[Verse 1]
If a friend turns out, all at once,
Not a friend, not a foe—just someone...
If you can’t right away decide
Is he good or just hollow inside—

Take him up to the mountains! Dare!
Don’t you leave him alone up there.
Let him walk side by side with you—
That’s the test: what he’s really made to do.
[Verse 2]
If he falters the moment you start,
If he melts at the first steep part,
Steps on ice—and his spirit breaks,
Stumbles once—and his courage shakes...

Then you know: he’s a stranger, through.
Don’t reproach him—just let him go.
Men like that don’t climb high, it’s true—
And no songs are sung about them, too.
[Verse 3]
But if he never whined or cried,
Though he scowled and was fierce inside,
And when you fell from the cliff’s sharp rim,
He groaned—but held on to you, grim...

If he marched like he faced a war,
If he stood on the peak—alive, sore—
Then trust him as you trust your own soul:
He’s the kind you can count on, whole.