“Kentucky Waltz” Lyrics and Chords

“Kentucky Waltz” was Bill Monroe’s biggest hit on the Country & Western charts, where it reached No. 3 after he and the Blue Grass Boys released it in 1946.

Actor George Clooney’s aunt, Rosemary Clooney, recorded a 1951 cover of Monroe’s composition accompanied by piano that became quite well known.

You’ll also find a “Kentucky waltz” from 1840 in the Library of Congress, but it bears no resemblance to Monroe’s version other than the 3/4 time signature.

Monroe’s is a beautiful, timeless song that is always welcome in any jam circle that features strong fiddlers—even though the chord progression in the B part might take you a little outside your I-IV-V comfort zone.

The unusual chord change goes from the I to the VI7. I usually try to play it out of D chord shapes, which means I’m going from D to B7 on that change. D is a common key for the song, and with a capo you can easily play it in D (open), E (capo at 2nd fret), F (capo at 3rd fret) or G (capo at 5th fret) without ever having to depart from D shapes. You’ll be finishing the song with a D-B7-E-A-D progression.

If you ever get the opportunity to see Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder perform, Skaggs’ longtime guitar player and tenor vocalist Paul Brewster often takes a turn singing lead on “Kentucky Waltz” and really kills it.

For flatpicking prowess, I would point you toward a version by Rob Pearcy that is simply amazing. It’s a bit hard to find—it appeared on a compilation by Flatpicking Guitar Magazine called Flatpicking Collection Volume 3. It’s a tablature book with an accompanying CD that includes Pearcy’s arrangement and a recording. This arrangement is not easy to play even if you have the tab, but simply having Pearcy’s version on CD makes it work the price of the package.

“Kentucky Waltz” Lyrics and Chords

 
We were  
I 
waltzing that night in Kentucky
 
Beneath the beautiful harvest  
V 
moon.
 
And  
V 
I was the boy that was lucky
 
But it all ended too  
I 
soon.

 

 
As I  
I 
sit here alone in the moonlight,
 
I see your  
I7 
smiling 
 
 
IV 
face
 
And I long once more for  
I 
your 
 
em
VI7 
brace
 
And that  
II 
beautiful 
 
Ken
V 
tucky 
 
 
I 
waltz.

 

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Iconic: Bill Monroe

Instrumental: Doc Watson and David Grisman

Also Good: Paul Brewster

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