Category Archives: Jam-friendly

All The Good Times Have Passed And Gone

From Vol. 1
Traditional Treasures

SUGGESTED KEY: B

CAPO: Fret 2

CHORD FAMILY: A

TIME SIGNATURE: 3/4

SKILL LEVEL: Easy

A Little About This Song…

The origin of this tune has never been confirmed, but the earliest recording of All The Good Times Have Passed and Gone was made in 1930 by Fred and Gertude Gossett, who did not claim they wrote it. Many versions have since been recorded and the tune is now considered both a Bluegrass and an Old Time standard. It appears to be an American folksong from the turn of the 20th century, but it could be much older than that.

There doesn’t seem to be a single standard set of lyrics for this old song; words vary from one singer to another, often taken from the pool of “floating verses” found in multiple traditional songs. You’ll also hear some folks sing “All the Good Times Have Passed and Gone” and others will sing “All the Good Times Are Past And Gone”. On the Gosset’s recording from 1930, you’ll hear them end the chorus with “darlin’, don’t weep for me” while most people today sing “little darlin’, don’t weep no more” or “little darlin’, don’t you weep no more”.

Other early recordings of the song were published by Steve Ledford in 1932, the Monroe Bros. in 1937 (yes, that would be Bill Monroe), and the Ozark Boys in 1940.

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