The ToneWay® Project: helping people play music

I Never Will Marry [core]

One morning I 5 rambled down 1 by the sea 4 shore
The wind it did 1 whistle, and the 5 waters did 1 roar

I heard a fair maiden make a pitiful sound
It sounded so lonesome in the waters around

I never will marry, I'll be no man's wife
I expect to live single all the days of my life

My love's gone and left me, he's the one I adore
He's gone where I never will see him any more

The shells in the ocean shall be my deathbed
The fish in deep waters swim over my head

Then she plunged her fair body in the water so deep
She closed up her blue eyes, forever to sleep

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