Annotation:Greasy Coat
X:1 T:Greasy Coat M:C| L:1/8 Q:"Quick" S:Burl Hammons (1908-1993, Pocahontas County, W.Va.) D:Rounder CD 1504/05, "The Hammons Family" (1998) F:https://www.slippery-hill.com/recording/greasy-coat Z:Transcribed by Andrew Kuntz K:Amix AB |c2A2G2AB|c2A2A2AB|c2A2 GGAG|E2A2A2AB| c2A2G2AB|c2A2A2AB|c2A2 GGAG|E2A2A2[de]-[e2]-| [e2e2]ef e2d2|{B}c2A2 GGAG|E2A2A2|| |:[A2e2]-|[Ae]Bcd edef|g2 ga g2g2|[Ae]Bcd edeg|a2 (b/a/g) a2[A2e2]-| [Ae]Bcd [e3e3]f|g2 ag e2d2|+slide+c2 A2 GGAG|E2A2A2:|]
GREASY COAT. AKA and see "Old Greasy Coat." American, Reel. USA, West Virginia. A Dorian: A Mixolydian (Burl Hammons). Standard (Burl Hammons) or AEae (Edden Hammons) tunings (fiddle). ABCC. There are several meanings for the term 'greasy coat.' It said to have been an old-time euphemism for a condom (although verification of this in the literature is wanting), but it has also been suggested the term refers to an unwashed fleece (i.e. still retaining the lanolin), and a Confederate soldiers coat, worn, greasy and dirty from overuse. A verse attached to the tune goes:
Well I don't drink and I don't smoke,
And I don't mess with the greasy coat... ('wear no' is sometimes substituted for 'mess with the')
The tune was recorded from the playing of Webster County, West Virginia, fiddler Edden Hammons (1876-1955) in 1947, collected by Louis Chappell.
