[1st verse:] When the robin returns to its nest After straying away from the rest There's a welcome that waits From its feathery mates A welcome that can't be expressed So it is with the boy who decided From his father and mother to roam Through his travels he may be misguided But when fin'lly the black sheep comes home [Refrain:] Ev'rything that he did is forgotten And they welcome him back to the fold He knows by their sad, wrinkled faces That the pain of his absence has told Once again, they all sit 'round the table As they did in the days of old And they'll weep tears of joy As they whisper "My Boy" When the black sheep returns to the fold [2nd verse:] When the smile of a fool starts to fade When he finds out the errors he made Then the old-fashioned truth That he heard in his youth Says, "Go home," but he is afraid As he stands on the threshold of sorrow With the doors of the world closed up tight He compares yesterday with tomorrow And decides that he'll go home that night