Bluegrass Ballads

Complete Book Text & Lyrics

Collected And Compiled By William Lightfoot Visscher author Of
Harp Of The South - Black Mammy - Carlisle Of Colorado - Way Out Yonder, Etc.

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About This Book
This book has little direct connection with modern bluegrass music as it is known today but is included here for research purposes as it documents songs and ballads popular in Kentucky from about 1850 to the early 1900's. Musicians may also find some of this material suitable for performance or inspiration. It is almost certain that many of the pieces in this collection had at least some influence on the bluegrass music emerging from performers like Bill Monroe and Earl Scruggs.
Warning:
This book dates from 1900, a time when the social milieu was very much different from today, and some of the content falls far short of current political correctness. The fact of it's inclusion here should not be taken to mean that the publisher of this web site condones or agrees with this content but neither do I believe uncomfortable parts of our history should be edited out.
I also have to apologise for the odd errors and weirdnesses you will find in this text, which are due to the inherent problems of scanning and OCRing old books. I hope you will not find them too distracting.

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Bluegrass Ballads, Content Index - Songs & Page Numbers.
Note: deduct 100 from the numbers shown to get the original page number from the book.
Inside front cover
contents list 1
contents list 2
contents list 3
Kentucky - 0111
Songs of Long Ago - 0112
When the Corn's Laid By - 0113
Page - 0114
My Own Kentucky Girl - 0115
Page - 0116
Ike - 0117
Page - 0118
A Song for Tennessee - 0119
When Ben Brush Won the Derby - 0120
Page - 0121
Balcazar - 0122
The Rifle in the Hall - 0123
Page - 0124
New Ground  - 0125
The Fee' Lark's Song - 0126
Our Cabin - 0127
Page - 0128
My Mother's Portrait. - 0129
A Love Song ... - 0130
Page - 0131
Down at the Rocky Spring - 0132
Page - 0133
The Old Grindstone - 0134
Page - 0135
On Next Court Day - 0136
Waiting for the Call - 0137
Page - 0138
Fetch Over the Canoe - 0139
Page - 0140
A Summer Night - 0141
Songs We Used to Sing - 0142
Page - 0143
Page - 0144
Old-Time Melodies - 0145
Lucie Lee of Tennessee - 0146
In Mississippi Woods - 0147
Dancing in the Old Time - 0148
Page - 0149
The Kentuckian's Lament - 0150
Page - 0151
Down South ... - 0152
Page - 0153
Old Mart an' Me - 0154
Page - 0155
Page - 0156
Harp of the South .. - 0157
Page - 0158
In Mexico .. - 0159
Christmas in the Ole Time - 0160
Page - 0161
Page - 0162
When the Julep's Ripe - 0163
Page - 0164
Other Verse— The Governor's Violin - 0167
Page - 0168
The Barbarian ... - 0169
Here's to You, My Brother - 0170
Page - 0171
Refugium - 0172
A Critic's Reward .. - 0173
Mount of the Holy Cross - 0174
Baby's Morning - 0175
The Gourd Beside the Spring - 0176
A Little Shoe ... - 0177
Sandy McCann ... - 0178
Page - 0179
Chiquita, La Bonita - 0180
Page - 0181
My Mother's Wedding Ring - 0182
The Poet King .. - 0183
The Coming Master - 0184
Cando - 0185
Page - 0186
A Modern Temple. - 0187
Page - 0188
Page - 0189
Page - 0190
Page - 0191
Castelar - 0192
Page - 0193
Page - 0194
Renaissance - 0195
Page - 0196
Page - 0197
Page - 0198
Page - 0199
Easter Lilies and Easter Bells - 0200
Page - 0201
Two Revels - 0202
Page - 0203
Give Us, O! God, to Know - 0204
Mistletoe - 0205
Buffalo Bill, A Knight of the West - 0206
Page - 0207
Page - 0208
Page - 0209
Page - 0210
The Modern Steed - 0211
Page - 0212
The Storm King - 0213
Bohemia's Rest. - 0214
Page - 0215
Page - 0216
Page - 0217
A Gentleman - 0218
Don't Saw Yourself Off of a Limb - 0219
Page - 0220
One More Valentine - 0221
Page - 0222
On the Summer Sea - 0223
Page - 0224
Be Fair and Just, My Son - 0225
Go Easy - 0226
Two Dead - 0227
The Tiger's Cub - 0228
Page - 0229
Page - 0230
Jim Marlinspike - 0231
Page - 0232
Page - 0233
A Memory and a Tear - 0234
Page - 0235
His Angel Slept - 0236
Page - 0237
The Woman of the Moon - 0238
A Talisman - 0239
Chicago - 0239
Page - 0240
Page - 0241
Page - 0242
Page - 0243
Page - 0244
Page - 0245
Page - 0246
Page - 0247
Page - 0248
Page - 0249
Page - 0250
Page - 0251
Page - 0252
Page - 0253
Page - 0254
The Dove - 0257
The Other End of War - 0258
Page - 0259
Page - 0260
Battle - 0261
Page - 0262
Page - 0263
War - 0264
The Anglo-Saxon Way - 0264
Page - 0265
Page - 0266
Page - 0267
Blue and Gray are One - 0268
All in Gray - 0269
The Regimental Flag - 0270
Page - 0271
Rhoda Ragland - 0272
Page - 0273
Page - 0274
Page - 0275
Le Reve - 0276
Daughters of America - 0277
A Song of Peace - 0278
A Song of Thanksgiving - 0279
Old Glory" ... - 0280
In the Fall of the Year - 0283
Page - 0284
Rosie's Sunday Clothes - 0285
Page - 0286
If I Could Live as Long as Methusalum - 0287
There's No Little Coon Like Mine - 0288
Page - 0289
Cawn-Pone an' Greens - 0290
You Can Nevah Make a White Man from a Coon - 0291
His Bracer in the Morning - 0292
Page - 0293
I'm a King an' I w'ars de Crown - 0294
Page - 0295
All Day on Lawd's Day - 0296
How Ephum Won a Gun - 0297
Page - 0298
Sandy's Sunday Shirt - 0299
Jaw-Bone Talk ... - 0300
Dem Skeeters - 0301
Tell Me, Honey - 0302
Page - 0303
Fo' Dey Set de Darkies Free - 0304
Hard Times Gwine Away - 0305
Page - 0306
Zoe's Plea - 0307
The Dinner Horn - 0307
Page - 0308
My Alabama Rose - 0309
Rambo's Serenade - 0310
Page - 0311
Loo, John - 0312
A 'Possum Song - 0313
Page - 0314
Hear dem Niggahs Singin' - 0315
Sorry for the Lord - 0316
Jube's Old Yaller Dog - 0317
Old Cato's Creed - 0318
Page - 0319
Some Singin' ... - 0320
Juley Ann - 0321
Page - 0322