The ToneWay® Project: helping people play music


When the Bees Are in the Hive [core]

By the old mill sits the miller's pretty 4 daughter, Her 5 cheeks were like the first red rose of 1 June
Her sweet voice sounds just like the rippling 4 water, And so 5 tenderly she hums an old love 1 tune

Chorus
When the 5 bees are in the hive and the 1 honey's in the comb
And the 2 golden sunbeam bends to kiss the 5 dew
While the 1 old mill wheel turns 'round I love you 4 Mary
When the 5 bees are in the hive I'll come to 1 you

But soon her song of joy was turned to sorrow, For her sweetheart now has come to say goodbye
She's thinking sadly of a lonely 'morrow, As he kisses her he murmurs with a sigh

By the old mill sits the lonely maid repining, While she looked down in the silver waters shining
And her face was like the spring rose far away, And she sees her golden locks are dimmed with gray

Long years she's waited there for his returning, For the lamp of hope still in her heart is burning
All in vain she's thinking he'll come back some day, As the old mill wheel turns 'round it seems to say

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