The ToneWay® Project: helping people play music

Reuben's Train [core]

Old Reuben made a train, and he put it on the track
He run it to the Lord knows where.

Refrain:Oh me, oh my, he run it to the Lord knows where

You oughta been in town, to see old Reuben's train go down
You could hear the whistle blow a hundred miles

I've been to the East, and I've been to the West
I'm going where these chilly winds don't blow

Last night I laid in jail, had no money for to go my bail
Lord how it sleeted and it snowed

I got myself a blade, laid ol' Reuben in the shade
I'm startin' me a graveyard of my own

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