The ToneWay® Project: helping people play music

Man of Constant Sorrow [core]

I am a man of constant 4 sorrow
I've seen 5 trouble all my 1 days
I bid farewell to old 4 Kentucky
The place where 5 I was born and 1 raised

For six long years I've been in trouble
No pleasure here on earth I've found
For in this world I'm bound to ramble
I have no friends to help me now

It's fare you well, my own true lover
I never expect to see you again
For I'm bound to ride that northern
railroad, Perhaps I'll die upon this train

You can bury me in some deep valley
For many years where I may lay
Then you may learn to love another
While I am sleeping in my grave

Maybe your friends think I'm just a stranger
My face you never will see no more
But there is one promise that is given
I'll meet you on God's golden shore

It’s on Strum Machine!

Play & sing along with Man of Constant Sorrow (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