When he was a baby His mama held him close And whispered to him closely You're a special gift to us The Lord has kept his promise And one day I must too Return this gift I cherish And so I ask of you Would you be a parson And heed the father's call Would you preach the Gospel He's burned upon your heart Would you tell the people Of the greatest love of all Would you be a parson And heed the father's call When he was a young man The Lord called out his name And there was only one path He knew that he could take And so he lived his whole life In service to the Lord True to the promise He kept his mama's word