Mourning songs are the bluegrass repertoire at its most direct: songs written for someone specific who’s died. The Stanley Brothers’ “The White Dove” is about their mother. “Mother’s Only Sleeping,” “No Mother or Dad,” “Memories of Mother and Dad” all sit on the same theme. Bill Monroe wrote “Uncle Pen” for the uncle who raised him after his parents died. Townes Van Zandt’s “Tecumseh Valley” tells the story of a young woman who dies. These songs cover the canon — first-generation bluegrass tributes, country crossovers about grandfathers and clocks, and folk-revival material bluegrass bands carried over.

Each song’s page on Picker’s Guide has chord charts, lyrics, recordings, and song history.