Annotation:Greasy Coat

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 GREASY COAT. AKA and see "Old Greasy Coat." Old-Time, Breakdown. USA, West Virginia. A Dorian. Standard or AEae (Edden Hammons) tunings (fiddle). ABCC. There are several meanings for the term 'greasy coat.' It is an old-time euphemism for a condom, 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.  Source for notated version: Ruthie Dornfeld [Phillips].  Printed sources: Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 1), 1994; p. 102.  Recorded sources: Folkways FTS 31062, "Ship in the Clouds: Old Time Instrumental Music" (1978. Learned from Burl Hammons, Pocahontas County, West Virginia). Rounder 0018, Burl Hammons - "Shaking Down the Acorns" (1973). Sound Archives SA 1, Edden Hammons Collection I (appears as "Old Greasy Coat").  See also listing at: Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources

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