Kentucky is bluegrass’s home state. Bill Monroe grew up in Rosine, Kentucky, and named his band after the state’s pasture grass — “Blue Moon of Kentucky” and “Kentucky Waltz” became templates that other songwriters worked from for decades. John Prine wrote “Paradise” as an elegy for Muhlenberg County, where his family was from. Steve Earle’s “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive” tells the same story about coal-country economics in eastern Kentucky. From Louisville (“Eight More Miles to Louisville”) to Bowling Green and Harlan, these songs all carry a piece of the state — a place, a person, or the longing of leaving.

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