Annotation:Greasy Coat
Tune properties and standard notation
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')
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). Edden Hammons Collection I (appears as "Old Greasy Coat").
See also listing at:
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [1]