Family songs run deep in bluegrass, but the ones that get sung at every jam tend to crowd out a lot of strong material. These twenty are about parents, children, siblings, and the houses they grew up in. Some come from the first generation: Bill Monroe, Carter and Ralph Stanley, and the older sentimental songs they drew on like “Little Bessie” and “Log Cabin in the Lane.” Others come from songwriters like Hazel Dickens, Kate Long, and John Duffey, who kept writing in that vein. A few are story-songs about real tragedies, like “The Story of the Lawson Family” and “Dream of the Miner’s Child.” All of them reward learning.

Use this as a list to pick from when you want something with weight but not the same five songs everyone already knows. Each song’s page on Picker’s Guide has chord charts, lyrics, recordings, and song history. Pull one up, listen through a version or two, and see what fits your voice.