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, got us up for school 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,we nah go retire God nah sleep and a within him we inspire We have to reach higher for what we require We have to make our 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