The Carter Family

Carter Family Page

The Carter Family have been hugely influential in shaping country music. Although many of their songs have earlier origins in folk music, they were the first to bring this type of music to public attention in any major way. Since their first recordings more than 70 years ago, several generations of musicians, particularly those in the bluegrass and oldtimey fields have been fondly performed their songs.
Today, to some, the lyrics may seem quaint and over sentimental, harking back, as they do, to an idealized time when life was simpler and better. Some may question the validity of such music today, but to me, and I'm sure many others, the world would be a better place if much of what passes for current popular music were replaced by material from our musical traditions.


The following list is, as far as I know, a pretty much complete list of the Carter family song repertoire. The song titles marked with an asterisk are available as lyrics with chords, those unmarked have just the lyrics.Some songs are also marked with an "A" also have an audio file (mp3) converted from the original early 78rpm record of the song by the Carter family. Click on the "A" to play or download the file. I hope eventually to provide chords for all these songs as transcriptions become available and I would like to thank all those who have helped so far with this page by providing many of the chord transcriptions here. Also copies of original out out copyright 78's (not later re-recordings) could also help to complete this page.

If anyone has chords for any songs that I don't already have or you have corrections for what is here it would be greatly appreciated, email below.

(sorry about the anti-spammer graphic format ) Rod
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In case the chords provided are not in your preferred key, I have provided a conversion chart HERE which will allow you to transpose to any required key.

These lyrics & chords, these are provided for personal, educational and study purposes only, and are the authors interpretation of the work and are not intended to represent any particular version or performance.

Complete? List of Carter Family Song Repertoire

A Distant Land To Roam
Amber Tresses *
Anchored In Love
Answer To Weeping Willow
Are You Lonesome Tonight
Are You Tired Of Me, My Darling
Away Out on the Saint Sabbath
Bear Creek Blues *
Beautiful Brown Eyes A *
Beautiful Home
Beautiful Isle O'er The Sea
Behind Those Stone Walls
Birds Were Singing Of You*
Black Jack David *
Blackie's Gunman
Bonnie Blue Eyes
Bring Back My Blue Eyed Boy
Bring Back My Boy
Buddies In The Saddle *
Bury Me Under The Weeping Willow * A
By The Touch Of Her Hand
Can The Circle Be Unbroken*
Cannon Ball Blues *
Can't Feel At Home
Carter's Blues
Charlie & Nellie
Chewing Gum*
Charming Beauty Bright
Church In The Wildwood A
Coal Miner's Blues *
Cowboy Jack *
Cowboy's Wild Song To His Herd
Cuban Soldier
Cyclone of Rye Cove
Dark And Stormy Weather
Dark Haired True Lover *
Darling Daisies *
Darling Little Joe
Darling Nellie Across The Sea
Dear Companion
Diamonds in the Rough *
Don't Forget Me Little Darling
Don't Forget This Song
East Virginia Blues *
East Virginia Blues #2
Engine 143 *
Evening Bells Are Ringing
Faded Coat Of Blue
Faded Flowers
Fifty Miles Of Elbow Room
Foggy Mountain Top *
Fond Affection *
Forsaken Love
Funny When You Feel That Way
Girl On The Greenbriar Shore
Give Him One More As He Goes
Give Me Roses While I Live
Glory To The Lamb *
God Gave Noah the Rainbow Sign * A
Gold Watch and Chain
Grave on the Green Hillside
Happy Or Lonesome
He Took White Roses From Her Hair
Heaven's Radio
Hello Central, Give Me Heaven * A
Hello Stranger *
Hold Fast To The Right
Home By The Sea
Home In Tennessee
Homestead on the Farm *
I Ain't Going To Work Tomorrow
I Cannot Be Your Sweetheart
I Can't Feel At Home In This World Anymore *
I Found You Among The Roses
I Have An Aged Mother
I Have No One to Love Me
I Loved This Better Than You Knew
I Never Loved But One
I Never Will Marry *
I Wouldn't Mind Dying
If One Won't Another Will
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
In The Shadow Of Clinch Mountain
In The Valley Of The Shenandoah *
It'll Aggravate Your Soul
It's A Long, Long Road To Travel Alone
Jealous Hearted Me
Jim Blake's Message
Jimmy Brown The Newsboy*
John Hardy Was A Desperate Little Man* A
Just A Few More Days
Just Another Broken Heart *
Keep On The Firing Line *
Keep On The Sunny Side*
Kissing Is Crime
Kitty Waltz *
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms *
Let The Church Roll On
Little Darling Pal Of Mine
Little Joe
Little Log Cabin By The Sea *
Little Log Hut In The Lane *
Little Moses *
Little Poplar Log House On The Hill
Lonesome For You
Lonesome For You Darling
Lonesome Homesick Blues
Lonesome Pine Special *
Lonesome Valley *
Longing For Old Virginia

Look Away From The Cross
Lover's Farewell
Lover's Lane
Lover's Return
Lulu Walls *
March Winds Gonna Blow My Blues All Away *
Meet Me By The Moonlight Alone
Meeting In The Air
Mid The Green Fields Of Virginia
Motherless Children *
My Clinch Mountain Home *
My Dixie Darling *
My Heart's Tonight In Texas
My Home Among The Hills
My Home's Across the Blue Ridge Mountain
My Little Home In Tennessee
My Native Home
My Old Cottage Home
My Old Virginia Home
My Texas Girl
Never Let the Devil Get The Upper Hand Of You
No Depression *
No More The Moon Shines On Lorena
No Other's Bride I'll Be
No Telephone In Heaven A
Oh Take Me Back
On A Hill Lone And Gray
On My Way To Canaan's Land
On The Rock Where Moses Stood
On The Sea Of Galilee *
One Little Word
Over the Garden Wall
Picture On The Wall
Poor Little Orphaned Boy
Prisoner’s Song*
Railroading on the Great Divide
Rambling Boy
Reckless Motorman
River Of Jordan *
Room In Heaven For Me
Sad And Lonesome Day
Sailor Boy
Sailor On The Deep Blue Sea
School House on the Hill
See That My Grave is Kept Green
Single Girl, Married Girl *
Sinking In The Lonesome Sea
Something Got A Hold Of Me
Sow 'Em On The Mountain
St. Regis Girl
Stern Old Bachelor
Sunshine In The Shadows
Sweet As The Flowers In Maytime
Sweet Fern *
Sweet Heaven In My View
Tell Me That You Love Me
The Birds Were Singing
The Broken Hearted Lover *
The Cannonball
The Church In The Wildwood *
The Church In The Wildwood 2*
The Dying Mother
The Dying Soldier
The Happiest Days Of Them All
The Last Letter
The Little Black Train
The Little Gypsy Girl
The Mountains Of Tennessee *
The Poor Orphan Child A
The Spirit Of Love Watches Over Me
The Storms Are On The Ocean*
The Sun Of The Soul
The Wandering Boy *
The Wayworn Traveler
The Western Hobo
The Winding Stream *
The Wonderful City
There'll Be Joy, Joy, Joy *
There'll Be No Distinction
There's No Hiding Place Down There
There's Someone Awaiting For Me
This is Heaven to Me
Two Sweethearts *
Wabash Cannonball *
Walking the King's Highway
Waves On The Sea
We Shall Rise
We Will March Through The Streets Of The City
Weary Prodigal Son
When I'm Gone *
When The Roses Bloom In Dixieland A
When the Roses Come Again
When The Springtime Comes Again
When The World's On Fire
Where Shall I Be?
Where We'll Never Grow Old
Why Do You Cry Little Darling
Why There's A Tear In My Eye
Wildwood Flower * A
Will My Mother Know Me There
Will The Circle Be Unbroken
Will The Roses Bloom In Heaven
Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone *
Worried Man Blues*
Wreck On The C & O
You Are My Flower
You Better Let That Liar Alone
You Denied Your Love
You Tied A Love Knot In My Heart
You've Been A Friend To Me
Young Freda Bolt
You're Gonna Be Sorry You Let Me Down
You're Nothing More To Me
You've Been Fooling Me Baby
You've Got To Righten That Wrong