Roots Music Report

Credits:

Lyrics

“Schoolhouse of Glory” draws its heart from the real stories of Eastern Kentucky children who walked miles of red-clay roads to one-room schoolhouses—places that served not only as classrooms, but as beacons of hope in some of Appalachia’s hardest years.

In the coalfields, where poverty was common and winters were unforgiving, faith and determination carried these young ones farther than wagons or buses ever could.

Blending Bluegrass tradition with the spiritual warmth of a Christmas hymn, the song honors the mountain families who believed that education, scripture, and community could lift them beyond their circumstances.

Christmas meant more than presents—it was a promise that light could rise even in the humblest holler. These children, shoeless but unbroken, walked toward knowledge, walked toward faith, and walked toward the dreams that no hardship could take away.

“Schoolhouse of Glory” celebrates them—their courage, their innocence, and the enduring Appalachian truth that the richest gifts are those carried in the heart.” – Marty Falle November 2025

"Schoolhouse of Glory" (words and music by Marty Falle and Jonathan Holmberg)

Verse 1

They had no carriage but Christ, no bus but belief,
Shoeless on the red-clay road, mercy was their relief.
Snow fell on the ridgeline, soft as an angel’s wing,
They dreamed of Christmas morning and the joy that day would bring.

Chorus

Oh, walk on children, walk on through the cold,
The Lord is the lantern, His Word is the road.
From holler to heaven, from valley to crown,
The schoolhouse of glory won’t turn you down.

Verse 2

The holler gave them hunger, but heaven gave them hope,
A one-room lighthouse shining on the mountain’s slope.
Coal dust to chalk dust, mustard seeds grew tall,
Each lesson like a carol, each prayer a manger call.

Bridge

Like David with his sling, they fought poverty’s giant,
Each step was a prayer, each mile was defiant.
They asked not for riches, just warmth and a meal,
For the birth of their Savior /was the gift they could feel.

Chorus

Oh, walk on children, walk on through the cold,
The Lord is the lantern, His Word is the road.
From holler to heaven, from valley to crown,
The schoolhouse of glory won’t turn you down.
Christmas Eve in the holler, stars over town,
The schoolhouse of glory won’t turn you down