I remember, wasn’t so long ago
We had a one room shack and the livin’ was low
And my mama by herself raised me and my bro
Wasn’t easy, but we did it with the little that go
Worked hard while the suckers cool every day
And kept her eyes on the stars when the skies were gray
Gave us pride to survive, really showed us the way
Now I really understood what she was tryin’ to say

She said, "Son there’ll be times when the tides are high
And the boat may be rocky, you can cry
Just never give up
You can never give up," uh-uh

In this life you could lead if you only believe
And in order to achieve what you need
You can never give up
You can never give up

And this hope
That keep me holding on
On and on
And this hope
That makes me carry on
On and on

Boom-boom, couldn’t have made it alone
I got a wonderful life, two kids on my own
With a strong foundation that was carved in stone
And my mama for the love that made my house a home
Made me wonder some time if this was meant to be
All this for a humble little guy like me
And all I ever really wanted was a family
To teach my kids the same value that she gave to me

She said, “Son there’ll be times when the tides are high
And the boat may be rocky, you can cry
Just never give up
You can never give up,” uh-uh

In this life you could lead if you only believe
And in order to achieve what you need
You can never give up
You can never give up

And this hope
That keep me holding on
And on
And this hope
That makes me carry on
On and on

We nah turn no stepper, things a go better
Never let yourself be overcome by pressure
Cool yah me bredda, have faith instead a
Sid-dung and a watch and all a fight one another
Blaze like fire,nah go retire
God nah sleep and a him inspire
We fi reach higher a that him require
Haffi mek we mark before the time expire

And this hope
That keep me holding on
And on
And this hope
That makes me carry on
On and on

And this hope
That keep me holding on
And on
And this hope
That makes me carry on
On and on

There’s hope, yeah
Hope keeps it alive, yeah, uh
Hope keeps it alive, yeah, uh
And it strikes an iron, uh
Hope keeps it alive, yeah, yeah
Hope keeps it alive, yeah
Only the strong survive, yeah
Keep it carry on, keep it carry on, yeah
Uh-uh
I’ll keep it carry on, yeah
I gotta carry on, gotta carry on and be strong
Uh-uh-uh
Yeah, yeah, yeah, uh-uh

And this hope
That keep me holding on
And on
And this hope
That makes me carry on
On and on