Sunday, April 13, 2008

Music Monday - "Blue Moon of Kentucky" - Bill Monroe




For other tales of musical adventure, please visit Soccer Mom in Denial.

First of all... wow. What a welcome home! I saved reading all your messages until I was ready to step back into this blog. Thanks for the well wishes. I planned my courses and then we had a great vacation to... yes, you guessed it, Kentucky.



If I didn't say it clearly enough the first time, we had a GREAT time in Kentucky. ;-)

Our only other experience with Kentucky was driving through it on the way to Florida. And mostly, we just wanted to get through it, because the Smokies were coming up and we heard they were just gorgeous. And while we noticed that Kentucky was pretty nice, too, it was still at the beginning of our drive, so we mostly slept through it.

This time around, though, we'd planned on spending a few days around Lexington and a few days in Tennessee, near the northwestern edge of the Smokies.

But we spent the whole time in Lexington and had a blissful time. We found interesting things to do, (which I'll blog about in other posts), but what really blew us away were the amazingly friendly people, the beauty of the countryside, and way too much good food. We were all exhausted, and Kentucky rocked us gently like a babe in his mama's arms.

Kentucky, the H. family is ready to write love letters to you.

Now, it wasn't like everything went according to plan, because if it had, it wouldn't have been an H. family vacation. We just don't roll that way. And on one of the days when nothing went according to plan, we ended up at the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame Museum in Renfro Valley, KY. And this was an interesting stop for us, because really, we are not country music fans (well, I am, a bit, and D and I both love any kind of grassroots music, and we all love the Dixie Chicks forever, but this was still a weird stop for us). And that tiny, little, three-room museum was darned interesting.

We also picked up a dandy CD there: Ricky Skaggs and Friends Sing the Songs of Bill Monroe. The "friends" included such greats as Mary Chapin Carpenter, our beloved Chicks, Charlie Daniels, John Fogerty, Bruce Hornsby, Joan Osborne, and the wonderful Dolly Parton, among others, so how could we resist?

But there's nothing like old Bill himself, perhaps the founding father of Bluegrass. And for that matter, there's nothing like Bluegrass. And, as you can probably guess, I also feel there's no place quite like the Blue Grass region of Kentucky. So in honor of all of that, I give you: Bill Monroe singing "Blue Moon of Kentucky".

Enjoy, y'all.

30 comments:

La delirante said...

Hi! Welcome back!! :) Nice to hear that you had a great time in Kentucky :)

anno said...

Good to see you back! And it looks like you even saw sunshine and flowers! Not to mention maybe a horse or two. Looking forward to catching up with you soon.

Jenn in Holland said...

Oh, what a blast! I can feel your enthusiasm for all things Kentucky oozing through your words here. Hooray for great family trips!

Marianne Arkins said...

WELCOME BACK!!

Missed you :-)

Korie said...

Glad to hear you had a good time. I never really thought much about Kentucky (besides the fried chicken part...badumbum) but you make it sound worth visiting, definitely. Welcome back and glad to see you!

Mae Travels said...

I have an old Bill Monroe LP -- he's ok but in small doses. My biggest immersion has been at a couple of visits to the Indiana Fiddlers Festival: quite an event.

Sounds like a nice trip.

Jen said...

Hi Wendy! Thanks for the warm welcome back.

Yes, Anno, I actually did. And we saw lots of horses. Lexington definitely rocks as the horse capitol of the world, I think.

Jenn, it was just great! It kind of sounded like what your Ireland retreat was for you.

Jen said...

Marianne, I know you've had some spring your way, too - I've been sneaking in, even if not commenting. And thanks for the WB!

Well, Lilac, we both know that Pittsburgh is more than Primanti Bros. and the Terrible Towel, right? That's one of the fun things - discovering a new place.

Mae, that's why I preferred the Ricky Skaggs album, actually. I respect old Bill, but his singing does grate on my ears a bit. And where in IN is that festival? It sounds wonderful!

soccer mom in denial said...

Well now welcome back darling! You DO know that you made a pilgrimage to the place of my birth. Yup - the U of K Hospital in Lexington.

Funny thing, aside from our little side trip to Bowling Green, KY to visit the Monmouth Caves in February, I haven't been in the state since I was 1 years old.

Thanks for the music!!

Mae Travels said...

To answer your question:
The Indiana Fiddlers Festival is in Battleground, near Lafayette. I posted a few photos last time I went: http://maetravels.blogspot.com/2006/06/indiana.html

NĂºria said...

Hola Jen! Nice to see you back! And great to know you had a wonderful vacation.
I didn't know Bill Monroe but I do like Country music... it's so "American" for me! I like Dolly Parton and your dances.
Here in Spain it has gotten so in fashion to dance country!!!

janey jay said...

First of all -- welcome home! Sounds like your getaway was a good one.

Second -- great MM selection. Bluegrass in its purest form. It put me in the mood for some Alison Krauss...

Dru said...

Welcome back!

Jen said...

I didn't know you were truly a Southern girl, SMID! We hit Mammoth Cave, too. I really think you and your family would love the area we were in. Lots to see and do.

Mae, thank you so much for the link!

Nuria, I had no idea that country was a hit in Spain. How interesting!

Jen said...

Jane - Alison Krauss is my husband's all time favorite! She's certainly a wonder, in every way. Hope your trip went well!

Dru, thanks for the welcome!

glamah16 said...

Kentucky! Cant wait to hear about it. Welcome home.

thailandchani said...

Kentucky is a beautiful state! Just goes to show how out of it I can be at times. I didn't realize where you had gone.. only that I wasn't seeing posts from you. :)

Glad you're back....

Jen said...

Coco - it was really lovely - AND there's many projects for sustainable agriculture, whole foods, etc. It was interesting that way.

Chani - I'm not sure whether or not I finally said where I was going - we kept changing our minds almost up to the last moment!

Luisa Perkins said...

Oh, it sounds so great. I'd like to take a road trip like that.

That song has always been a favorite of mine; I'm partial to the Patsy Cline version.

Jen said...

I'm partial to anything Patsy Cline, Luisa! I just love her in any way, shape or form.

Liz Dwyer said...

Welcome back! Nice that you enjoyed your time in Kentucky! It's lovely there in the spring -- I've always wanted to go to the Derby! And how cool that you went to Mammoth Cave. I've always wanted to go there too!

Anonymous said...

Welcome home! I'm glad your trip went so well. My only experience with Kentucky was at a Christian school our church helped support. I traveled there for a weekend each year I was in high school for a "work weekend." It's true - the people there were some of the best I've met.

As for the song...all I can think of is Steve Martin and John Candy in that fried car in Planes, Trains and Automobiles singing that song. One of the best moments of the movie - interestingly abou a trip gone wrong.

Jen said...

Angelista - We didn't even get to Louisville, but we did get to see morning workouts at Keeneland and that was very cool. Did you get down there when you lived in Chicago?

Leslie! Good to hear from you - I thought you'd be on your way. I absolutely couldn't get over how friendly everyone was. It was just wonderful in that sense.

Unknown said...

That video is great! Guess I am a Country fan at heart after all. Just shows, age doesn't matter when it comes to music.

Jen said...

You know, Anne, I can't even begin to classify my taste in music. I'm not a country fan, per se, but I know there are some "country" acts and stars that I dearly love. Bill Monroe's voice and style takes some getting used to, but it's so pure and that's what gets me about it!

Momisodes said...

So great to see you back! Glad to hear the vacation was a success :) I've always wanted to see the Smokies. I've heard they are gorgeous as well. Thanks so much for the link for Bill Monroe's song :)

Goofball said...

am I horribly ignorant and illiterate if the only association that comes up in my mind for Kentucky is "Kentucky Fried Chicken"?

Wholly Burble said...

Oh I cannot wait to hear more of your time in Kentucky. Like you I think my only experience in Kentucky is driving THRU LOL. Some time I'll have to slow down and take the off ramp and see some of the sights.

A little blue grass goes a long way--although I have my favorites who can do it so that my toes are just a tappin'!

Jen said...

Sandy - it's totally worth the trip. Especially if you're in the area. There are so many wonderful short trips from Boston, though! I'm envious.

Goofball - we talked about this offline ;-)

Wholly Burble - good to see you! It's just a wonderful place. Sooooo beautiful. But you know, the only place I've run into such friendly folks in the past was Iowa, so maybe you wouldn't be that impressed. ;-)

Grimm said...

Welcome Back!

While I must admit I wasn't a big bluegrass fan growing up, the purity of the music has won me over after listening to Ricky Skaggs & Alison Krauss.

But nothing can top good old Bill Monroe. Nice pick.