# Music by Genre > Bluegrass, Newgrass, Country, Gospel Variants >  Top three favorite Bill Monroe tunes.

## Jonathan Rudie

What are your top three all time favorite Bill Monroe tunes and what about the tunes make them your favorites? Thanks!

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## good_ol_al_61

In order of my preference...

My Last Days on Earth
Scotland
Blue Moon of Kentucky

Thanks for asking!

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## adgefan

My favourites are the ones where the fiddle and banjo stand out rather than the mandolin. I love bluegrass and mandolin, yet when listening to Bill Monroe it's the other players who always grab my attention. If I had to choose 3 then...

1. Goldrush - is it major or minor, fast or slow? The banjo sounds frantic, yet the fiddle glides through it in a totally laidback fashion. Can listen to this all day and never get sick of it.

2. Virginia Darlin' - can't really explain why, just love the banjo break.

3. Grey Eagle - the fiddle on this is just something else. Loads of weird noises coming out of it. If I played fiddle this is the one tune I'd want to learn.

By the way, my opinion will be completely different in a couple of seconds!

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## Mandoe

I really like these tunes:
1) Jerusalem Ridge
2) Old Dangerfield
3) Moonlight Waltz

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## Coy Wylie

1) Tennesee Blues - His first recorded tune, dripping with hard-driving blues. 
2) Wheel Hoss - Built for speed, fast and furious.
3) Big Mon - WSM's personal version of Dusty Miller. 

BTW, you said "tunes" as in instrumentals. Songs to be sung are a different catagory.

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## David M.

1. Kentucky Man'lin
2. Jer. Ridge
3. Ashland Breakdown

tied for 3rd: Lonesome moonlight Waltz

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## John Flynn

Previously I have enjoyed Monroe's stuff "from afar," meaning I buy his CDs and listen to them, but don't get that much into what tunes are which (unless it's obvious by the lyrics) and I have not played much Monroe stuff on the mando. However, after years of playing old-time and church music on the mando, I'm currently taking my first BG mando class and I am really enjoying it. My three favorite Monroe tunes would have to be the three that the instructor has started us on: Big Sandy River, Roanoke and Come Hither, Go Yonder.

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## swampstomper

adgefan, about your choices:

The fiddle *does* glide through Gold Rush because it's the incredibly smooth-bowed Byron Berline

Virginia Darling is completely wrecked for me by the gratuitous (and musically boring) bass "solo" by you-know-who. Listen to Michael Cleveland's version to hear how this can sound. Again Berline.

Agree about Grey Eagle -- wow!! that's Richard Greene of course.

My three favourites?

Instrumentals: Scotland, Stoney Lonesome, Dusty Miller

Songs: I'm Blue, I'm Lonesome (co-written with Hank Williams); Walls of Time (co-written with Peter Rowan); The First Whipporwill

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## fatt-dad

Roanoke
Jerusalum Ridge
Monroe's Hornpipe

the three that I can mangle on my own while keeping the dog at my feet.

f-d

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## Gary S

Alright, I will try to pick three. My favorites seem to change but currently they are

Tennessee Blues
Bluegrass Stomp
Scotland
Goin up Caney
Evening Prayer Blues
Old Dangerfield

Sorry I cant pick just three...Gary Silverstein

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## Bradley

Roanoke
Tennessee Blues
and of course Rawhide

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## Coy Wylie

Oh man, Bluegrass Stomp has got to be up there too, thanks Gary. Does Rawhide really count?

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## JimRichter

Tunes:

Tanyards
My Father's Footsteps
The Golden West
(followed by Fair Play, Come Hither, Ebeneezer Scrooge, Old Dangerfield, etc.)

Songs:

Letter From My Darling
Rocky Road Blues
Close By

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## Mike Bunting

Currently it's these tunes,
Bluegrass Stomp
Scotland
Old Dangerfield, Tanyards

as well as songs like 
Mighty Dark for Me to Travel
Letter from My darlin'
to name only two.

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## evanreilly

My fav-o-rite Monroe tunes:

Galley Nipper
Pocahontas
McKinley's March

songs:
today it is 'When The Golden Leaves Begin to Fall'

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## Peter Hackman

Hey, where did my post go?

Second try:

Crossing the Cumberlands, and the Moonlight Waltz, because
I play them. I sometimes do Scotland as a solo guitar piece
(taking advantage of the open A).

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## J. Mark Lane

Interesting responses. I wonder if people focusing on instrumentals because the question called for "favorite tunes," or simply because the instrumentals are their favorites? ??

Personally, what I enjoy most about Bill Monroe -- apart from the style itself -- is his singing and songwriting. I think he was one of the great American songwriters. Hard to say "three" favs, but a few of my favs are --

Body and Soul
I Hear a Sweet Voice Calling
Uncle Pen

also 

On My Way to the Old Home
Memories of Mother and Dad
Little Georgia Rose
Rose of Old Kentucky
Going Up Caney

...jeez, there's sooo many more....

For tunes, I guess I would have to say

Jerusalem Ridge 
Southern Flavor
Rawhide (just because it's so wild)

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## tree

At the moment . . .
Lord Protect My Soul
Raw Hide
Were You There

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## bsimmers

Good by Old Pal
Jerusalem Ridge
Go Hither to Go yonder

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## Steve Cantrell

1.Tanyards
2. Old Dangerfield
3. Ashland Breakdown

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## OlderThanWillie

1. Frog On a Lilly Pad (Not mentioned by anyone previously-- see Frog Song) # # #
2. Jerusalem Ridge
3. Kentucky Waltz (Not mentioned earlier either)

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## Steve G

Evening Prayer Blues
Letter From My Darlin
When You Are Lonely

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## MWM

Lured from lurking once again. OK Here goes.

1. Jerusalem Ridge - 4 parts, minor key, haunting melancholy melody, decent speed - it has it all. This is the tune that made me want to play mandolin. Still gives me the same feeling 25+ years after first hearing it.

2. Cheyenne - Unusual and very cool. I've seldom ever seen others mention it on the cafe which is the reason I decided to post. I've encountered this one at better jams and it's great to pick on guitar or mando. Starts in G minor, shifts to Bb with a I-iii-IV-I-V progression (didn't I mention unusual?). The Album Band did a great version. 

3. ?# - There are so many. Wheel Hoss and Big Mon actually sound great played at near insane speeds. Southern Flavor and Kentucky Mandolin for the minor keys. Rawhide just because it's Rawhide. The stomps. They're all great.

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## chirorehab

1. Roanoke
2. Old Brown County Barn
3. Wheel Hoss

I love them instrumentals - Salt Creek, Big Mon and others along those lines.......

Eric

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## Tim Saxton

#1. Tennesse Blues
#2. Bluegrass Breakdown and Bluegrass Part 1
#3. Bluegrass Stomp

Tim Saxton

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## kvk

Walls of Time
True Life Blues
With Body and Soul

I like the dark brooding stuff.

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## Peter Hackman

> Walls of Time
> True Life Blues
> With Body and Soul
> 
> I like the dark brooding stuff.


With Body and Soul was actually written by Virginia
Stauffer.

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## kvk

Ah but the question is "What are your top three all time favorite Bill Monroe tunes ... ". It doesn't specify penned by or performed by.

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## Cedartop

In the Pines
Get Up John
Molly and Tenbrooks

Those are the three right now but it could change. I recently bought the four C.D. boxed set of Monroe from 1936 to 1994. Good stuff.

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## hellindc

Jerusalem Ridge 
In the Pines (Who-oo-ooh)
Little Georgia Rose

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## Bobbie Dier

Little Georgia Rose
Old Dangerfield
Lonesome Moonlight Waltz

Cry Cry Darlin........I don't know if he wrote that one but I like to hear him sing it

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## Bobbie Dier

Nope.. I just looked. He didn't write Cry, Cry Darlin . It was Jimmy Newman. He sings it anyway. Does that count?

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## evanreilly

It counts; but it is a 'song', not a 'tune'.

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## Bobbie Dier

Oh NO, I guess I had better change "Little Georgia Rose" then. That is a song too. Can ya play it as an instrumental??? 

In that case I'll trade "Little Georgia Rose" for "Texas Lone Star". That keeps it in the tune category.

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## evanreilly

No big deal; I think Monroe cross-fertilized a bunch between songs and tunes.

I think he wrote a few tunes and songs based on their similar melodies:
"Watson's Blues" (tune) loosely from "You'll Find Her Name Written There" (song);
"Old Brown County Jamboree Barn" (tune) from "Used to Be" (song).
Just my theory; I never asked him.

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## Bobbie Dier

evanreilly, 

That's an interesting theory. Never looked at it like that before.

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## danb

1) Scotland
2) Jerusalem Ridge
3) The Lloyd Loar (great story behind it, named by Charlie D if I'm not mistaken)

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## evanreilly

"The Lloyd Loar" was written for the "...fine folks at Gibson...." who fixed up #73987.
The particular individual responsible for the splinter re-assembly is included in the picture below (hint: shop apron!).
I like to think Bill is playing "The Lloyd Loar" in this shot.

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Timbofood

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## Garrett

Stoney Lonesome
Frog on a Lillypad
Jerusalem Ridge
Scotland 
Whoops thats four, can't stop. Must be about thirty or forty that are my favorites.

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## Jonathan Rudie

Current top three vote getters are as follows:

1. Jerusalem Ridge (10 votes)
2. Scotland (7 votes)
3. Old Dangerfield (6 votes)

(Lonesome Moonlight Waltz, Roanoke, Tennesse Blues, Bluegrass Stomp and Rawhide are all currently tied for 4th with 4 votes each.)

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## AlanN

Thanks for posting that photo, Evan. Hard to believe 20 years have passed.

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## evanreilly

Yep...
the first show Bill played after his two F-5s were smashed was in Cambridge, MA. I was there and talked to him on the bus before the show and offered him the use of my mandolin.
But Charlie Derrington had lent him his personal mandolin while he worked on the repairs.

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## Zed

Bill didn't write Roanoke, did he?

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## Charlie Derrington

Actually Evan, they were playing a Blues tune. Improv (particularly on Chet's part  )

My favorite tunes:

Tombstone Junction
Come Hither To Go Yon (with Southern Flavor a close second)
Lonesome Moonlight Waltz (the changes could have been written by Beethoven)

And I love to sing the Ky. Waltz.

Gosh, it is so hard to pick only three! With tunes like Brown County Barn, Monroe's Hornpipe, Tennessee Blues, Road to Columbus, Brown County Breakdown, and (no pun intended) on and on.

Charlie

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## GTison

anyone got an mp3 of "the Lloyd Loar"? I've never heard it though I've heard of it.

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## luckylarue

Current Favorites:
     1. Lonesome Moonlight Waltz
     2. Old Crossroad is Waitin'
     3. Watson Blues

Honorable Mention:
     1. Evening Prayer Blues
     2. I'm Going Back to Old Kentucky
     3. Jerusalem Ridge

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## phriend2spin

1. Always liked "IN THE PINES."  Nirvana covered it on thier MTV unplugged cd.... who would have ever thought. Kurt Cobain called it something else, not to sure of what the name is but it is the last song on that cd. It is still in the same key and most of the lyrics are there but done in a grunge way. 

2. I also like "My Last Days on Earth." Slow, touching, and perfect for the title.

3. Third place goes to two songs but I have no idea what thier names are. Both are really old and have his bandmates making special effects in the background. The first one has someone barking and howling like a dog and second has someone saying the line "there's no ham like Birmingham."

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## DryBones

top 3? how about 5?
1. In The Pines  (also check out The Packway Handle Bands cover of this!)
2. Blue Moon of Kentucky
3. Uncle Pen
4. Footprints in the Snow
5. Mule Skinner Blues

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## sgarrity

Top three, that's tough, but I'll give 'er a shot:
1) Old Ebenezeer Dangerfield, I know its two tunes but I always play them together
2) My Father's Footsteps, so simple and beautiful
3) Bluegrass Stomp, pure mandolin blues

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## Peter Hackman

> 1. Always liked "IN THE PINES."  Nirvana covered it on thier MTV unplugged cd.... who would have ever thought. Kurt Cobain called it something else, not to sure of what the name is but it is the last song on that cd. It is still in the same key and most of the lyrics are there but done in a grunge way. 
> 
> 2. I also like "My Last Days on Earth." Slow, touching, and perfect for the title.
> 
> 3. Third place goes to two songs but I have no idea what thier names are. Both are really old and have his bandmates making special effects in the background. The first one has someone barking and howling like a dog and second has someone saying the line "there's no ham like Birmingham."


Those would be Doghouse Blues and the Orange Blossom Special
from the Victor sessions, I suppose.

Monroe played the guitar on Doghouse Blues, by the way.

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## John Hill

1. Bluegrass Breakdown
2. Kentucky Mandolin
3. Methodist Preacher

It's tough to pick just 3. 

4. Sittin' Alone in The Moonlight
5. Wheel Hoss
6. This list could go on & on!

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## Philip Halcomb

My favorites right now would have to be:

1. Backup and Push
2. I Traced her little footprints in the snow
3. Voice on High

Others:

Body and Soul
Roanoke
Precious Memories

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## Moose

Peter: ..never knew that! -(and I thought I knew Monroe's material/discography well). Thanks! - Moose.

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## mando-tech

> Lured from lurking once again. OK Here goes.
> 
> 1. Jerusalem Ridge - 4 parts, minor key, haunting melancholy melody, decent speed - it has it all. This is the tune that made me want to play mandolin. Still gives me the same feeling 25+ years after first hearing it.
> 
> 2. Cheyenne - Unusual and very cool. I've seldom ever seen others mention it on the cafe which is the reason I decided to post. I've encountered this one at better jams and it's great to pick on guitar or mando. Starts in G minor, shifts to Bb with a I-iii-IV-I-V progression (didn't I mention unusual?). The Album Band did a great version. 
> 
> 3. ?# - There are so many. Wheel Hoss and Big Mon actually sound great played at near insane speeds. Southern Flavor and Kentucky Mandolin for the minor keys. Rawhide just because it's Rawhide. The stomps. They're all great.


...have to keep telling...-Southern Flavor is NOT in a "minor key" !...it's an audio illusion !

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## V70416

I hadn't played Southern Flavor in a while. I like the major E chord best but played the minor when I first learned it. In minor it sounds more like Southern Flavoure.

Three of my flavorites:
Old Ebenezer Scrooge/Dangerfield
Southern Flavor
Roanoke
Northern White Cloud .

Is that three?

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## ralph johansson

Of course, the question as always is, what exactly is a Bill Monroe tune? Which of them did he really write, etc.

Gold Rush: Monroe had the idea and Byron Berline helped him shape it into a fiddle tune. Berline also contributed the out chorus. #3: the chords are in A major and there's a prominent b7 in the melody, giving the song a mixolydian flavor. There's absolutely nothing minor about it. 

I'm pretty sure Dusty Miller is traditional.

Methodist Preacher and Going Up Caney, like all the rest on the Uncle Pen album, are traditional. So are  Back Up and Push and Were You There.

Big Sandy was written by Kenny Baker.

Jerusalem Ridge is a joint effort; Baker came up with most of the ideas, but Monroe made the decisions. 

Goodbye Old Pal was written by Cliff Carlisle. Monroe bought it from him for 15 dollars (my source:Monroe).

Clyde Moody claimed he wrote Kentucky waltz. Richard Greene claims he wrote Northern White Cloud from some idea of Monroe's.

Watson Blues may have been based on You'll Find Her Name Written There, which was written by Harold Hensley, a session fiddler in LA/Hollywood.

Footprints in the Snow has a very long history and changed quite a bit over the years. It is certainly not a Monroe song, though he may have added a few touches of his own.

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## UsuallyPickin

1. Jerusalem Ridge
2. Goldrush
3. Kentucky Waltz

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## T.D.Nydn

1. Kentucky mandolin. 2. Big Mon  3. Southern flavor..a second nod to Wheel hoss,Rawhide ..

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## jpugh

1- Jerusalem Ridge
2- GoldRush
4- Evening Prayer Blues (D Ford I know)
3- Farewell to Long Hollow
Changes often, but now those are the ones Im playin/learninmost on Mandlin-
My new Fave-Rite instrument

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## AlanN

Old Ebeneezer Scrooge (what a great title) is the current jam.

Reading through this old post is bittersweet.

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Don Grieser, 

sgarrity

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## bigskygirl

All great tunes, for me it’s:

So. Flavor
Watson’s Blues
Lochwood

For now anyway...

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## Fiddler3

Big Sandy
Kentucky Waltz
Kentucky Mandolin
But it is real hard to narrow to 3. Footprints in the Snow should be there too.

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## jpugh

I’m curious,
What tunes would y’all more “experienced/know’ed”
Pickers suggest for newbies or those knew to Monroe style,
I’ve been at this not long but for a year or so, but only been trying to sound like Mr Bill of late , and I’m finding it much diffytjan what I’ve been doing, but very cool and enjoyable

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## doc holiday

J,  I've got some favourite Monroe tunes, like "Old Dangerfield", &  "Evening Prayer Blues," (& many others) but for getting into the Monroe style of playing, i'd listen to the "Doc Watson & Bill Monroe Live Recordings".... & hear how he interprets standard tunes like "Paddy on the Turnpike" & "Soldier's Joy" as an example.

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jpugh

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## Don Grieser

> Old Ebeneezer Scrooge (what a great title) is the current jam.
> 
> Reading through this old post is bittersweet.


I think Scrooge is one of the best tunes he wrote, a masterpiece.

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## soliver

1. Jerusalem Ridge 
2. Kentucky Waltz
3. Toy Heart

I know this is an old thread, but these are 3 that I love and have been working on.

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