Monroe was born in Rosine, Kentucky. His father, James Buchanan Monroe, was a well-to-do farmer while his mother, Melissa Ann Van Diver,[1] was from lower down the social scale. Malissa and her brother, Pendleton “Pen” Vandiver, were both musically inclined, and Bill Monroe learned old-time music from his uncle who was an itinerant fiddler. Thirty years later, Monroe wrote a song (“Uncle Pen”) in honor of him and the music.
Monroe’s professional career began in the 1930s when he and his older brothers, Birch and Charlie, began performing as a trio, the Monroe Brothers, at a radio station in South Bend, Indiana near Hammond, Indiana where they worked in an oil refinery. Birch left the music scene early on in the Monroes’ career, and the younger two brothers continued to perform as the Monroe Brothers. They were successful enough to record 60 songs in two years for Bluebird Records. In 1939, after the brothers parted ways, Monroe formed the first edition of the Blue Grass Boys, and in October of the same year became a regular on the Grand Ole Opry.
As a mandolin player, Monroe brought a virtuosity previously unknown in country music to his instrument. In 1945 he hired Earl Scruggs, who similarly elevated the role of the banjo. This version of the Blue Grass Boys, which also included singer/guitarist Lester Flatt, Chubby Wise on fiddle, and Howard Watts aka “Cedric Rainwater” on bass, made the first recordings that featured all the elements that later came to be known as bluegrass music. This particular group broke up when Flatt and Scruggs left to form their own group, the Foggy Mountain Boys.
Monroe quickly replaced them and within a few years had formed what many consider the classic “High Lonesome” version of the Blue Grass Boys, featuring the cutting lead singing and powerful rhythm guitar of Jimmy Martin, the banjo of Rudy Lyle (replacing the fuller sound of Earl Scruggs), and dynamic fiddlers such as Merle “Red” Taylor and Charlie Cline. This band recorded songs such as “On and On”, “Memories of Mother and Dad” and “Uncle Pen”, as well as instrumentals such as “Bluegrass Ramble” and the defining piece of Bill Monroe’s mandolin technique, “Rawhide”.
In 1954 Elvis Presley recorded Monroe’s 1940’s hit “Blue Moon of Kentucky” as the B-side of his first Sun recording. Far from resenting Presley’s jumped-up version, Monroe encouraged the young singer to keep developing his own style, and responded by re-arranging the song with an up-tempo arrangement with triple fiddles. Monroe kept the triple fiddles prominent in most of his late 50’s recordings and appearances on the Grand Ole Opry. However, throughout this period rock & roll and rockabilly were seriously hurting many established country music stars, including Monroe. He often toured with only one musician (often multi-instrumentalist Charlie Cline) and picked up local musicians as necessary for his shows.
The folk music boom brought another audience to Monroe, mainly via the influence of his folklorist manager, Ralph Rinzler. During this period Monroe assembled another defining version of the Blue Grass Boys: the so-called “Northern” band of the mid-1960s, featuring musicians not of southern rural origin, including Bill Keith and later Lamar Grier on banjo, Peter Rowan as guitarist and lead singer, and Richard Greene as the fiddler.
More than 150 musicians played in the Blue Grass Boys over the years. Many later became stars in their own right, including Mac Wiseman, Clyde Moody, Sonny Osborne, Don Reno, David “Stringbean” Akeman, Del McCoury, Vassar Clements, Buck Trent, Peter Rowan, Byron Berline, Kenny Baker, Carter Stanley, Doug Green, and Randall Franks.
Bill Monroe was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1970, the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor as an inaugural inductee in 1991, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as an “early influence”) in 1997. He is the only performer honored in all three. In 1993, he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and he was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1995. His well-known song “Blue Moon of Kentucky” has been covered not only by bluegrass but also rock and country artists, most notably Elvis Presley, Paul McCartney and Patsy Cline.
Prison Song
Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Someone to call me their own
Oh, I wish I had someone to live with
'Cause I'm tired of living alone
Oh, meet me tonight in the moonlight
Please meet me tonight all alone
For I have a sad story to tell you
I'll be carried to the new jail tomorrow
Leaving my poor darling alone
With the cold prison bars all around me
And my head on a pillow of stone
Now I have a grand ship on the ocean
All mounted with silver and gold
And before my poor darling would suffer
Oh, that ship would be anchored and sold
Now, if I had the wings of an angel
Over these prison walls I would fly
And I'd fly to the arms of my darling
And there I'd be willing to die
The song Prison Song by Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys tells the story of a man who is lamenting his situation of being alone and imprisoned. He longs for someone to love him and to call his own. He is tired of living alone and wishes that he had someone to share his life with. He asks the person he is singing to meet him tonight in the moonlight, for he has a sad story to tell them, a story that has never been told before.
The man then goes on to tell the person he is singing to that he will be carried to the new jail tomorrow, leaving his poor darling alone. He is surrounded by the cold prison bars, and his head rests on a pillow of stone. He speaks of a grand ship that he owns, which is mounted with silver and gold. He says that he would sell the ship before he allowed his poor darling to suffer. The man then says that if he had the wings of an angel, he would fly over the prison walls in order to reach the arms of his darling, even if it meant that he would die there.
Overall, Prison Song is a poignant song that expresses the loneliness and sorrow of a man who is imprisoned. It speaks to the human need for companionship, and the despair that can come from being separated from loved ones.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, I wish I had someone to love me
I am lonely and desire someone who will truly care for me.
Someone to call me their own
I want to feel like I belong to someone and that someone belongs to me.
Oh, I wish I had someone to live with
Living alone without meaningful companionship is taking a toll on me and I wish for someone to share my life with.
'Cause I'm tired of living alone
Being alone for too long is exhausting and I crave a connection with another human being.
Oh, meet me tonight in the moonlight
I long to see you under the romantic glow of the moonlight.
Please meet me tonight all alone
Meet me privately without any interference from the outside world.
For I have a sad story to tell you
I need to share a tale of sorrow with you.
It's a story that's never been told
This is a story that I have kept hidden from everyone else until now.
I'll be carried to the new jail tomorrow
I am being imprisoned tomorrow and taken away from the one I love.
Leaving my poor darling alone
My loved one will be left behind without my presence and support.
With the cold prison bars all around me
I will be locked up in a cell with metal bars surrounding me on all sides.
And my head on a pillow of stone
My bed will be made of solid rock without any cushion or comfort.
Now I have a grand ship on the ocean
I am a wealthy man with a luxurious ship sailing on the sea.
All mounted with silver and gold
My ship is adorned with expensive silver and gold decorations.
And before my poor darling would suffer
I would do anything to prevent my loved one from experiencing any sort of pain or hardship.
Oh, that ship would be anchored and sold
I would sell my ship if necessary to ensure my loved one's well-being and happiness.
Now, if I had the wings of an angel
If only I could have the abilities of a divine being with wings to fly.
Over these prison walls I would fly
I would soar above the walls of my cell if given the chance to escape.
And I'd fly to the arms of my darling
I would immediately fly to my loved one's embrace if I escaped from prison.
And there I'd be willing to die
I would give my life for my loved one without hesitation or regret.
Contributed by Gabriella S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.