This tune is a Flatt & Scruggs. Released on their first full-length album (“Foggy Mt Jamboree”) on July 10, 1957 it has since become a very popular bluegrass tune, due at least in part to its simplicity (the progression is really only 4 measures long, and is just about as simple as it gets) and the catchy tune.

A little trivia for you: the lyrics speak of the singer’s love for the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a part of the Appalachians. As Wikipedia says, “The Blue Ridge Mountains are noted for their bluish color when seen from a distance. Trees put the “blue” in Blue Ridge, from the isoprene released into the atmosphere, thereby contributing to the characteristic haze on the mountains and their distinctive color.”

This tune was originally recorded in Bb, but we’ve heard Flatt & Scruggs and others do it in G and A as well.