This reads like a paraphrase of the version posted above—but it could be the other way around.

From the Library of Congress:


A BOY’S BEST FRIEND IS HIS MOTHER.
Words and music by Frank Mills, ©1883.

1. I’ve been thinking, of late, of the days passed away,
And friends that would stand by my side;
Of mother so dear, ‘round whose knees I would play.
I missed her sweet face when she died.
How well I loved her, there’s no heart now could tell.
Like her, I could ne’er love another;
And since, I have learned this sad lesson too well:
A boy’s best friend is his mother.

CHORUS: Oh, treat her then kindly, while she’s with you here.
When gone you will ne’er get another.
A friend in your need, and a true friend indeed—
A boy’s best friend is his mother.

2. When the world wandered by with a frown or a sneer,
Her smile it was constant and true.
Her arms were a refuge so loving and dear
When friends that I needed were few.
A sweet word of comfort she gave evermore
To me and to sister and brother.
You’ll find, though you search the whole universe o’er,
That a boy’s best friend is his mother.

3. Oh, then treat your old mother with love and respect,
For she is the one cares for you;
And never for once your dear mother neglect—
Your mother so kind and so true;
For when she is laid down to rest in the grave,
Like her you will ne’er find another.
You’ll know, when the flow’rs sadly over her wave
That a boy’s best friend is his mother.