Lonesome Road Blues

Hi,
The song of the week is 'Lonesome Road Blues' (a.k.a. 'I'm Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad) in the key of G.


Recordings
Here is one of the first sung bluegrass versions of Lonesome Road Blues I remember hearing. It is a live recording of the Stanley Brothers, and it is played at quite a fast tempo:

The Stanley Brothers - key of G
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNNeAMI1O9M

Here is what is probably the most well-known instrumental bluegrass version of Lonesome Road Blues, played as a banjo-feature tune on the Flatt and Scruggs' album 'Foggy Mountain Banjo', and at a slower tempo than the Stanley Brothers' live version:

Flatt and Scruggs - key of G
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4dgyx9Q850

Here is a sung version by Bill Monroe, the father of bluegrass music
Bill Monroe - key of C
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0_s2hGkBAs

Finally, another sung version in a live performance, by a young Japanese band. Since there are breaks in this version played on four different instruments - banjo, fiddle, mandolin, and guitar, and they are all really good, I was happy to come across this version on youtube.

Bluegrass Police - key of G
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNY0-xZV2iE


Progression
The chord progression used in the versions of Lonesome Road Blues on the recordings given here is the same one that I use when leading the song:

1111
4411
4411
5511

(Prog. W4 on the Basic Chord Progressions handout)
...though, I have heard it played at some jams with the last line played as 1511 (Prog. V4 on the Basic Chord Progressions handout), and/or with the third line played as 4416m. 


Blue Notes
Notice the Bb note in measure 2 of lines 2, 3, and 4 on the melody sheets attached here. Relative to the key of G, the Bb note is the b3 (flatted third scale degree). Together with the b7 (for the key of G, an F note), making good use of this note will often add a 'bluesy' characteristic to your playing.


Arrangement
Lonesome Road Blues is one of those small handful of songs that at a typical bluegrass jam it would not be out of the ordinary for it to be played either with or without singing.

Lonesome Road Blues is also one of those songs that may be sung either with or without a chorus. Other songs that have been played at the jam that are also like this include: Down The Road, Amazing Grace, This Little Light Of Mine, and Little Birdie. When sung without a chorus, the set of lyrics that make up the chorus in the versions of Lonesome Road Blues that use a chorus will usually be sung as one of the verses in the song - usually as the first or as the last verse, or as both. 

For most of the songs that may be sung either with or without a chorus, I tend to choose to sing them without a chorus when I lead them at a jam, and this is how I sing Lonesome Road Blues. This arrangement allows more time for a greater number of breaks to be played without making the song unusually long. 


Song List
21 songs were played at last night's jam: 14 from the main list, 5 from the additional songs list, and 2 that are on neither list:

All The Good Times Are Past And Gone - G
Angeline The Baker - D
Buffalo Gals - A
Bury Me Beneath The Willow - D
Cripple Creek - A
Foggy Mountain Top - G
Gathering Flowers From The Hillside - G
I'll Fly Away - G
Liberty - D
Lonesome Road Blues - G
Mama Don't Allow - A
Old Joe Clark - A
Soldier's Joy - D
Way Down Town - E
Ain't Nobody Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone - A
Cluck Old Hen - A
Paradise - C
Shortnin' Bread - C
Turkey In The Straw - G
Clinch Mountain Backstep - A
Jambalaya - D

Happy Pickin',
Jason

​Lonesome Road Blues - banjo tab
Download File

Lonesome Road Blues - guitar tab
Download File

Lonesome Road Blues - mandolin tab
Download File

Lonesome Road Blues - melody in G
Download File