Author: Jim

Lord Protect My Soul

Jim,

—Bill Monroe

Down life's highway alone I trod
I've always put my trust in God
But you'll find out that your silver and gold
Won't pay the price to protect your soul

Chorus:
Oh I want the Lord to protect my soul
To lead me on to heaven's door
My life down here will soon be o'er
And I want the Lord to protect my soul

There's many a church down life's highway
Where people sing rejoice and pray
Why don't you stop at one and join the fold
And ask the Lord to protect your soul

When this ol' world is doomed in sin
You'll cry oh Lord please let me
It'll be to late to make your call
To ask the lord to protect my soul

Verse

I I I V
I I I-V I

Chorus

I I IV I
I I I-V I

 

Little Red Shoes

Jim,

—Bill and Charlie Monroe

Where did you get them pretty little shoes
That you wear so fine
Got my shoes from a railroad man
Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo

Who's gonna kiss your red rosy cheeks
Who's gonna glove your little hand
Who's a gonna shoe your pretty little feet
Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo

Brother's gonna kiss my red rosy cheeks
Mama's gonna glove my little hand
Papa's gonna shoe my pretty little feet
Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo
Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo

3/4
Verse

I I I V
I I I-V I

 

Letter From My Darlin

Jim,

—Bill Monroe

I can't answer her letter
For she left me no address
You should know my little darling
You left my poor heart in distress

Chorus:
I got a letter from my darling
She said she hated to go
It broke my heart the words she wrote me
She closed by saying I love you so

She wrote the words she knew would hurt me
She said I never could be true
I've tried I've tried my little darling
To prove my love was just for you

Her letter meant goodbye forever
Although we'll have each other's hearts
Our love will fade away in sadness
Precious one why did we have to part

Verse and Chorus:

I I I V
I I I-V I

 

Let the Gates Swing Wide

Jim,

—Bill Monroe

We go to church on Sunday morning
With mother and dad to hear the Gospel ring
On an old dirt road in a wagon we travel
Those memories they still remain

Chorus:
I'm comin' home, oh Lord I'm comin
For my soul has been set free
All through my life I've been a sinner
But let the gates swing wide for me

Back in the hills of old Kentucky
Where as a boy I was grown
And bluegrass music belongs to America
And praise the Lord, I'm comin'home

All through the years I've sung the Gospel
The Lord has blessed me many ways
I often think back to my childhood
While here on earth I'll sing His praise

Chorus and Verse:

I I I V
I I I-V I

 

Legend of the Blue Ridge Mountains

Jim,

—Bill Monroe

There's a legend in the Blue Ridge Mountains
All the mountain folks say it is true
Of a young girl nearly every evening
Walked along the river dressed in blue.

She was on her way to meet her lover
In a lonely secret rendezvous
It was a fatal error that evening
For the young girl always dressed in blue.

Chorus (after 2 verses):
The legend of the Blue Ridge Mountains
Will live forever so they say
And every evening about sundown
She leaves her cold, cold water grave

Some say she left with her lover
Others say the river took her life
Is she now in the cold, cold river
Or is she now her lover's wife

As the legend goes that every evening
When the evening sun is sinking low
The girl in blue still meets her lover
As she did a hundred years ago

Verse

I-V I I-V I
I-V I I-V I

Chorus

IV I I V
I-V I V I

 

Just a Song of Old Kentucky

Jim,

—Bill and Charlie Monroe

Just a song of old Kentucky
Seems to linger in my memory
Await at home in old Kentucky
And a happy day that used to be

Songbirds up in the heavens
Sang this melody
Await at home in old Kentucky
And a happy day that used to be

3/4
Verse

|: I IV V I-V
I IV V I :|

Chorus

IV I I V
I IV V I

 

In Despair

Jim,

—Bill Monroe

You made me love you, you made me want you
And now I need you all the time
My heart is sad and I'm so lonely
Each night and day you're on my mind

Chorus:
You broke me heart my little darling
When I called for you, you had another there
But a broken heart will keep on crying
I know you know, I'm in despair

You made me forget of all the others
You made me forget of all the past
And I thought sweetheart you really loved me
My friends told me it would never last

Verse

I I IV I
I I I-V I

Chorus

IV I I V
IV I I-V I

 

I'm Coming Back But I Don't Know When

Jim,

—Bill Monroe

Chorus:
I'm going down this lonesome road
To see my fate or victory
God must help us there to win
I'm coming back but I don't know when

I hate to leave my mother dear
My father who is old and gray
But my true love I know you'll wait
For me to come back to me to stay

Will you be here when I come home
Or will your love fade like a rose
I could never come back should you be gone
My love for you nobody knows

Chorus and Verse:

I IV V I
I IV V I

 

I'm Travelin' On and On

Jim,

—Bill Monroe

Oh, I was lost in the darkness and I wandered astray
With no one to help me along on my way
Until I heard Jesus callin', sayin' come unto me
And I'm travelin' on and on

Chorus:
Oh Lord, I'm travelin' on by the help of my Savior
I can never astray for Jesus leads the way
And my loved one's awaitin' at the end of my journey, my journey
Oh Lord, I'm travelin' on and on

Oh, I could hear Jesus callin' and His voice sounds so sweet
And I knew that the time would come to me that He'd speak
But these trials are over for He bid me, come home
Now I'm travelin' on and on

Oh, the Lord is my savior I will walk with Him each day
He will help and protect me to the end of the way
My journey soon will be over and I'll join a happy band
Now I'm travelin' on and on

Verse

I I I V
I I I-V I

Chorus

IV I I II
I I… …I-V I

 

I'm On My Way Back To The Old Home

Jim,

—Bill Monroe

Back in the days of my childhood
In the evening when everything was still
I used to sit and listen to the foxhounds
With my dad in the old Kentucky hills

Chorus:
I'm on my way back to the old home
The road winds on up the hill
But there's no light in the window
That shined long ago where I live

Soon my childhood days were over
I had to leave my old home
For dad and mother were called to heaven
I's left in this world all alone

High in the hills of old Kentucky
Stands the fondest spot in my memory
I'm on my way back to the old home
The light in the window I long to see

Verse

I I IV IV
I I V V
I I IV IV
I V I I