The ToneWay® Project: helping people play music


Down in the Willow Garden [core]

Down in the willow garden
Where me and my love did meet
There we sat a-courtin'
My love dropped off to sleep
I had a bottle of burgundy wine
Which my true love did not know
And there I poisoned that dear little girl
Down on the banks below

I drew my saber through her
Which was a bloody knife
I threw her into the river
Which was a dreadful sight
My father often told me
That money would set me free
If I would murder that dear little girl
Whose name was Rose Connally

Now he sits in his cabin door
A-wiping his tear-dimmed eyes
A-looking at his own dear son
Upon the scaffold high
My race is run beneath the sun
The Devil is waiting for me
For I did murder that dear little girl
Whose name was Rose Connally

Available in these books:

Get Started Plus:
Core Songs Edition
100 songs and our acclaimed play-by-ear learning method.
Big Print Songs
Over 200 songs.
Both books feature large-print lyrics (20-point type) and include chords, historical info, jamming hints, and more.

...and on these CDs:

Five CDs, 100 songs. Recordings from the Abbott family and their friends.
Listen to sample tracks.

The MP3 collection has all 100 songs on one CD for a discount. See details.


A song from the Mountain Music for Everyone Song Collection from the ToneWay Project. Our website has lyrics to nearly 400 traditional songs common in bluegrass and old-time circles. Most songs also include a free MP3 recording that you can listen to. The ToneWay Project also offers songbooks, CDs, and resources for learning to play music by ear. http://ToneWay.com