Every house where love abides And friendship is a guest, Is surely home, and home sweet home For there the heart can rest.

Van Dyke defines “home” not as a physical structure but as a moral and emotional condition created by love and sustained by friendship. The house becomes “surely home” when it is hospitable—when affection “abides” (endures) and friendship is welcomed as an honored guest rather than a rare visitor. The refrain “home sweet home” echoes a familiar cultural phrase, but he grounds its sweetness in inner peace: “there the heart can rest.” The stanza thus elevates domestic life into an ethical ideal, suggesting that belonging and repose arise from relationships and generosity, not wealth, status, or permanence of place.