By the side of a river so clear
They carried the beautiful child;
Mid the flags and the bushes in an ark of bulrushes
They left him so lonely and wild;
For the ruffians would come if he tarried at home
And murder that infant so dear.

By the side of the river so clear
The ladies were winding their way,
When Pharaoh's daughter stepped down into the water
To bathe at the close of the day.
Before it was dark, she opened the ark
And found the sweet infant was there.

By the side of the river so blue
The infant was lonely and sad.
She took him in pity and thought him so pretty
And it made little Moses so glad.
She called him her own, her beautiful son,
And sent for a nurse that was near.

Away from the river so clear
They carried the beautiful child
To his own tender mother, his sister and brother,
Little Moses looked happy and smiled.
His mother so good did all that she could
To nurse him and teach him with care.

Then away by the sea that was red
Stood Moses the servant of God.
Whom in him confided that the sea would be divided
As upward he lifted his rod.
The Jews safely crossed while Pharoah and his host
Was drounded in the water and lost.

Then away by the mountain so high
Stood Moses with trembling an' awe;
With lightning and thunder, great signs and wonders,
While God was giving the law.
He wrote it alone on two tables of stone
Before he returned to the sky.

Then away on the mountain so high
Stood the last one he ever might see.
With Israel victorious, his hope was most glorious,
He'd soon o'er the Jordan be free.
When his labors did cease, he departed in peace,
And rested in heaven above.