After an intense ’70s rock classic, it’s time to ease off the gas pedal with some beautiful progressive bluegrass. This takes us to 1992 and Slide Rule, the sixth solo album by Jerry Douglas who is widely recognized as a Dobro maestro. I first came across his name in connection with John Hiatt’s May 2021 album Leftover Feelings he recorded with the Jerry Douglas Band, which I reviewed here at the time. The gorgeous I Don’t Believe You’ve Met My Baby, written by Autry Inman, features Alison Krauss on vocals.
– The Sunday Six – Christian’s Music Musings
A fan wrote about Alison Krauss’ vocals in Alison Krauss & Jerry Douglas collaboration of James Taylor’s Carolina In My Mind that ‘When God gets tired of listening to the angels and their harps, I am convinced he puts on Alison Krauss. Because she is that good‘. This is how I felt when I first heard today’s featured track I Don’t Believe You’ve Met My Baby. I thought I’d woken up and gone to heaven. And don’t get me started when she sings the title of the song at 1:36. Such musical bliss. Angelic voice.
It carries the mystique of Celtic music, layered with bluegrass instrumentation reminiscent of the Fureys’ Belfast Mill. Yet here, there’s a heartfelt, homespun quality, brought to life by Krauss’ warm, honeyed vocals. The romance is dripping from these spectacular penned verses that it makes you feel like falling in love all over again. As Christian wrote in his page I Don’t Believe You’ve Met My Baby is a song written by Autry Inman and first recorded by The Louvin Brothers in 1955. It has been covered by many artists including the legendary Dolly Parton with her country-pop version here.
Last night, my dear, the rain was falling
I went to bed so sad and blue
Then, I had a dream of you
I dreamed I was strolling in the evening
Underneath the harvest moon
I was thinking about you
Then we met out in the moonlight
The stars were shining in your eyes
But another was there too
“I don’t believe you’ve met my baby”
You looked at her, you looked at me
I wondered who you were talking to
I shook the hand of your stranger
But I was shaking more inside
I was still wondering who
Your arm was resting on her shoulder
You smiled at her, she smiled at you
Her eyes were filled with victory
She said, “My brother wants to marry”
And then my heart was filled with ease
I knew that you would marry me
It’s clear I Don’t Believe You’ve Met My Baby has become a classic of country and bluegrass music. The song’s enduring popularity is a testament to Autry Inman’s skill as a songwriter. Following every tangent this song inspires feels too cumbersome for me. So I’ll leave it as a taster as Christian did for me in his blog.
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
Thanks for the shoutout, Matt. I agree it’s a beautiful song and Allison Krauss is a great vocalist. Obviously, Jerry Douglas isn’t the only other artist who noticed. Robert Plant has done two collaborative albums with Krauss, and I certainly like what I’ve heard from both.
The shoutout is the least I can do when I have the privilege to hear such exquisite music. I looked up Alison Krauss on Wikipedia and I was flabbergasted by her extensive music discography and grammy wins etc. Also her and Douglas’ ‘Carolina on My Mind’ version blew me away and I will write about that down the track. As I wrote, I felt it too cumbersome in just any one article to give any of these artists due justice.
I love “Carolina In My Mind” but didn’t know the rendition by Douglas and Krauss. I just watched a YouTube clip of a live performance to honor James Taylor – amazing!
I always had a penchant for James Taylor’s original, but this is fantastic. These two knock it out of the park.
An off the beaten path choice but right up my alley