The Really Good Book of Standard Bluegrass Songs

This book is a concise bluegrass lyrics book with 418 of the most common bluegrass songs. It is a very user-friendly, spiral bound, 112 page book in 8 ½ X 11 format. There are three or four songs on each page, but it's very readable. There are however, no chords or melody in the book, so you need to know the song to make use of it. I use it with my beginning students for ear training on chords. They can read along but can't cheat by reading the chords. This book has been very popular here in California and elsewhere. In fact, a new sport has been created around the book called "Good Book Roulette" as this CBA message boad post tells:

You go around the circle. The last person to play flips the book to a random page and sets it in front of the next person. That person has to pick one of the songs and sing it. It was great fun for a lot of reasons: a lot less pressure because you aren’t really expected to know the song; everybody sings; everybody is usually equally unfamiliar with the song; you get to do songs you kind of know but wouldn’t put out there and so on. Jack’s two books are great for this. The songs in the second book (The Equally Good Book) tend to be a little more obscure and when somebody got cocky and called for the Second Coming it usually went south. It was a lot of laughs but also a good way to stretch those musical skills.

As that paragraph above mentions, I do have a companion book, The Equally Good Book, but The Really Good Book should be your first choice if you're looking for the most commonly sung classics by people like Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, Stanley Brothers, Jimmy Martin, etc. This book has now been revised and corrected about a dozen times and every piece has been carefully edited against the recorded version.

Check out a sample page in PDF format.

Here's the Song Index: Here's a Spotify Playlist for the book! Also now an Apple Music playlist!

• Alcatraz Blues : Paisleys
• All the Good Times Are Past and Gone : Bill Monroe
• Along About Daybreak : Bill Monroe
• Angel Band : Stanley Brothers
• Another Night : Stanley Brothers
• Are You Tired of Me Darling? : Stanley Brothers
• Are You Waiting Just for Me? : Stanley Brothers
• Ashes of Love : Jim & Jesse
• Baby Blue Eyes : Flatt & Scruggs
• Baby Girl : Stanley Brothers
• Banks of the Ohio : Tony Rice
• A Beautiful Life : Bill Monroe
• Before I Met You : Flatt & Scruggs
• Blue Moon of Kentucky : Bill Monroe
• Blue Night : Bill Monroe
• Blue Railroad Train : Tony Rice
• Blue Ridge Cabin Home : Flatt & Scruggs
• Blue Ridge Mountain Blues : Jim & Jesse
• Blue Yodel No. 4 : Bill Monroe
• Bluebirds Are Singing for Me : Mac Wiseman; Osborne Brothers
• Blues for Your Own : Sally Van Meter
• Blues Stay Away from Me : Delmore Brothers
• Body and Soul : Bill Monroe
• Bound to Ride : Flatt & Scruggs
• Bramble and the Rose : Lynn Morris
• Brand New Shoes : Bill Monroe
• Bringin' In The Georgia Mail : Flatt & Scruggs
• Bury Me Beneath the Willow : Skaggs & Rice
• Cabin of Love : Bill Monroe
• Can't You Hear Me Calling? : Bill Monroe
• Cardboard Mansion : Paisleys
• Cash on the Barrelhead : Jim & Jesse
• Chalk up Another One : Jimmy Martin
• Cheap Love Affair : Bill Monroe
• Children Are Crying : David Grisman
• Close By : Bill Monroe
• Colleen Malone : Hot Rize
• Columbus Stockade Blues : Bill Monroe
• Come Back to Me in My Dreams : Bill Monroe
• Cora Is Gone : Flatt & Scruggs
• Crazy Heart : James King
• Cry Cry Darlin : Bill Monroe
• Cry From The Cross : Stanley Brothers
• Cryin' Holy Unto My Lord : Bill Monroe
• Dark as a Dungeon : Reno & Smiley
• Dark Hollow : Kentucky Colonels
• Darkest Hour Is Just Before Dawn : Stanley Brothers
• Deep Elum Blues : Red Allen
• Dig a Hole in the Meadow : Flatt & Scruggs
• Dim Lights, Thick Smoke : Flatt & Scruggs
• Does It Have To End This Way : Paisleys
• Doin' My Time : Flatt & Scruggs
• Don't Give Your Heart To a Rambler : Jimmy Martin
• Don't Laugh : McPeak Brothers
• Don't Let Your Deal Go Down : Flatt & Scruggs
• Don't Let Your Sweet Love Die : Reno & Smiley
• Don't This Road Look Rough and Rocky : Flatt & Scruggs
• Don't You See That Train? : Laurie Lewis & Kathy Kallick
• Dooley : Dillards
• Down in the River to Pray : O Brother
• Down in the Willow Garden : Red Allen
• Down the Road : Flatt & Scruggs
• Down Where the River Bends : Ralph Stanley
• Dream of a Miner's Child : Keith Whitley & Ricky Skaggs
• Drifting Too Far From the Shore : Bill Monroe
• Drink up and Go Home : Jimmy Martin
• Each Season Changes You : Osborne Brothers
• East Virginia Blues : Stanley Brothers
• Eight More Miles to Louisville : Reno & Smiley
• Farther Along : Bill Monroe
• A Few Old Memories : Hazel Dickens
• Fields Have Turned Brown: Stanley Brothers
• Fireball Mail : Lonesome River Band
• First Whippoorwill : Bill Monroe
• Foggy Mountain Top : Monroe Brothers
• Foggy River : Bill Monroe
• Footprints in the Snow : Bill Monroe
• Forty Years of Trouble : Paisleys
• Fox On The Run : Country Gentlemen
• Freeborn Man : Jimmy Martin
• Freight Train : Jim & Jesse
• Gathering Flowers for the Master's Bouquet : Stanley Brothers
• Going to the West : Laurie Lewis
• Going Up Home To Live In Green Pastures : Ralph Stanley
• Gold Watch and Chain : Ralph Stanley
• Gone Home : Flatt & Scruggs
• Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar : Hazel Dickens
• Gonna Settle Down : Flatt & Scruggs
• Good-Bye Old Pal : Bill Monroe
• Gotta Travel On : Bill Monroe
• Green Rolling Hills Of West Virginia : Jody Stecher And Kate Brislin
• Ground Hog : Dillards
• Hand Made Cross : Doyle Lawson
• Handsome Molly : Flatt & Scruggs
• Happy I'll Be : Vern & Ray
• Harbor of Love : Stanley Brothers
• Hard Hearted : Jim & Jesse
• Hard Times : Nashville Bluegrass Band
• He Will Set Your Fields on Fire : Bill Monroe
• Heavy Traffic Ahead : Bill Monroe
• Hello City Limits : Red Allen
• Hideaway : Laurie Lewis & Kathy Kallick
• High on a Mountain : Del McCoury
• Highway of Pain : Del McCoury
• Highway of Regret : Stanley Brothers
• Highway of Sorrow : Bill Monroe
• Hit Parade of Love : Jimmy Martin
• Hold Whatcha Got : Jimmy Martin
• Homestead on the Farm : Flatt & Scruggs
• Honey You Don't Know My Mind : Jimmy Martin
• Hot Corn, Cold Corn : Flatt & Scruggs
• How Many Times : Vern & Ray
• How Mountain Girls Can Love : Stanley Brothers
• How Will I Explain About You : Bill Monroe
• I Am a Pilgrim : Bill Monroe
• I Am the Man, Thomas : Ralph Stanley
• I Am Weary, Let Me Rest : O Brother
• I Believed in You Darling : Bill Monroe
• I Cried Again : Jimmy Martin
• I Dreamed of an Old Love Affair : Dan Tyminski
• I Feel the Blues Moving In : Del McCoury
• I Hear a Choo Choo Coming : Stanley Brothers
• I Hear a Sweet Voice Calling : Bill Monroe
• I Just Got Wise : Stanley Brothers
• I Just Think I'll Go Away : Ralph Stanley
• I Know What It Means to Be Lonesome : Flatt & Scruggs
• I Love No One but You : Stanley Brothers
• I Never Shall Marry : Bray Brothers
• I Only Exist : Ralph Stanley
• I Saw the Light : Stanley Brothers
• I Wish You Knew : Jim & Jesse
• I Wonder Where You Are Tonight : Bill Monroe
• If I Lose : Ralph Stanley
• If I Should Wander Back Tonight : Flatt & Scruggs
• If That's The Way You Feel : Stanley Brothers
• If You're Ever Gonna Love Me : Kentucky Colonels
• I'll Drink No More Wine : Jimmy Martin
• I'll Fly Away : Down From The Mountain
• I'll Get By : James King
• I'll Go Stepping Too : Flatt & Scruggs
• I'll Just Pretend : Flatt & Scruggs
• I'll Love Nobody But You : Jim & Jesse
• I'll Never Love Another : Flatt & Scruggs
• I'll Never Shed Another Tear : Flatt & Scruggs
• I'll Remember You Love in My Prayers : Ralph Stanley
• I'll Stay Around : Flatt & Scruggs
• I'll Take the Blame : Flatt & Scruggs
• I'm Blue, I'm Lonesome : Bill Monroe
• I'm Coming Back But I Don't Know When : Jimmy Martin
• I'm Going Back to Old Kentucky : Bill Monroe
• I'm Gonna Sleep With One Eye Open : Flatt & Scruggs
• I'm Head over Heels in Love : Flatt & Scruggs
• I'm Lost And I'll Never Find The Way : Stanley Brothers
• I'm Ready to Go : Stanley Brothers
• I'm Sittin on Top of the World : Bill Monroe
• I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry : Bill Monroe
• I'm Travelling on and On : Bill Monroe
• I'm Troubled : Flatt & Scruggs
• I'm Waiting to Hear You Call Me Darling : Flatt & Scruggs
• I'm Working on a Building : Bill Monroe
• In Despair : Bill Monroe
• In the Gravel Yard : Blue Highway
• In the Pines : Bill Monroe
• It Takes One to Know One : Jimmy Martin
• It's Goodbye and So Long to You : Mac Wiseman; Osborne Brothers
• It's Might Dark To Travel : Bill Monroe
• It's Raining Here This Morning : Stanley Brothers
• I've Been All Around This World : Joe Val
• I've Just Seen the Rock of Ages : Ralph Stanley
• I've Never Been So Lonesome : Longview
• Jimmie Brown, the Newsboy : Flatt & Scruggs
• John Henry : Bill Monroe
• Just Wondering Why : Jim & Jesse
• Katy Cline : Mountain Music
• Katy Daley : Ralph Stanley
• Keep on the Sunny Side : Flatt & Scruggs
• Kentucky : Osborne Brothers
• Kentucky Girl : Larry Sparks
• Kentucky Waltz : Bill Monroe
• Kneel at the Cross : Stanley Brothers
• Leavin' : James King
• Let Me Rest at the End of the Day : Bill Monroe
• Let the Church Roll On : Stanley Brothers
• Letter from My Darling : Bill Monroe
• Linda Lou : Bill Monroe
• Little Annie : Lilly Brothers
• Little Birdie : Bray Brothers
• Little Cabin Home on the Hill : Bill Monroe
• Little Darling Pal of Mine : Stanley Brothers
• Little Girl and the Dreadful Snake : Stanley Brothers
• Little Glass of Wine : Stanley Brothers
• Little Maggie : Stanley Brothers
• Little Sadie : Tony Rice
• Little White Washed Chimney : Nashville Bluegrass Band
• Live and Let Live : Bill Monroe
• Log Cabin in the Lane : Bill Monroe
• Lonely Tombs : Stanley Brothers
• Lonesome Night : Stanley Brothers
• Lonesome Old Home : Longview
• Lonesome Road Blues : Bill Monroe
• Lonesome Without You : Stanley Brothers
• Long Black Veil : Bill Monroe
• Long Gone : Reno & Smiley
• Long Journey Home : Stanley Brothers
• Lost Highway : Jimmy Martin
• Lost to a Stranger : Jimmy Martin
• Love and Wealth [#] : Newport Folk Festival
• Love Grown Cold : Lynn Morris
• Love Of The Mountains : Larry Sparks
• Man of Constant Sorrow : O Brother
• Maple On the Hill : Stanley Brothers
• Mary Ann : Jimmy Martin
• Matterhorn : Country Gentlemen
• Maybe You Will Change Your Mind : Reno & Smiley
• Meet Me by the Moonlight : Don Rigsby, Dudley Connell
• Memories of Mother and Dad : Bill Monroe
• Midnight on the Stormy Deep : Bill Monroe
• Misery Loves Company : Johnson Mountain Boys
• Molly and Tenbrooks [The Racehorse Song] : Bill Monroe
• Money, Marbles and Chalk : Reno & Smiley
• Montana Cowboy : Vern & Ray
• More Pretty Girls Than One : Jimmy Martin
• Mother's Only Sleeping : Bill Monroe
• Mountain Dew : Flatt & Scruggs
• My Aching Heart : Osborne Brothers
• My Cabin in Caroline : Flatt & Scruggs
• My Deceitful Heart : Stanley Brothers
• My Dixie Darling : Laurie Lewis; Tom Rozum
• My Dying Bed : Bill Monroe
• My Heart Skips a Beat : Lynn Morris
• My Home's Across the Blue Ridge Mountains : Bluegrass Album Band
  My Little Georgia Rose : Bill Monroe
  My Little Girl in Tennessee : Flatt & Scruggs
  My Rose of Old Kentucky : Bill Monroe
  My Sweet Blue Eyed Darling : Bill Monroe
  Nellie Kane : Hot Rize
  Never Again : Stanley Brothers
  New River Train : Bill Monroe
  Nine Pound Hammer : Stanley Brothers
  No Hiding Place Down Here : Flatt & Scruggs
  No Longer a Sweetheart of Mine : Reno & Smiley
  Nobody Loves Me : Bill Monroe
  Nobody's Business : Stanley Brothers
  Ocean of Diamonds : Jimmy Martin
  Old Country Church : Ralph Stanley
  Old Devil's Dream : Nashville Bluegrass Band
  Old Home : Stanley Brothers
  Old Home Place : Dillards
  Old Kentucky Home [#] : Vern Williams
  Old Love Letters : Stanley Brothers
  Old Man at the Mill : Dillards
  Old Old House : Bill Monroe
  Old Swinging Bridge : Paisleys
  Ole Slew Foot : Jim & Jesse
  On and On : Bill Monroe
  On My Mind : Flatt & Scruggs
  On the Old Kentucky Shore : Bill Monroe
  Once More : Osborne Brothers
  The One I Love Is Gone : Hazel Dickens
  Our Last Goodbye : Stanley Brothers
  Out in the Cold World : Bill Monroe
  Over in the Gloryland : Stanley Brothers
  Pain in My Heart : Flatt & Scruggs
  Paradise [Live] : Jim & Jesse
  Pardon Me : Jim & Jesse
  Paul and Silas : Stanley Brothers
  Pig in a Pen : Stanley Brothers
  Poison Love : Bill Monroe
  Prayer Bells of Heaven : Jimmy Martin
  Pretty Polly : Stanley Brothers
  Prisoner's Song : Bill Monroe
  Rain and Snow : Del McCoury
  Raleigh and Spencer : Laurie Lewis
  Rank Strangers : Stanley Brothers
  Red Clay Halo : Nashville Bluegrass Band
  Red Rocking Chair : Bray Brothers
  Ridin' That Midnight Train : Stanley Brothers
  River of Jordan : Jim & Jesse
  Rock Hearts : Jimmy Martin
  Rocky Road Blues : Bill Monroe
  Rocky Top : Osborne Brothers
  Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms : Flatt & Scruggs
  Roll On Buddy : Bill Monroe
  Rollin' On : Lilly Brothers
  Roving Gambler : Larry Sparks
  Sad and Lonesome Day : Country Gentlemen
  Salty Dog Blues : Flatt & Scruggs
  Say Won't You Be Mine? : Stanley Brothers
  Sea Of Regret : Keith Whitley & Ricky Skaggs
  Secret of the Waterfall : Country Gentlemen
  Shackles and Chains : Stanley Brothers
  She Left Me Standing on the Mountain : Jim & Jesse
  Shenandoah Waltz : Stanley Brothers
  She's More to Be Pitied : Stanley Brothers
  She's No Angel : Osborne Brothers
  Short Life of Trouble : Mountain Music
  Shoutin' on the Hills of Glory : Stanley Brothers
  Silent Partner : Paisleys
  Sitting Alone in the Moonlight : Bill Monroe
  Slippin' Away : James King
  Somebody Loves You Darling : Red Allen
  Somehow Tonight : Flatt & Scruggs
  Someone Took My Place With You : Flatt & Scruggs
  Sophronie : Jimmy Martin
  Stay Away From Me : Bill Monroe
  Stone Walls and Steel Bars : Stanley Brothers
  Storms Are on the Ocean : Lilly Brothers
  Sugar Coated Love : Bill Monroe
  Sundown and Sorrow : Jim & Jesse
  Sunny Side of the Mountain : Will the Circle
  Sweet Little Miss Blue Eyes : Jim & Jesse
  Sweet Sunny South : Bluegrass Album Band
  Sweetest Gift : Connie & Babe
  Sweetheart You Done Me Wrong : Bill Monroe
  Take This Hammer : Flatt & Scruggs
  Take Your Shoes Off, Moses : Ralph Stanley
  Talk It All over With Him : Bluegrass Album Band
  Talk Of The Town : Reno & Smiley
  Tear My Stillhouse Down : Nashville Bluegrass Band
  Teardrops in My Eyes : Osborne Brothers
  Texas Bluebonnets : Laurie Lewis
  That Dawn the Day You Left Me : Laurie Lewis & Kathy Kallick
  That Happy Night : Stanley Brothers
  There Ain't Nobody Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone : Jimmy Martin
  There's Better Time's Coming : Jimmy Martin
  Things in Life : Laurie Lewis
  Think of What You've Done : Stanley Brothers
  Thinking About You : Flatt & Scruggs
  This Morning at Nine : Tony Rice
  This Weary Heart You Stole Away : Stanley Brothers
  Those Memories of You : Bill Monroe
  Thy Burdens Are Greater Than Mine : Stanley Brothers
  Till the End of the World Rolls Around : Flatt & Scruggs
  Too Late to Cry : Stanley Brothers
  Touch Of God's Hand : Vern & Ray
  Toy Heart : Bill Monroe
  Tragic Romance : Stanley Brothers
  Travelin' This Lonesome Road : Bill Monroe
  Troubles All My Own : High Country
  True Life Blues : Bill Monroe
  Two More Years : Stanley Brothers
  Uncle Pen : Bill Monroe
  Uncloudy Day : Doc Watson
  Unwanted Love : Reno & Smiley
  Used to Be : Bill Monroe
  Wabash Cannonball : Flatt & Scruggs
  Walk on Boy : Bray Brothers
  Walk Softly On This Heart Of Mine : Bill Monroe
  Walkin' the Dog : Hot Rize
  Walls of Time : Bill Monroe
  Waves on the Sea : Johnson Mountain Boys
  Way Downtown : Tony Rice
  Wayfaring Stranger : Bill Monroe
  We Can't Be Darlings Anymore : Flatt & Scruggs
  Weary Lonesome Blues: Traditional Grass
  We'll Meet Again Sweetheart : Flatt & Scruggs
  What About You? : Stanley Brothers
  What Does Tha Deep Sea Say? : The BlueGrass Suspects
  When I Stop Dreaming : Jim & Jesse
  When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again : Bill Monroe
  When the Golden Leaves Begin to Fall : Bill Monroe
  When You Are Lonely : Bill Monroe
  When You Go Walking : Lonesome River Band
  Where the Dim Lights Are the Dimmest : Longview
  Where the Soul Never Dies : Jim & Jesse
  White Dove : Stanley Brothers
  White House Blues : Bill Monroe
  Who Will Sing for Me? : Flatt & Scruggs
  Who's That Knocking At My Door? : Dreadful Snakes
  Whose Shoulder Will You Cry On? : Del McCoury
  Why Did You Wander? : Bill Monroe
  Why Don't You Tell Me So : Flatt & Scruggs
  Wicked Path of Sin : Bill Monroe
  Wild Bill Jones : Stanley Brothers
  Will He Wait A Little Longer? : Stanley Brothers
  Will the Circle Be Unbroken? : Will the Circle
  Will the Roses Bloom Where She Lies Sleeping? : Flatt & Scruggs
  Will There Be Any Stars In My Crown?: Down From The Mountain
  Will You Be Lonesome Too? : Newport Folk Festival
  Will You Be Loving Another Man? : Bill Monroe
  Will You Be Satisfied That Way? : Michael Cleveland
  Won't You Come and Sing for Me? : Hazel Dickens
  Worried Man Blues : Flatt & Scruggs
  Wreck of the Old 97 : Flatt & Scruggs
  Wrong Road Again : Joe Val
  You Are My Flower : Flatt & Scruggs
  You Don't Know My Mind : Jimmy Martin
  You'd Better Get Right : Stanley Brothers
  Your Love Is Like a Flower : Flatt & Scruggs
  You're the Girl of My Dreams : Larry Sparks