Carter Family: Songs Titles with the Letter I

Hi,

Today's blog will feature the 22 titles of Carter Family Songs beginning with the Letter I:

I Ain't Goin' to Work Tomorrow; I Cannot Be Your Sweetheart; I Found You Among the Roses; I Have an Aged Mother; I Have No One to Love Me (But the Sailor on the Deep Blue Sea); I Loved You Better Than You Knew; I Never Loved But One; I Never Will Marry; I Wouldn't Mind Dying; I'll Be All Smiles Tonight; I'll Be Home Someday; I'll Never Forsake You; I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes; I'm Working on a Building; If One Won't Another One Will; In a Little Village Churchyard; In the Shadow of Clinch Mountain; In the Shadow of the Pines; In the Valley of the Shenandoah; It Is Better Farther On; It'll Aggravate Your Soul; It's a Long Long Road to Travel Alone.


I Ain't Goin' to Work Tomorrow is a traditional folk song arranged by the Carter Family and is on one of their earlier recordings in 1928.

The lyrics show up in collected versions of Darlin' Corey. It seems the Carters collected the lyrics and arranged the song. It was in the repertoire of Kentucky musician Lily May Ledford.


I AIN'T GOING TO WORK TOMORROW- Carter Family 1928

CHORUS: Well, I ain't going to work tomorrow
And I may not work next day
Well I ain't going to work tomorrow
For it be a wet, rainy day

I'm a-going to leave this country
I'm a-going around this world
I'm a-going to leave this country
For the sake of one little girl

Well, she told me that she loved me
And it give my poor heart grief
Now she's got her back turned on me
And she's courting whoever she please

[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

Well, I lost my money in gambling
And I lost my name, you see
I am nobody's darling
And nobody cares for me

CHORUS:

Don't you hear my banjo ringing
Don't you hear this mournful sound
Don't you hear those pretty girls laughing
Standing on the cold, cold ground

I'll hang my head in sorrow
I'll hang my head and cry
I'll hang my head in sorrow
As my darling passes by

CHORUS:

[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

I Cannot Be Your Sweetheart, also known as "Under the Pale Moonlight," is a song written in 1899 by Abbie Ford, who wrote mainly ragtime style music. The song has entered tradition and has been found in several folk song collections.

I CANNOT BE YOUR SWEETHEART Carter Family 1934

Last night I told my heart's love
All under the pale blue sky
Eagerly waiting an answer
I plainly could see in her eye
I love you, sweetheart, I love you
And ask you to be my bride
Her face turned pale and she trembled
And sadly to me replied

CHORUS: I cannot be your sweetheart
I cannot stay by your side
There's one who's waiting off yonder
Who's claiming me his bride
My heart is almost broken
Your vows only add to my pain
I love you, sweetheart, I love you
Though we may never meet again

We said goodbye in the moonlight
My heart was turned to a stone
One peaceful hour I was made happy
But now I am sad and lone
Amidst my sorrows forever
Though she may go far away
Wherever she goes I'll love her
And still I can hear her say

CHORUS:

I Found You Among the Roses is by George Pitman in 1913. The Carters recorded their version in 1940. The sheet music is located at at the Levy Collection online.

I Found You Among The Roses-Carter family

Once again dear it's rose time it's June time
All the flowers they bloom as of yore
And the robin's sweet song is singing
As I walked here to greet you once more

A year has passed dear since we came here
This old love of ours to renew
And I found you among the roses
The day I come back to you

CHORUS: I found you among the roses
The day I come back to you
All my gladness was there in a garden so fair
Was the happiest moment I knew
Your lips were the color of roses
I craved them as flowers crave the dew
It was out here in your rose garden
Where I found you

I remember the kiss that you gave me
For your cheeks like the rosebuds red
Was a kiss dear that meant to fore me
For all the harsh words I have said

Red roses a blooming around me
I loved every one of them too
For it was there dear in your rose garden
Where I found you

I Have an Aged Mother is also known "Ten Thousand Miles Away" as well as "On The Banks of A Lonely River." Here's a link to the 1882 Broadside sheet music "composed by I.M. Williams" at American Memory: http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mussm&fileName=sm/sm1882/16100/16161/mussm16161.db&recNum=1&itemLink=D?mussm:4:./tem

"On The Banks of A Lonely River" was a big hit for Tarton and Darby on Columbia in 1930 possibly prompting the Carters to record the song for Victor later that year. Record sales that year plummeted because of the Great Depression.

I HAVE AN AGED MOTHER- Carter Family

[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

Last night while I lay sleeping
Last night while in a dream
I saw my dear old mother
Down by a rippling stream

Don't ask me why I'm weeping
Don't ask me why I pray
For I've an aged mother
10,000 miles away [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

A letter here from sister dear
Come home, we're all alone
Dear mother's slowly fading
She can't be with us long

Don't ask me why I'm weeping
Don't ask me why I pray
I've a dear old mother dying
10,000 miles away

Well, ah-le-ho, le-ho-lay
Well, ah-le-ho, le-ho-lay
Out in the cold world
A long ways from home

I'm drawing near the old home
Dear sister's at the gate
She's leading me through the doorway
Oh, brother, you've come too late

Oh, lead me to the casket
Throw back the linen so fine
That I may kiss her pale white lips
For I know they'll never kiss mine

I see the pale moon shining
On mother's white tombstone
The rosebuds 'round them twining
Are just like me—alone

Well, ah-le-ho, le-ho-lay
Well, ah-le-ho, le-ho-lay
Out in the cold world
Left all alone

I Have No One to Love Me (But the Sailor on the Deep Blue Sea) is the British Ballad "Sweet William" also know as Captain Tell me True and first recorded in 1924 by Gid Tanner as "Sailor Boy." The ballad index gives the earliest date as before 1839 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(2298)).

The plot is as follows: A girl asks her father to build her a boat so that she may search for her lover. She describes the boy to a passing captain, who tells her he is drowned. She gives directions for her burial, then dies of grief or dashes her boat against the rocks.Other names include: "The Pinery Boy" "The Sailor's Sweetheart" "My Boy Willie" "Papa, Build Me a Boat" The Carters recorded their version in 1928:

I HAVE NO ONE TO LOVE ME BUT THE SAILOR ON THE DEEP BLUE SEA Carter Family

It was on last Sunday evening
Just about the hour of three
When my darling started leaving
To sail on that deep blue sea [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

He promised to write a letter
He promised to write to me
And I haven't heard from my darling
Who sails on that deep blue sea [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

My mother is dead and buried
My papa's forsaken me
And I have no one to love me
But the sailor on the deep blue sea [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

Oh, Captain, can you tell me
Can you tell me where he may be
Oh, yes, my little maiden
He's drownded in the deep blue sea [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

Farewell to friends and relations
It's the last you'll see of me
I'm going to end my trouble
By drowning in the deep blue sea

I Loved You Better Than You Knew is a song by Johnny Carroll in 1893 and the first recording was just three years later by Goerge Gaskin on Ber 925. In 1895 "I Love You Yet" was written as "An Answer to Johnnie Carroll's Beautiful & Popular Song I Loved You Better Than You Knew." Here's the Carters 1930 version:

I LOVED YOU BETTER THAN YOU KNEW- Carter Family

Our hands are clasped, alas, forever
Perhaps we'll never meet again
I love you like I love no other
This parting fills my heart with pain

As through this weary world I wander
My thoughts alone will be of you
In memory will I see you ever
I loved you better than you knew [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

You ask and freely I'll forgive you
The happy past I must forget
And while I wander alone in silence
I hope that you'll be happy yet

As through this weary world I wander
My thoughts alone will be of you
In memory will I see you ever
I loved you better than you knew [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

Perhaps when I am gone forever
You'll sometimes sit and think of me
And wonder if I'm dead or living
Perhaps I'll think the same of you

As through this weary world I wander
My thoughts alone will be of you
In memory will I see you ever
I loved you better than you knew

I Never Loved But One is based on the song "Those Dark Eyes" by Armand in 1865. It's been recorded as "Dark Eyes" and probably was titled differently by the Carters in 1932 to avoid copyright issues.Her's the sheet music:http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?dukesm:1:./temp/~ammem_0URU::@@@mdb=mcc,gottscho,detr,nfor,wpa,aap,cwar,bbpix,cowellbib,ca

I NEVER LOVED BUT ONE- Carter family

Onward to the eastern skies,
With mooing efforts kissed the sea
I sigh and think of those blue eyes
That have hope and love for me

For they, o they have stole away
The heart that truly once was mine
Like some lone bird without a mate
My weary heart is desolate

I look around but cannot trace
One welcome word or smiling face
In gazing crowds I am alone,
Because I never loved but one [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

Come up closer to me now,
Your chestnut hair is touched with snow
But still it is the same dear face,
I loved so well long years ago

The same as on that winter night,
You bent to me and kissed my brow
Happy hours of trusting love,
Oh well, they're all over now

And I must sail the whitening foam,
Till I can see a foreign home
Till I forget that fair sweet face,
I ne'er can find a resting place

I look around but cannot trace
One welcome word or smiling face
In gazing crowds I am alone
Because I never loved but one


"I Will Never Marry" is a folk song that was collected by Belden in Missouri in 1906 and also appeared in England as "The Lover's Lament for Her Sailor" in the 1800s. Early versions include Sam Cowell's music hall re-working of the song (Oh, my Love's Dead!), followed by The Sorrowful Ladie's Lament (c.1673), apparently a broadside expansion of the earlier Captain Digby's Farewell. It's also titled, "The Shells of the Ocean."

I NEVER WILL MARRY- Carter Family 1933

I never will marry. I'll be no man's wife.
I intend to stay single for the rest of my life.

One day as I rambled down by the sea shore,
The wind it did whistle and the waters did roar.

I heard a poor maiden make a pitiful cry.
She sounded so lonesome at the waters nearby.

I never will marry. I'll be no man's wife.
I intend to stay single for the rest of my life.

The shells in the ocean will be my deathbed,
And the fish in the water swim over my head.

My love's gone and left me. He's the one I adore.
I never will see him, no never, no more.

She plunged her fair body in the water so deep.
She closed her pretty blue eyes in the water so deep.

I never will marry. I'll be no man's wife.
I intend to stay single for the rest of my life.

"I Wouldn't Mind Dying" comes from African-American gospel sources ans was recorded by Rev. I.B. Ware in 1928; Golden Leaf Quartette from Jefferson County Alabama in 1928. It's also titled "Bye and Bye We're Going To See The King" by the blind pianist Juanita Arizona Dranes in 1925 and later by Blind Willie Johnson.

I WOULDN'T MIND DYING- Carter Family

By and by we're going to see the King
By and by we're going to see the King
By and by we're going to see the King
Well, I wouldn't mind dying if dying was all

Wouldn't mind dying, got to go by myself
Wouldn't mind dying, got to go by myself
Wouldn't mind dying, got to go by myself
Well, I wouldn't mind dying if dying was all

After death we're going to stand the test
After death we're going to stand the test
After death we're going to stand the test
Well, I wouldn't mind dying if dying was all

Holy, Holy, Holy, Holy is His Name
Holy, Holy, Holy, Holy is His Name
Holy, Holy, Holy, Holy is His Name
And I wouldn't mind dying if dying was all

Wouldn't mind dying, got to stay dead so long
Wouldn't mind dying, got to stay dead so long
Wouldn't mind dying, got to stay dead so long
And I wouldn't mind dying if dying was all

Ezekiel saw the wheel, a wheel within a wheel
Ezekiel saw the wheel, a wheel within a wheel
Ezekiel saw the wheel, a wheel within a wheel
Well, I wouldn't mind dying if dying was all

By and by we're going to see the King
By and by we're going to see the King
By and by we're going to see the King
Well, I wouldn't mind dying if dying was all

I'll Be All Smiles Tonight is a song written by T.B. Ranson in 1879. Here's a link to the song with notes and TAB: http://gulfweb.net:34043/~rlwalker/jamnfolk/book001/I

It was recorded by Luther B. Clark and the Blue Ridge Highballers (1926); Mac and Bob (1927); Allen Brothers (1928); Reed Children (1928); Jenkins and Whitworth (1929); Bradley Kincaid (1929); Linda Parker and The Cumberland Ridge Runners (1933); and the Carter Family (1934).

I'LL BE ALL SMILES TONIGHT- Carter Family

I'll deck my brow with roses
The loved ones may be there
And gems that others give me
Will shine within my hair

And even those who know me
Will think my heart is light
Though my heart may break tomorrow
I'll be all smiles tonight

I'll be all smiles tonight, love
I'll be all smiles tonight
Though my heart may break tomorrow
I'll be all smiles tonight [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

Oh, when the dance commences
Oh, how I will rejoice
I'll sing the song you taught me
Without a falling voice

When the flattering ones come around me
They'll think my heart is light
Though my heart may break tomorrow
I'll be all smiles tonight

I'll be all smiles tonight, love
I'll be all smiles tonight
Though my heart may break tomorrow
I'll be all smiles tonight [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

And when the room he enters
With a bride upon his arm
I stood and gazed upon him
As though he was a charm

And onced he smiled upon her
And onced he smiled on me
They know not what I suffered
They found no change in me

I'll be all smiles tonight, love
I'll be all smiles tonight
Though my heart may break tomorrow
I'll be all smiles tonight

I'll Be Home Someday is a gospel song from the Carters 1934 session in Camden NJ; I haven't found any info about this song. Anyone?

I'LL BE HOME SOMEDAY- Carter Family

I was standing by the bedside of a neighbor
Who was just about to cross the swelling tide
I asked if he would do me a favor
Just take a message to the other side [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

If you see my Savior, tell him that you saw me
When you saw me I was on my way
You may meet some old friends who may ask about me
Just tell them I'll be home someday [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

Now you have to take this journey on without me
It's a debt that sooner or later must be paid
If you see my Savior, don't forget to tell him
Don't forget to tell him what I say [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

You may chance to see my father or my mother
Or some friends who have gone before
You may chance to see my sister or my brother
But try and see my Savior first of all

I'll Never Forsake You was recorded by the Carters in 1940 for Okeh. Need some help on the source: Anyone?

I'll Never Forsake You- Carter Family

I am so happy that you love no other but me
All of my life I've tried to win your love you see
And I still wonder if you will be happy with me
When we are married and I've taken you my wife to be

I have waited so long for the words you just said
I always thought that you loved another instead
But you have told me with your own sweet lips so red
And I am waiting for the day when we shall wed

If you should ever forsake me my love I would pray
Take me to my maker up in heaven where white angels stay
Cause I could never go on living without you this way
If we have to part I'd rather you take me today

No, no I'll never forsake you I'll always be true
And we'll be happy together because I love you
And when I think of us parting sweetheart it runs through my head
If we can't be happy together my love I would rather be dead

I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes is one of the Carters well known songs, the melody has been used for many other songs. From the notes by the well known scholar, Charles K. Wolfe: "I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes" is another Carter song that became a standard, echoing down through the years in country music. One historian has called it "the best known melody in country music," and it has been used for everything from Roy Acuff's "Great Speckled Bird" to Kitty Wells' "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky-Tonk Angels." Sara and Maybelle both recalled that they had known the song all their lives, certainly it shows up in dozens of folksong collections, and prior to the Carter version had been recorded by Welby Toomey (a Kentucky singer), Earl Johnson (a Georgia fiddler), the Stoneman Family (from the Galax, Virginia, area), and others -- though none of them actually used A.P.'s title."

"Thrills I Can't Forget" "Blue Eyes" and "In the Shadow of the Pines" are some other titles. It's been collected as "Broken Ties" as early as 1915. Another song with the same melody is "Great Speckled Bird." The song was recorded by The Carter Family on February 14, 1929 also again for Bluebird in 1941.

I'm Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes- Carter Family

Would been better for us both had we never
In this wide and wicked world had never met
For the pleasure we both seen together
I am sure, Love, I'll never forget

Chorus: Oh, I'm thinking tonight, of my blue eyes
Who is sailing far over the sea
Oh, I'm thinking tonight, of my blue eyes
And I wonder if he ever thinks of me

Oh, you told me once, Dear, that you loved me
You said that we never would part
But a link in the chain has been broken
Leaves me with a sad and aching heart

Chorus

When the cold, cold grave shall enclose me
Will you come, Dear, and shed just one tear
And say to the strangers around you
A poor heart you have broken lies here.

Chorus

"I'm Working on a Building" came from black gospel sources. The Carters learned their version from gospel singer Pauline Gary from Kingsport who was a friend of Leslie Riddle. The Carters also learned "On a Hill Lone and Gray," and "On My Way To Cannan's Land" from her. Here are the earliest printed lyrics:

"WORKIN' ON THE BUILDING" recorded in Odum & Johnson, The Negro and His Songs (1925, p. 72).

If I wus a sinner man, I tell you what I'd do,
I'd lay down all my sinful ways an' work on the building too.

I'm workin' on the building fer my Lord,
Fer my Lord, fer my Lord,
I'm workin' on the building fer my Lord,
I'm workin' on the building, too.

If I wus a gamblin' man, I tell you what to do,
I'd lay down all my gamblin', an' work on the building, too.

If I was a 'ho'-munger, I tell you what to do,
I'd lay down all my munglin' and work on the building, too.


I'M WORKING ON A BUILDING- Carter Family

I'm working on a building
I'm working on a building
I'm working on a building
For my lord, for my lord

It's a holy ghost building
It's a holy ghost building
It's a holy ghost building
For my lord, for my lord

If I was a liar
I tell you what I would do
I would quit my lying
And work on the building too

I'm working on a building
I'm working on a building
I'm working on a building
For my lord, for my lord

It's a holy ghost building
It's a holy ghost building
It's a holy ghost building
For my lord, for my lord [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

If I was a drunkard
I'll tell you what I would do,
I would quit my drinking
And work on the building too

I'm working on a building
I'm working on a building
I'm working on a building
For my lord, for my lord

It's a holy ghost building
It's a holy ghost building
It's a holy ghost building
For my lord, for my lord [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

If I was a preacher
Tell you what I would do,
I would keep on preaching
And work on the building too

I'm working on a building
I'm working on a building
I'm working on a building
For my lord, for my Lord

It's a holy ghost building
It's a holy ghost building
It's a holy ghost building
For my lord, for my Lord


If One Won't Another One Will is known as "Lonesome (Stormy) Scenes of Winter, The" [Laws H12]. The song was collected by Belden in 1904. It's referenced to October, 1887 by Meade and appeares in Wehman's Collection of Songs. Here is a list of collections:

Belden, pp. 195-196, "The Lonesome Scenes of Winter" (1 text)
MHenry-Appalachians, pp. 136-137, "The Lonesome Scenes of Winter (All in the Scenes of Winter" (1 text)
Wyman-Brockway II, p. 94, "The Gonesome [sic] Scenes of Winter" (1 text, 1 tune)
Dean, pp. 108-109, "Lonesome Hours of Winter" (1 text)
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 156-157, "The Stormy Scenes of Winter" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/MacMillan 57, "The Lonesome (Stormy) Scenes of Winter" (1 text, 1 tune)
McNeil-SFB1, pp. 127-129, "Lonesome Scenes of Winter" (1 text, 1 tune)Shellans, pp. 38-39, "The Scornful Lover" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton/Senior, pp. 209-212,"Stormy Winds of Winter" (4 texts, 1 tune)
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 50, "The Stormy Winds of Winter" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Peacock, pp. 445-446, "Flora" (1 text, 1 tune)

Some recordings:Lewis McDaniel & Walter Smith: "I Went to See My Sweetheart" (Victor 23505, 1930; on ConstSor1)Southern Melody Boys, "Lonesome Scenes of Winter" (Montgomery Ward 7227, 1937)

IF ONE WON'T ANOTHER ONE WILL- Carter Family 1932

I went one Sunday evening
My true love for to see
I asked her to marry
And she would not answer me [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

The night is almost spent
It is nearer the break of day
I'm waiting for an answer
Oh, what will you say [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

Kind sir, if I must tell you
I'd choose the single life
I never thought it suited
For me to be your wife [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

In the course of six weeks later
This lady's mind did change
She wrote me a letter
Kind sir, I feel ashamed [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

I feel as though I slighted you
I cannot hear you mourn
So here is my heart, come take it
And claim it as your own [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

I wrote her back an answer
And sent it back in speed
I own that once I did love you
I loved you dear indeed [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

But then my mind has changed me
I seek another way
Upon some pretty fair maiden
My heart will have its sway [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

Upon some pretty fair maiden
My heart shall have its fill
This world is wide and lonely
If one won't another one will

In a Little Village Churchyard was recorded in 1936 by the Carters. Meade separates the Carters song from a song with same title which we can call "In a Little Village Churchyard- II" which is known as "Mother's Grave." It's from "Since My Mother's Dead And Gone" by Phil Mowrey, Harry Percy. The other song is also known as "Old Village Churchyard" and "Since My Mother's Dead and Gone." The song was rewritten by Carson Robison in 1926.

Apparently the Carters song is "In That Dear Old Village Churchyard" from Primitive Baptist Hymn Book and Tune Book (1918) compiled by Elder John Daily. Lomax collected it as "In this Old Gray Village Churchyard" and a similar version was recorded by Roscoe Holcomb.

IN A LITTLE VILLAGE CHURCHYARD Carter Family

In a little village churchyard
There I see a grassy mound
There my sweetheart lies a-sleeping
In the cold and silent ground

Gently waves the weeping willow
Birds, they warble sweet and low
And there's no one left to love me
Since my sweetheart had to go

In that little village churchyard
There I stray with a broken heart
There is no one left to love me
Since the day we had to part [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

That sad day will I remember
When she called me to her side
How I watched her spirit fading
And the tears did blind my sight

Then she said, goodbye, my darling
Dry those teardrops from your eyes
Promise me, my little darling
That you'll meet me up on high

In that little village churchyard
There I stray with a broken heart
There is no one left to love me
Since the day we had to part [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

Oft I've wandered to the graveyard
Flowers to plant with tender care
O'er the grave of my dear darling
Darkness finds me weeping there

In the Shadow of Clinch Mountain was recorded in NYC in 1937. According to the Carters biography Sara sang the song to Jeanette. The song seems to be based on another song but at this point we don't know the song.

IN THE SHADOW OF CLINCH MOUNTAIN- Carter Family

Oh, I grew up on the side of Clinch Mountain
'Mid the beauty and the wonders of the woods
Where sweet songs from the bright, sunny fountain
And the warbles of the birds I understood

Then I asked how this green, lofty mountain
In the cavern of the lonely desert stood
Said the songs of the bright, sunny fountain
We are given by the waters of His love

When I've sung my last song in the evening
And the sun sets in the golden west
All the scenes of this world I'll be leaving
In the shadow of Clinch Mountain I will rest [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

Through the gates I have passed now from childhood
O'er the railways to the valley of the west
Singing songs of the Clinch Mountain wildwood
Songs neighbors sang and birds still sang the best

When I've sung my last song in the evening
And the sun sets in the golden west
All the scenes of this world I'll be leaving
In the shadow of Clinch Mountain I will rest [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

Long ago stood the oaks and the cedars
Singing sweetly in a whisper of the past
Stand they not now, those great towering leaders
Nor the fountain where their crystal gleams are cast

When I've sung my last song in the evening
And the sun sets in the golden west
All the scenes of this world I'll be leaving
In the shadow of Clinch Mountain I will rest

In the Valley of the Shenandoah is another song that has virually no information about any source that I could find. Without more info we can just assume it's a song by AP Carter. Harry Fox Agency says the legal name of the song is "In the Valley of the Shenandoah," and the songwriter is A.P. Carter. Publisher is APRS, and the contact is Peermusic, www.peermusic.com.

IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHENANDOAH- Recorded Oct 14, 1941

As I sit alone tonight in the stillness of the night
I picture happy scenes of long ago
Of a maiden fair and bright who is seeping there tonight
In the valley of the Shenandoah Ridge

It was in the month of June when the roses were in bloom
When I held her in my arms and softly said
"Darling, in the coming spring I'll be coming back again
To the valley of the Shenandoah Ridge" [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

When I left her all alone in her Shenandoah home
She promised she'd be waiting there for me
But the angels came along and took her from our home
From the valley of the Shenandoah Ridge

It was in the month of June when the roses were in bloom
When I held her in my arms and softly said
"Darling, in the coming spring I'll be coming back again
To the valley of the Shenandoah Ridge"[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

When the evening shadows fall, in memory I recall
The pledge when I gave to her a ring
"Darling in the coming spring I'll be coming back again
To the valley of the Shenandoah Ridge"

It was in the month of June when the roses were in bloom
When I held her in my arms and softly said
"Darling, in the coming spring I'll be coming back again
To the valley of the Shenandoah Ridge"

It Is Better Farther On is a traditional gospel song arranged by The Carter Family. One verse is from 1836; The song was published in 1877 as Trad. Arranged by L. Thompson (1911)

It Is Better Farther On Carter Family-1938

As we travel through the desert
Storms beset us by the way
But beyond the river Jordan
Lies a field of endless day

Farther on, still go farther
Count the milestones one by one
Jesus will forsake you never
It is better farther on

Oh my brother are you weary
Of the roughness and the way
Does your strength begin to fail you
And your vigor to decay

At my grave, o still be singing
Though you weep for one that's gone
Sing it as we once did sing it
It is better farther on

It'll Aggravate Your Soul is a song, according to the Carter's Biography, that was written entirely by A.P. Carter even tho the first verse appears to be based on other lyrics. It's one of the few songs AP sang solo and it was written during the time when he and Sara were seperated.

IT'LL AGGRAVATE YOUR SOUL Carter family- 1934

Come all of you people take warning from me
Don't take no girl to Tennessee
For if you get married and don't agree
It'll aggravate your soul

We left Maces early in the night
Expect to get married before daylight
So many things happened to hinder our flight
It aggravated my soul

Arrived at The Bristol at 11 o'clock
The parson was there right on the spot
We found that the license had been forgot
It aggravated my soul

We went for the license in an automobile
Run so fast couldn't see the wheel
No one can explain how bad I did feel
It aggravated my soul

We stayed all night at The Bristol Hotel
Just to make folks think we were swell
Next morning they put it in the Bristol Herald
It aggravated my soul

And when the new style books comin' around
She begins to get ready to go to town
You know right then she's milliner shop bound
It'll aggravate your soul

She wants a new coat and a hobble skirt
And you can't get in for the young un's and dirt
And when she gets out, oh how she will flirt
It'll aggravate your soul

nd when depressions gather round your head
You'll think of what your dear old mother said
With a pain in you back and heart and head
It'll aggravate your soul

Now young men take warning from me
Don't take no girl to Tennessee
For if you get married and don't agree
It'll aggravate your soul

It's a Long Long Road to Travel Alone is a song attributed to Maybelle Carter. In 1931 the copyright office registered "It's a long road to travel alone" words and music by BAD [pseud of Mrs. WH Do France]. Anyone know about this song?

It's A Long, Long Road To Travel Alone- Carter Family 1940

I always thought I'd like to roam
One day I started alone
Out in this old wide wicked world
Away from friends and home

It's a long long road to travel alone
And when the day is gone
No place to pillow my head at night
Only on the cold cold stone

I've travelled around from town to town
Now it's time that I settled down
I've had my fill of rambling around
And now I am homeward bound

One day a letter came to me
And this is what it read
Come home my boy to the old homestead
Your father and mother are dead

It's been a long road to travel alone
I wish I had never roamedI thought
I'd soon see my mother and dad
But now I am left alone