The Motto Above The Door - song lyrics 
American Old-time song lyrics from www.traditionalmusic.co.uk 
THE MOTTO ABOVE THE DOOR. Copyright, 1884, by A. O. Duncan. Words by Frank Young. Music by A. O. Duncan. Arranged by Fred White. 
There's a spot within my memory I will ever fondly love, The little room where first I saw the light: It was humble, but the richest of blessings from above, Content and peace were mere from morn till night. No grand, no costly furniture, no lace, no velvet there, But oh, what, comfort sitting in each dear old-fashioned chair, "What is home without a mother?" I've read It o'er and o'er, The motto that hung above the door. 
Chorus. A dear little room, in sorrow and gloom I left it for evermore; Where'er I may roam I'll think of my home And the motto above the door. 
I can see my mother knitting by the cheerful fireside, And hear her telling stories by the score, Of the days when she was happy and my father's loving bride, To myself and brother, sitting on the floor. I ever will remember the night, she passed away: I felt as If the light had gone forever from the day, And those words they seemed to thrill me as they never did before, The motto that hung above the door.- Chorus.