Doc Watson - Shady Grove

[wzaitz]

nothing could replace the sound of a banjo

[wishdragon123]

I'm learning to play this song on my guitar!

[adamup2n2]

This song caught your "eye"?

[LickNRiff]

Four people ate blue grass

[ArtNinja14]

Awesome!!!

[uncawooz]

That's Don Stover providing the clawhammer banjo on this tune. Check out his album "Things In Life" on Amazon.

[JohnnysCoolStuff]

Doc Watson uses a two-finger technique - index finger and thumb. So this isn't really clawhammer style.

[gamerboy259]

This sounds like clawhammer, which if it is, it is very pleasing to me, since it is the way that I play, which means that I can learn how to play this masterpiece!

Thank you for sharing such a beautiful piece of traditional bluegrass, and clawhammer banjo, which people seem to forget about way to often these days.

[pmnorris]

@gamerboy259 Doc was famous as a "flat picker" as JohnnsCoolStuff says above...I saw him and Merle play this at Castle Creek in Austin in 1969....

[DMrFrost]

I hope everyone gets a chance to hear this mastepiece before death claims them.

[nebojsav]

A kiss form pretty little Shady Grove

Is sweet as brandy wine

And ther ain't no girl in this old world

Thats's prettier than mine

[letsfucksomeshitup]

does anyone know where i could print off the sheet music for this song? this version of shady grove in particular?

[suckmycod]

Just saw Doc in Todd, NC in June. God Bless Him! Good as ever, he only lives about 5 miles from here

[SqueezeMyLemonBabe]

This is one of the only tunes I posted years ago that I still listen to regularly. I dont even bother with anything else I used to put up.

such a good song,

[scalporf]

@SqueezeMyLemonBabe Indeed. This tune is just eternal.

[BeautifulLittleIere]

What is up with your name? I mean it's Squeeze my lemon babe....

[SqueezeMyLemonBabe]

@BeautifulLittleIere

hehe,

ever heard of Robert Johnson?

look up Robert Johnson's 'Traveling Riverside Blues'

if you listen carefully you should hear it.

'till the juice runs down my leg'

[antiherbs814]

If it was passed to you, keep it well. This song is very, very old, and deserves to live a lot longer. It's just one of those songs that was perfect when it was made, and will still be perfect even after it's been cast aside.

[pdtravis19]

I have been fortunate in many ways, one of the most obvious is the fact that I grew up listening to Doc. My first concert was Doc and Merle but I cried and pouted in the car.

Every time I have seen him play this song he dedicates it to his wife because it is her favorite, and I assume she has good taste. Thank you Doc and all the people that keep American music alive.

[RahRahRaharu]

Honestly This is not bluegrass it is just the music from way back when in the Blue Ridge Montains, where my heart still resides. I remember driving all over the tri states listenin to Doc Watson with my dad. Memories.

[darthaardvark]

The song caught your ear maybe?

[cfletch75]

It's kind of hard to strictly categorize Doc's music. This song certainly is an old timey song, and here Doc gives it a bit of a bluegrass feel. This definitely isn't typical bluegrass music. Whatever you want to call it, it rocks...

[MayorDooley]

something about Bluegrass that just gives me the chills and this is about as good as it gets!

[Malc666the1]

This music is the shit. Whoever comes and puts 'dislike' for this should be stood up against a wall and stoned to death

[rockerdudeb]

this reminds me of philmont..

[LydiaKid95]

I was raised on this stuff. <3

[slayedsammuri]

This makes me want to go back to Philmont

[mrgabest]

I assume people are saying that 'Shady Grove' isn't Bluegrass because it's old enough to be considered an old-timey folk song, instead. And I would agree - if he were playing it in an old-timey manner. But this is clearly Bluegrass.

[jackbeefus]

@mrgabest An argument could be made that it isn't bluegrass because of the style of banjo playing. It's clawhammer with plenty of drop thumbing. Bluegrass usually has Scruggs style, or some other style of three finger picking. Also it's more guitar heavy and isn't as choppy, not that it matters. A good song is a good song no matter what genre people try to cram it into.

[albatross7677]

Doc Watson is an American treasure!!

[jmikes1derboy]

@albatross7677 Doc is the man, i got the chance to go see him play at a statue commemoration last week and he put on a free show with the "Carolina Chocolate Drops". As well as being a treasure, he is an awesome human being. a really nice guy.

[514570HP]

Yeah !!!  Wonderful !!!

Thanks for sharing.

[CITYOFLACOMBE]

You dumb assholes saying this isn't Bluegrass, fuck off.

[tojsiab100]

lozz... i want to hear the music only..

[DodgyDrifter7]

Takenobu has a pretty good version too

[fishhand360]

I like this but I like jerry garcia and david grisman more

[MICHKAC]

This isn't bluegrass.

[onecorpsestands]

@MICHKAC if this isn't bluegrass... what is?

[dav3fk]

@MICHKAC so? I don't give a fuck if it's bluegrass, it's amazing, and doc's amazing.

[bstrain08]

Does anyone know who played the banjo on this recording? It sounds like they are frailing to me, but I'm unsure.

[MICHKAC]

@bstrain08 I'm pretty sure that it's Doc himself playing the banjo part. I remember seeing him a few times playing banjo in a style I'd never seen used by anyone else, with a single fingerpick (on the index finger) if I remember correctly. It isn't frailing, though it sounds something like it. Whatever it is, it works!

[scalporf]

Honestly, is there a better song? Every time I drive past the city of Shady Grove in Pennsylvania, I start singing it. Also, at other times, randomly.

[domesticlonghair]

@scalporf I always sing this one in my helmet riding down long roads on my bike. Not intentionally--it just comes to me. 

[sexyghostele]

I came here to say basically exactly what captbanjo1 said. I would definitely consider this to be much more old-time than bluegrass.

[DShiflet01]

Good version of this song. About "Bluegrass being America's music" though, you should probably know that Shady Grove is actually a bluegrassified version of the English folk song Matty Groves. The lyrics are changed(Matty Groves was about an affair that ends in a double murder), but musically, the songs are the same.

[KittyKattyKaylee]

I cant find the one Im soing for my concert Dx

[tiger12220]

Not enough auto tune, or meaningless lyrics....

[captbanjo1]

Not to get hung up on labels, but this is less 'bluegrass' than it is old-time music. Again, not a hard/fast rule but clawhammer banjo generally falls under the latter category vs Scruggs-style finger rolls in bluegrass music.

[priser23]

@captbanjo1 What this guy said.

[jolysable]

the best version!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[TheGeeze11]

I think Sam Bush is playing with Doc on this? Sam Bush of "New Grass Revival"?

[Pfranklin28]

One of my alltime Favorites. Thanks.

[slimlady624]

Doc Watson is the greatest bluegrass artist!!!! slimlady624

[beaniebag123123]

lol i can play and sing this!!!!

[swinggeist]

That's some unreal picking....

Where the heck is that picture? It sure aint Wautauga or Wilkes county... Looks like Florida...

Deep Gap. Check it out....

"When I was a little boy I wanted a barlow knife, now I want little Shady Grove to say she'll be my wife"

I had the Barlow... now I crave Shady Grove....

[SqueezeMyLemonBabe]

@swinggeist I just looked up on google pictures of shaded tree areas haha..

now that I think about it, I shoulda used a picture from the Blue Ridge Parkway right up here where I live in NC.

[bwanna23]

Bluegrass is outdoors music. Found myself in the mountains of North Carolina in the mid.seventies and went to several bluegrass festivals. Being from urban North Jersey I found it incredibly refreshing. Saw Doc there, too!

[UncleCharlieOakley]

Magnificent.

[phyzionzero]

hey guys, fans of Doc Watson should definitely check out Kent Gustavson's new book, "Blind But Now I See, The Biography of Music Legend Doc Watson " @ his Facebook page, "Doc Watson Book".

[Pfranklin28]

Love it, Doc's my Hero! Old Timey is the very best timey.

[TumbrelJockey]

I wish both Doc's Shady Grove -with the lyrics ,could be on the Diamond Vision "crawl " in the middle of Times Square during rush hour.It might salvage humanity before it descends any further.

[martin740540]

Perfection!

[normspot]

This ain't bluegrass... this is "old timey" music. I don't know who's doing the banjo here but it's an exquisite example of 'clawhammer' banjo

[OysterLava]

@normspot I think Doc plays the banjo on this one. He's not actually playing clawhammer, but a 2-finger style that is 'bouncier' than clawhammer.

[anuradha40]

Aahhh- this brings out the happiness in my heart and soul.

[sargedirt]

Thanks for posting!  I really enjoyed it

[welder541]

Beautiful Song:):):):):) Thanx for posting!!!!! Nobody plays it like the doc. He will always be in a class all by himself. Man that guy is good.

[pixxiehillpixxie]

@welder541 absolutly. im from Avery Co. NC about an hour south of where Doc was raised. got to catch him where i live (a place called Sugar Grove, lol) the man is timeless!!

[SqueezeMyLemonBabe]

@pixxiehillpixxie thats awesome. I'm currently livin in the hills of buncombe county haha not too far from avery.

[GuitarPicker95]

@pixxiehillpixxie i live in foscoe next to sugar grove

[superbushrat]

Let me get this right: Bluegrass is an new version of all older folk dances and folk music. God bless bluegrass and all that came before.

[superbushrat]

Thanks for the history lesson, I just get excited about BG.

[WhatARiot06]

awesome. thx for the upload!



[superbushrat]

This is Blue grass all the way, nothing is "older" than bluegrass, banjo is just a part of it, what about the dulcimer and jew's harp? To name a few?

[zhudson]

@superbushrat: Many things are older than Bluegrass. Bluegrass is a pretty modern thing that took old square dance tunes, ballads, minstral songs and so on and made them its own. Bluegrass added new instruments and new styles of playing, and changed the focus from dancing to listening, and from playing in unison to taking turns soloing. Very innovative, but there is plenty that is older.

[wrenwright]

@superbushrat Bluegrass wasn't invented until after World War II.

[northeromen]

myspace.com/thedogdaysofsummer­uk/ I am trying to get my band to cover this!!! I love this song so much!

[Atlaspower78]

What ass clicked they didn't like this music.. how can you NOT like this music??

[BroodofLoki]

Just love this song and the version by Doc!!

[stacycentral]

Doc Watson and Shady Grove -- always a great combination!

[OldTimeSoul]

my favorite song ever....I LOVE IT!

[sillyfolker]

They are called the Carolina Chocolate DROPS.... and they are aweful...also the piedmont blues is not the same as Shady Grove...similar but not the same...

[OysterLava]

This isn't really bluegrass. It's older than bluegrass. The banjo style Doc plays is a two-finger technique. Bluegrass banjo is strickly 3-finger with picks.

[ncsufan81]

@OysterLava I'm pretty sure that is Merle Watson playing the banjo in this recording.

[deppen4]

@ncsufan81

It's a fretless banjo that Doc's father made him as a kid; Merle playing the guitar; and of course T. Michael on bass.

[ncsufan81]

@deppen4 I could be wrong about who was playing the banjo in that recording, but I know that wasn't the banjo his father made for him.

[eyetheskies]

Such a good song... first time I heard it I knew Blue Grass was for me...

[Taurusaud]

this is the song from colonization! i never knew it was a real song!

[WishingOnSunflowers]

when my mom was my age, she wanted to "keep bluegrass alive". Now I'm the only kid at school who listens to this stuff. like its something she passed down to me. The other kids can't understand why. Even I don't fully understand. But I really do love it.

[bluegrass4me1]

I remember those days when I was the only one. Now I'm in my 30's and I'm still one of the few my age, only one where I work! Hang in there, and God Bless your mom for keeping this great stuff around!

[mrmikesims]

There is music we love because it reminds us of friends or of a good time in our lives. And that isn't to say that isn't good music. But then there is music like this, written so well and played by master musicians, like Doc Watson, that it strikes something else in us. That, I think, is that thing that isn't fully understandable. But how great that you have it in you to enjoy it. And, ifyou havent already, check out Sierra Hull

[M3LGIBSON4EVER]

i know whut you mean. I play banjo in a band with my friends and everyone at school has to be a dick about it

[Normanskie]

I love this quote by Albert Einstein

"He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake since, for him, the spinal cord would fully suffice."

[pk066392]

only banjo picker in my school brother, keep listening to what you love

[WishingOnSunflowers]

@pk066392 lol, I'm not a "brother", I'm a girl... but I will keep listening to what I love. :)

[redstone95]

@WishingOnSunflowers Im the only kid at my school who plays it. But Its worth it.

[DuskY1991]

@WishingOnSunflowers It was never passed on to me by anybody. I think I discovered it somewhere last year and I've loved it more and more ever since. As a result I've bought a mandolin and I'm now saving up for a banjo.

[746c]

@WishingOnSunflowers you speak my language mate

[TibbShire]

I've loved this one ever since I first heard it

Because this is the first version of Shady grove I ever heard, it's the one that I prefer.

Me Too "Lindaguitar"

It cuts right to the nostalgic romance of the heart. Its like on old shoe, it just fits.

[lindaguitar]

I've loved this one ever since I first heard it, back in 1975!

Because this is the first version of Shady grove I ever heard, it's the one that I prefer.

I'm SO glad you posted it!

Btw, clawhammer banjo picker Miles Krassen once told me that *he* taught this version to Doc Watson. I never found out if that was true. If anyone reading this knows Doc, please ask him and let me know.

[224clb22]

Thank you for posting this great one! Doc Watson was such a good picker! Have always loved his version of this song.

[746c]

Doc Watson is the best ever!

[ViveeF]

IS the best ever! :)

[popelauncher]

I love this song!! One of my favorites by Doc.

[ElCid48]

One of my favorites. Thanks for posting!

[banjoman1437]

yehahahahahah!!!!!!!!!!!

[banjoman1437]

yes the very best

[0utworlder]

love this stuff... found it from an appliance repair forum. crazy.

[224clb22]

Way too cool! Can't beat Doc's picken. "Her little bare feet on the floor."

Thank you for posting. =)

[hwlphwynn]

Love it!

[blackfoot501]

It's a great song. I'm fascinated by it, really...

[steby123]

It's on Doc Watson Live On Stage featuring Merle Watson avalable on CD;I've got and had it on LP too!

[GatesJJ92]

Where did music like this go? its great! i love this song!

[AgentCarter]

go? its right here

[banjoman1437]

remember it's old tyme not bluegrass, as Doc Watson is a clawhammer player

[TRivenburg]

just because the banjo player plays with in a clawhammer style, it does not mean that a song instantly becomes old tyme as opposed to bluegrass.

[lindaguitar]

OMG - This is my favorite version of this song! I first heard it over 30 years ago, and have been wanting to hear it again ever since! WHAT is the name of the album it's on? I HAVE to get it!!!

[drcmpete]

The Best of Doc Watson 1964-1968 - Vanguard

[GoldRushDutch]

Bluegrasss is the peoples music.

[Kron1cus]

@GoldRushDutch Bluegrass is America's music.

[jholdaw2]

@GoldRushDutch Take that commie crap elsewhere!

[Frrrunkus]

This is one of my favorite songs from Doc Watson. Thanks for posting.

[electricitycomesfrom]

A scottish song i believe originally. Theres the real shady grove outside blairgowrie, perthshire.

[chrmenn]

This is so light and so sweet...

A refuge to listen to when troubled..

If I cant have the girl I want I dont want none at all...

[blugrssss]

its songs like this one that got me into bluegrass. once you get the fever its really hard to knock it. great post! check out "little sadie" ...that one sends chills too

[TheGregWoodBand]

This is the version I heard first, and Like the most. I was surprised to hear Petty and Mudcrutch do it. Thanks for posting!

[oceans34]

Absolutely one of the greatest songs ever man, thanks for sharing this with us!

[surrealisticpill]

this is one of my favorite songs. jerry garcia and david grisman do a great version of it too.

[SqueezeMyLemonBabe]

Lol I had no idea you would be into bluegrass haha. Yeah its a great song though.

[releekw]

@surrealisticpill Long live Jerry and David!