The Secret of Bill Monroe's Song Lyrics

The paper focuses on a less explored area of bluegrass music: the song lyrics of Bill Monroe, the founder of the genre. There are several reasons why a comprehensive authorized Bill Monroe songbook has not been published. Although the main one might be copyright money, the author suggests that Monroe as a lyrics writer has been relatively unrecognized and less appreciated by the public than is deserved. In analysing his song lyrics, the author deals with his topics, language, form, the use of emotions, and text austerity. She stresses that Monroe's song lyrics are rich in the vocabulary and of sensory imagery. In her opinion, the high quality of Bill Monroe's lyrics has so far been one of the best kept secrets of bluegrass music.