Verse 1: In a far and foreign land, lay a wounded soldier boy, He was fighting for a flag he thought was right, And as he lay there dying his comrades gathered near, To listen to the last words that he’d say. He raised himself upon his arm and looked off toward the West, And watched the setting sun fade fast away Then as he lay back on the ground a tear bedimmed his eye, And those who gathered ‘round him heard him say.
Chorus: Take me back to old Ontario where the sun does ever shine, Where the tall and stately maples rear their branches to the sky. Take me back to old Ontario where my dear old mother lies, Take me back to old Ontario lay me by my mother’s side.
Verse 2: It was in a southern city, where the streets were paved and hard, a ragged newsboy trudged from day to day, His cheeks were thin and pale and his head was tired and hot, And his thoughts were of his old home far away. He dropped down on the doorstep and he there fell fast asleep, In dreamland then he wandered back again And as a passer by drew near he stopped to watch the lad, And heard him whisper faintly this refrain.