Kept the friendliness I knew
In the olden, golden days -
Kept your hands in welcome out,
Kept your neighborly, fine ways;
With your home lamps and your fires
Glowing out upon each street
For the stranger in your midst
Passing by on lonely feet;
Kept your small-town sympathy -
Kept your laughter and your tears...
Have you kept them, little town
Through these difficult, hard years?
If you have, I think some day,
Like a magnet strong and true,
You will reach across the miles
And will draw me back to you.