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.
Shady Grove
Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Eyes of the deepest brown
You are the darling of my heart
Stay till she sun goes down
Shady Grove, my little love
Shady Grove, I say
Shady Grove, my little love
Shady Grove my little love
Standin' in the door
Shose and stockin's in her hand
I'm bound to go away
Shady Grove my little love
Standin' in the door
Shose and stockin's in her hand
And her little bare feet on the floor
Wish I had a big, fine horse
And the Corn to feed him on
And Shady Grove to stay at home
And feed him while I'm gone
I used to have an old banjo
The strings were made of twine
The only song that it would play
Was "Trouble on my Mind".
Peaches in the summertime
Apples in the fall
If I can't have the girl I love
I won't have none at all.
Shady Grove, my little love
Shady Grove, I say
Shady Grove, my little love
Don't wait till Judgment Day
The song "Shady Grove" by Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys is a classic love ballad that tells the story of a man deeply in love with his sweetheart, Shady Grove. He describes her as having cheeks as red as the blooming rose and eyes of the deepest brown. He tells her to stay until the sun goes down and declares his love for her. However, he also acknowledges that he must leave and wishes he had a big, fine horse and corn to feed him on, and wishes Shady Grove could stay at home and feed the horse while he's gone. The song ends with the melancholic line "Don't wait till Judgment Day," suggesting that the man fears he may not see his lover again.
The lyrics are filled with vivid imagery, painting a picture of a romanticized past where love was simpler and life was slower. The use of simple language and repetition of the chorus adds to the song's charm and ensures its place as a beloved classic in bluegrass music.
Line by Line Meaning
Cheeks as red as the blooming rose
Your cheeks are as red as a blooming rose
Eyes of the deepest brown
Your eyes are the deepest shade of brown
You are the darling of my heart
You are the beloved of my heart
Stay till she sun goes down
Stay with me until the sun sets
Shady Grove, my little love
Shady Grove, my love
Shady Grove, I say
I say, Shady Grove
Shady Grove, my little love
Shady Grove, my love
I'm going to leave you here
I'm leaving you here
Shady Grove my little love
Shady Grove, my love
Standin' in the door
You're standing in the doorway
Shose and stockin's in her hand
You hold shoes and stockings in your hand
I'm bound to go away
I am obligated to leave
Shady Grove my little love
Shady Grove, my love
Standin' in the door
You're standing in the doorway
Shose and stockin's in her hand
You hold shoes and stockings in your hand
And her little bare feet on the floor
Your little bare feet touch the floor
Wish I had a big, fine horse
I wish I had a beautiful horse
And the Corn to feed him on
And corn to feed it with
And Shady Grove to stay at home
And for Shady Grove to stay at home
And feed him while I'm gone
And feed the horse while I'm away
I used to have an old banjo
I once had an old banjo
The strings were made of twine
It had strings made of twine
The only song that it would play
The banjo could only play one song
Was "Trouble on my Mind".
It played "Trouble on my Mind".
Peaches in the summertime
Peaches in the summer
Apples in the fall
Apples in the fall
If I can't have the girl I love
If I can't have the girl I love
I won't have none at all.
Then I don't want any
Shady Grove, my little love
Shady Grove, my love
Shady Grove, I say
I repeat, Shady Grove
Shady Grove, my little love
Shady Grove, my love
Don't wait till Judgment Day
Don't wait until Judgment Day
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: KENNETH CHESNEY, BUDDY CANNON, TIMOTHY HENSLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ryan Nathanson
Shady Grove my little miss, shady Grove my darling
Shady Grove my little miss, I'm going back to Harlan
Coffee grows on white oak trees
The river flows with brandy
The rocks on/and the hills are covered in gold
And the girls are sweet as candy
Oh can't you think my pretty little miss
I can't live without you
I'll let you know before I go
I care but a little about you
Every time I go that road it's always dark and cloudy
Every time I see that girl I always tell her howdy
There are more verses too. Refer to Flatt and Scruggs, the Kentucky Colonels, hot rize
Ricky Joyner
I remember sitting across the supper table from this man. In Aliceville Al. In the early 60's. A lot of the Grand Ole Opry greats used to stop at my Uncle Jim Brocks house for a home cooked meal. Uncle Jim played fiddle for Jim and Jessie. Good times!!
cam the cam man cam
damn dude that's cool af
Karen Maggiano
Love the mando break on this!
Gregory Grinstead
Classic!
B9
Does anybody know the full lyrics to this song and if you do could you write them down? I don't think there's many but I can't understand everything he's saying and I like this tune a lot, thank you God bless you.
Ryan Nathanson
Shady Grove my little miss, shady Grove my darling
Shady Grove my little miss, I'm going back to Harlan
Coffee grows on white oak trees
The river flows with brandy
The rocks on/and the hills are covered in gold
And the girls are sweet as candy
Oh can't you think my pretty little miss
I can't live without you
I'll let you know before I go
I care but a little about you
Every time I go that road it's always dark and cloudy
Every time I see that girl I always tell her howdy
There are more verses too. Refer to Flatt and Scruggs, the Kentucky Colonels, hot rize
Gil Faver
Terrific.
Mike Carr
cool name .......I remember it well !
brad fiser
🎵"Ever time i go that road its always dark and cloudy 🎵ever time i see that girl i always tell her howdy "🎵🪕🎻
John Ellis
So cool