The ToneWay® Project: helping people play music


Down in the Willow Garden [core]

Down in the willow gar- 6m den
Where 1 me and my love did 6m meet
1 There we sat a-court- 6m in'
My 1 love dropped 5 off to 1 sleep
I 4 had a bottle of 1 burgundy 6m wine
Which my 1 true love did not 6m know
And 1 there I poisoned that dear little 6m girl
Down 1 on the 5 banks be- 1 low

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

It’s on Strum Machine!

Play & sing along with Down in the Willow Garden (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