The ToneWay® Project: helping people play music


Life's Railway to Heaven [core]

Life is like a mountain railroad
With an engineer that's brave
We must make the run successful
From the cradle to the grave
Watch the curves, the fills, the tunnels
Never falter, never fail
Keep your hand upon the throttle
And your eye upon the rail

Chorus
Blessed Savior, Thou will guide us
Til we reach that blissful shore
Where the angels wait to join us
In Thy praise forever more

You will roll up grades of trial
You will cross the bridge of strife
See that Christ is your conductor
On this lightning train of life
Always mindful of obstruction
Do your duty, never fail
Keep your hand upon the throttle
And your eye upon the rail

You will often find obstruction
Look for storms of wind and rain
On a hill or curve or trestle
They will almost ditch your train
Put your trust alone in Jesus
Never falter, never fail
Keep your hand upon the throttle
And your eye upon the rail

As you roll across the trestle
Spanning Jordan's swelling tide
You'll behold the Union depot
Into which your train will glide
There you'll meet the Superintendent
God the Father, God the Son
With a hearty joyous plaudit
Weary pilgrim, welcome home

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