The ToneWay® Project: helping people play music

Down in the Valley [core]

Down in the valley, valley so 5 low, Hang your head over, hear the wind 1 blow

Refrain:Hear the wind blow, dear, hear the wind 5 blow, Hang your head over, hear the wind 1 blow

If you don't love me, love whom you please, Throw your arms round me, give my heart ease,...

Write me a letter, send it by mail, Send it in care of Birmingham jail,...

Build me a castle, forty feet high, So I can see her, as she rides by,...

Roses love sunshine, violets love dew, Angels in heaven, know I love you,...

Bird in a cage love, bird in a cage, Dying for freedom, ever a slave,...

It’s on Strum Machine!

Play & sing along with Down in the Valley (or any song you type in) in any key, at any speed, with real instrument recordings. You have to see it to believe it.

Play this song on Strum Machine

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.
Family Tradition
The reference manual, with lyrics to 330 songs.
The first two 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 The ToneWay Mountain Music Collection, which offers lyrics and free Song Clips (recordings for learning the song by ear) for nearly 400 traditional songs, many of which are often heard in bluegrass and old-time jam circles. The ToneWay Project also offers songbooks, CDs, and a free online video series for learning to play music by ear. http://ToneWay.com