Greasy Coat

           Perhaps I spend too much time pondering the social significance of Old Time lyrics.  Nevertheless, from time to time I have wondered about the meaning of “Greasy Coat,” which is an Old Time tune popular in Morgantown, among other places.  I first heard this at the Brew Pub Jam, and you can hear a  polished version from the Stewed Mulligan band's Liv and Howl album, with Keith McManus, Bob Shank, Pat McIntyre and Theodor Stump.....

http://www.stewedmulligan.com/music/Greasy_Coat.mp3 


  It’s actually almost an instrumental, but there are some short verses that are sort of  thrown in:

             I don’t drink and I don’t smoke,

            and I don’t wear no greasy coat.  

            I don’t cuss and I don’t chew,

            and I don’t go out with the girls that do.

           

            I don't kiss and I don't tell

            And all you sinners gonna go to hell

Check out this jam, with fiddler Anna Roberts-Gevalt, Rebekah Weiler and Hilarie Burhans (banjo), Rory Mullennex (guitar), and dancers Becky Hill and Lou Maiuri.

            The verse about not going out with women who cuss and chew is intended  to be humorous, of course.   A young woman who chewed tobacco would be considered quire a catch, especially back in the day.  But what is to be made about the reference to a “greasy coat?”

            Some commentators have suggested that “greasy coat” refers to a condom.  Andrew Kuntz mentions this possibility in The Traditional Tune Archive (http://www.tunearch.org/wiki/TTA ), previously known as Fiddler’s Companion (http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/).  However, although this seems logical enough, I simply can’t find any pre-internet attestation to this possible link.  I don't think this is true at all.  

      This  possbility was debated in the Banjo Hangout forum, where some banjo players were concerned that this song might be inappropriate for children due to this possible link.  

http://www.banjohangout.org/archive/184458 .  
 I shouldn't laugh, but I actually thought some of the discussion was pretty entertaining. 

            In any case, I was able to locate what I believe is a definitive early source for  the metaphor “greasy coat.”   A book with the annotated title “The Life and Adventures of Henry Smith, the Celebrated Razor Strop Man, (Embracing a Complete Collection of his Original Songs, Queer Speeches, Humorous Letters and Odd, Droll Strange and Whimisical Sayings, Now Published for the First Time, with an Accurate Portrait to which is added).  The book was published by White & Potter Printers in Boston in 1849, and contains a humorous poem, entitled Soap Ditty No. 1.  It tells the story of a handsome and virtuous fellow who is unable to find a wife because of his bad hygiene and failure to use soap.     

     Hence, his coat really is a greasy coat, and it is not until the end of the ditty that he discovers soap and is able to wash his coat and finally marry the lady of his dreams.
  

Come gentlemen and list to me,

     While a story I relate--

‘Tis all about a fine young man

     That lived in the old Bay State.

His eyes were brown his cheeks were red

     And free from tan or bloat--

His heart was brave and bold and true,

     But he wore a greasy coat.

          Oh unhappy, unhappy man was he,

          He knew not how to clean his coat

          For he’d never heard of me.  

Now this young man he loved a maid

     And tried her heart to win

But though he was a handsome man

     He could not quite come in.

 ‘Tis true he wore a black moustache

     With whiskers round his throat

And dark and curling hair to match.

     But he wore a greasy coat

          Oh unhappy, unhappy man was he,

          He knew not how to clean his coat

          For he’d never heard of me.  

“Oh lovely maid,” this young man said

     “If you will marry me,

Myself and all that I possess

     I’1l freely give to thee.

I’ve houses lands and money too

I’ll give thee every groat--

I ll give thee all, I can no more,

Myself and greasy coat.”

          Oh unhappy, unhappy man was he,

          He knew not how to clean his coat

          For he’d never heard of me.  

The maiden heard his plaintive tale,

     Then laughed right in his face,

And said:  “to marry such a man

Would bring me to disgrace.

‘Tis true you are good looking, sir,

     And are called a man of note--

But you’ll never do to marry me

     For you wear a greasy coat

          Oh unhappy, unhappy man was he,

          He knew not how to clean his coat

          For he’d never heard of me.  

“Oh cruel maid” the young man said,

     “The words that you have spoken,

Like thunderbolts have pierced my soul--

     My heart of hearts is broken.

Henceforth. I’ll live in some lone cave,

     From busy life remote;”

He heaved a sigh, then wiped his eye

     Upon his greasy coat.

          Oh unhappy, unhappy man was he,

          He knew not how to clean his coat

          For he’d never heard of me.  

Now it chanced as I was journeying

     One pleasant summer day,

I met this young man in the woods

     Of Penn-syl-va-ni-a

His eyes were sunk his cheeks were pate

     He seemed bereft of hope;

I took him by the button hole,

And sold him a cake of soap

          Oh he was happy a happy man was he

          For he could clean his greasy coat

          With the soap he bought of me.

With coat brushed up as good as new,

      He hied him home again;

Again he sought his lady love,

     Nor did he sigh in vain.

He asked her if she’d marry him,

     Then exposed his coat to view--

She looked and blushing gently sighed

     “I don t care if I do.”

          Oh he was happy a happy man was he

          For he could clean his greasy coat

          With the soap he bought of me.

            The meaning here is clear.  The young fellow is a laughing stock because of his bad hygiene, and saves his romance when he learns how to use soap for the very first time to wash his greasy coat.  The “greasy coat” is to be taken literally, and thus in our Old Time song, the term no doubt would have reminded audiences of the late 19th or early 20th Century  of a humorous buffoon that does not know how to wash himself or his clothing with soap.  

            For me, that’s it, case closed, end of story.  The Greasy Coat is just a reference from 19th century vaudeville, and not a reference to a condom at all.  So you moralists can go ahead and teach this  song to youngsters without fear of corrupting them (just make sure that they wash up afterwards!).

            One of the oldest recorded versions that I could find is from Edden Hammons of Webster County, West Virginia from 1947.  You can find that one on youtube.com.  Other versions that I like are from a 2008 Augusta jam at the top of this article, as well as a cut  from Rachel Eddy's cd, Hand on the Plow:

http://www.myspace.com/music/player?sid=20785699&ac=now 

There is also a really fine version as an extra cut on her cd, Track 13, which is from the Morgantown jam or perhaps Clifftop.  In any case, there is an incredible blending between Bob Shank on Hammer Dulcimer and I. B. Browning on trumpet.  

    I was also impressed by this very unorthodox but very good arrangement performed on clawhammeer ukelele by Aaron Keim:

 

Gospel Plow

            My new favorite song is by Rachel Eddy, the Gospel Plow.  I've been trying to get a copy of her CD album for a while, and finally snagged a few copies from Rachel herself at a New Year's party in Morgantown WV (no doubt, I am hanging out with a fast crowd these days!).  Rachel was born and raised in Morgantown, but a few years ago she was kidnapped by Vikings and now lives in Stockholm Sweden, with her husband, Kristian Herner.  You can hear it from her myspace.com link here: 

Gospel Plow 

  
You can also check out the other songs on the album (in abbreviated fashion) from Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001PECX9G/ref=dm_sp_alb 
 

            Although Rachel is known as an Old Time musician, her repertoire also encompasses folk and blues and much more.  Gospel plow is  a blues gospel song once performed by Mahalia Jackson (under the title Keep Your Hand to the Plow).  Bob Dylan, amazingly enough, recorded a much different version with a totally different sound.  Frankly, Dylan’s version doesn’t do much for me, yet Dylan’s version may have inspired the Old Crow Medicine Show, who cut a version a while back.  The Woodticks (with Rachel on fiddle, Keith McManus on banjo, Bob Shank on hammer dulcimer and Karen Wade on guitar) also have a version on youtube.  I didn’t know there was such a thing as hammer dulcimer blues, but I guess there is now.  

            If you want to play along, I’ve transcribed the lyrics and included some chords that kind of fit, although I’m by no means sure that they are the same ones used by Rachel.  

           

E                      A                       E

Mary wore three links of chain

E              A                      E
Every link was Jesus name

                 b7                 A                    E
Had her hand on that plow, hold right on

A                       G

Hold right on, hold right on

                   A                G                       E

Put your hand on the plow hold right on.

Mathew, Mark, Luke and John
All my  prophets holdin’ on
Got their  hand on the plow, hold right on

Hold right on, hold right on

Put your hand on the plow hold right on.

Hold right on, hold right on

Put your hand on the plow hold right on.

All the streets are paved with in gold,

In heaven I am told

Put your hand on the plow hold right on.

Hold right on, hold right on

Put your hand on the plow hold right on.

Cause there’s no gamblers  jokers, thieves

No liars and no cheats

Got their hands on the plow hold right on

Hold right on, hold right on

Put your hand on the plow hold right on.

When I get to the glory land,

I’m going to play in their band

Got my hand on the plow, hold right on

I’ve got my hand on the gospel plow,

and I wouldn’t take nothin’ for my journey  now.

Got my hand on the plow hold right on.

Hold right on, hold right on

Got my hand on the plow hold right on.

Hold right on, hold right on

Drunken Sailor

    Drunken Sailor is an awesome song for several reasons.  It's one of the few songs that little kids know, because the tune is used on "Spongebob Squarepants" as well as the Backyardigans, where it is known as "Scurvy Pirate."

    It's also a really good song to learn on the mandolin.  It's simple enough to play for beginners, and the modal key sounds great on the mando.  

    In the US, for some reason we usually sing this with a quasi-Irish accent, or specifically "ear-lye in the morn-in'."

      This song is not just silliness, however.  In a way it's very serious.  One of the chronic problems experienced by a seafaring vessel is that the sailors have too much fun when they get shore leave.   After spending all of their money on women and alcohol, they might easily fall asleep.  That could either cause the ship to be delayed, or to leave without them, effectively marooning them in port until such time as they can negotiate a new position in a diffferent crew.  Needless to say, lateness was frowned upon.  One need have not doubt that the punishments described in this song were actually carried out.  Peer pressure as well as threats from managment (i.e., the Captain) were both used.  For example, a scupper is a passage on the ship for water to run off the deck of the ship.  So "put him in the scuppers with hosepipe on him" means that the other sailors are going to spray him with the dirty water runoff from the the deck.   

      By the same token, Keelhauling is a particular grim punishiment, in which a rope is tied around the offender. The other end ot the rope is draped under the ship, so that when the offender is  thrown overboard, the other sailors pull on the rope to drag him under the keel of the ship.  The sharp barnacles on the keel could cause the hapless victim to be literally cut to pieces if he doesn't drown. 

     Better you should simply have your belly shaved with a rusty razor (although in some versions the area to be shaved is a bit further south).



     Hence the song is a reminder to crew members what can happen if a sailor gets too drunk. 

This version comes to us from the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem.  Try not to overdo the accent, but "Ear-lye in the morning" is pretty much standard even on this side of the Atlantic. 

     Drunken Sailor is in the Dorian Mode.  In other words, this is a different scale than normally used.  For that reason, the modal chord progression is I II-minor, V-minor, rather than the normal I-IV-V.  In this case, however, Drunken Sailor only uses two chords, and the minor fifth never shows up.  Hence, in the Dorian Modal key of G, the song looks something like this:

Am
What will we do with a drunken sailor?
G
What will we do with a drunken sailor?
Am
What will we do with a drunken sailor?
G                Am
Early in the morning!

Am
Way hay and up she rises,
G
Way hay and up she rises,
Am
Way hay and up she rises,
G               AM
Early in the morning!

Shave his belly with a rusty razor,
Shave his belly with a rusty razor,
Shave his belly with a rusty razor,
Early in the morning!

(chorus)
Put him in a long boat till his sober,
Put him in a long boat till his sober,
Put him in a long boat till his sober,
Early in the morning!

(chorus)

Put him in the scuppers with a hosepipe on him,
Put him in the scuppers with a hosepipe on him,
Put him in the scuppers with a hosepipe on him,
Early in the morning!
(chorus)

Put him in the bed with the captains daughter,
Put him in the bed with the captains daughter,
Put him in the bed with the captains daughter,
Early in the morning!

(chorus)

Keel haul him until he's sober
Keel haul him until he's sober
Keel haul him until he's sober
Early in the morning!

That’s what we do with a drunken sailor,
That’s what we do with a drunken sailor,
That’s what we do with a drunken sailor,
Early in the morning!

(10,000 additional verses)

How Many Songs Does an Old Time Musician Know?

     How many tunes does an Old Time musician have memorized?  Some of us were discussing this after the Wednesday Night Morgantown Brew Pub jam, and some of the people who are relatively knew to Old Time assumed that it must be some huge number of songs.  Hence they were surprised that some of the veterans figured it was not that many, maybe a hundred or so, and that those were usually an accident.

      In classical music, everyone is obliged to play exactly the same way, note to note, and for that reason, the music must be written down.

      But in Old Time, someone (usually the lead fiddler) has to know the basic melody, and the rest is made up on the fly.  There are literally an infinite number of variations possible, based on what the other musicians are doing and the musical sensibilities of each musician.   Different musicians have different ways of approaching music.  Some no doubt just intuitively know what notes sound good together, whereas other musicians have a more technical approach.  But very little of Old Time is transferred via note for note transcription and memorization.   Somehow, Old Time musicians, especially fiddlers, have ESP and can know in advance when the chord is going to change and where the song is going.  

     Here is a case in point, a fantastic jam with Andy Falco (guitar), Cody Kilby (guitar), Britanny Haas (fiddle), and Jeremy Garrett (fiddle).  I don’t know any of them personally, but my guess is that that the guys have played together before, and have invited the babe to jam with them.  Naturally, they picked a song that they can absolutely destroy, but Britanny is doing this song with them probably for the first time.  From Britanny’s facial expressions, you can tell that she is figuring out how to play the tune the first time through.   Then by her second or third time through, she is dishing it out with the boys, adding complex variations to the basic tune.  Basically the four musicians are each having fun with the tune, adding different sounds and textures each time through.  By the end of the video, smoke is curling from the instruments, the sky is darkening and the camera is shaking as the earth trembles.  Well, okay, maybe it’s not that dramatic, but you get the idea.   All four musicians are playing together but at the same time challenging each other with different sounds and variations on the basic tune.   And no, they would not be able to write down note for note what they played.  Without recording equipment each version would be impossible to recapture. 

    

The Wreck of the Old 97

The Old 97 wrecked near Danville Virginia in 1903.  It's a true story, not fictional.

     The Wreck of the Old 97 tells the true story of a horrific train wreck which occurred on a Southern Railway train which ran from Washington DC to Atlanta, Georgia. On September 27, 1903 the Old 97 jumped the track near Danville Virginia while en route from Monroe to Spencer, North Carolina.  The engineer, Joe Broady (usually called “Pete” or “Steve” in the song) was killed along with ten others, and another seven injured.  The train was hauling mail for the US Post Office and had the reputation for being always on time.  When the train fell behind by an hour in Monro, Broady increased speed in order  to compensate (probably under company orders).  As a result the train was travelling too fast and jumped the track.

     So why would anyone like a song about a terrible accident which caused so many deaths and injuries?  Especially a song that has such a bright melody?  That's difficult to say, but our tradition is to record events that effect our lives, both happy and sad.  It's a way to create a memorial for the people who suffered and died, and to pass their memory on to future generations. 
 

     I first heard this song on an LP from the 1960s that my Dad had, which featured Mac Wiseman, a terrific  vocalist.  My Dad and I were lucky enough to hear Mac perform this song and others at festivals in southern Ohio in the early 1980s.  Perhaps Flatt and Scruggs made the most famous version, however, so WOTO97 is known as a bluegrass song. But in reality the song was composed in the 1920s, thus predating the Bluegrass Era, with the authorship being claimed by several persons.  The Wikipedia article identifies Charles Noell as the most likely original author, though the 1924 copyright was assigned to F. Wallace Rega.

    As far as I can determine, the first known recorded version was  in  1923  by Henry Whittier and G. B. Grayson ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b8fUJT_ZNA ), followed shortly  by Vernon Dalhart in 1924 ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b8fUJT_ZNA ).  Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers had a version in 1927.  Other versions of note come from the aforementioned Flatt & Scruggs,  Johnny Cash, Woodie Guthrie, Pete, Seeger and others.  I’m partial to a version by Norman Blake, which contains two extra introductory verses (I suppose Norman wrote these, as I haven’t heard them on any of the earlier versions).  Below is a really nice version based on Norman's. 

 This is really nice version based on the Norman Blake version.

You might like this Youtube video, which slows down the song a tad, and shows the left hand to play this in the key of C, Norman Blake style (hint:  intermediate guitar players will probably go mad if they try to play exactly like Norman Blake.  A better plan is to pick up some of his basic crosspicks style and evolve from there).  

 

  Lester and Earl created the Bluegrass version, which is perhaps the most well known. This version was performed on the Beverly Hillbillies, with a vocal break from Miss Hathaway (Nancy Culp), no less. 


 
Key of G
G - - -  C - - -  G - - -   D - - -
G - - -  C - - -  G - D -  G - - -

Key of C
C - - -  F - - -  C - - -   G - - -
C - - -  F - - -  C - G -  C - - -

Lyrics

    (Norman Blake verses)
 

    I was standing on a mountain one Sunday morning,

    Watching the smoke below.

    It was coming from a tall thin smokestack,

    Down on the Southern Railroad.

   97 was the fastest train that

   The South had ever seen,

   But it ran so fast that Sunday morning,

   The death toll numbered fourteen.

    (Everybody else's verses) 
 

    Well they gave him his orders at Monroe Virginia

    Sayin' Steve you're way behind time

    This is not 38, but it's old 97

    You must put her into Spencer on time

    Then he turned and said to his black greasy fireman

    Just shovel in a little more coal

    And when we cross that White Oak Mountain

    You will see old 97 roll

    Well it's a mighty rough road from Lynchburg to Danville

    On a line with a three mile grade

    It was on that grade that he lost his air brakes

    See what a jump he made

    He was goin' down the grade makin' 90 miles an hour

    When his whistle began to scream

    He was found in the wreck with his hand on the throttle

    And scalded to death by the steam

    Then the telegram came to Washington station

    and this is what it said,

    Oh that brave engineer that ran old 97

    Is laying in Danville dead.

    So now all you ladies fair, please heed my warning

    from this time live and learn

    Never speak harsh words to your true loving husband

    He may leave you and never return.

REFERENCES

Wikipedia, The Wreck of the Old 97, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wreck_of_the_Old_97, downloaded Oct 27 2012. 

Mississippi Sawyer

  What in the world is a Mississippi Sawyer?  There are a few different theories.  Literally, it is a person who saws wood for a living.  Another possbility is that it is a partially uprooted tree that posed a hazard to barges going up and down the Mississippi River.  It's also possible that it is simply a fiddler, or someone who "saws" away at the fiddle. 
    In a book called Southern Mountain Dulcimer, Wayne Erbson cites Ira Ford, in Traditional Music of America (1940), with the story that the name comes from a saw mill operator who was also a fiddle player.  He played the tune at a giant four-day long celebration of the opening of the saw mill.  The original name of the tune was The Downfall of Paris, but ever since that party, the tune was known as "Mississippi Sawyer"  after the owner of the sawmill.  ( http://books.google.com/books?id=oakbS2YVosEC&pg=PA64&lpg=PA64&dq=mississippi+sawyer+ira+ford&source=bl&ots=RwdK8yjFb5&sig=Q_DzL4bRl3E0hkbrA2nYai3ICsA&hl=en#v=onepage&q=mississippi%20sawyer%20ira%20ford&f=false / ).  

     This makes about as much sense as anything else I've seen on this song, so I'm going with that as the best explanation.   

      The Downfall of Paris was published in England in 1816.  In some cases, the song was still known by that name even in the US in the 20th Century, although the title  "Mississippi Sawyer" was also well known in the 19th Century, consistent with the story about the party at the sawmill. 


   There were lyrics in French (Ca Ira) which celebrated the French Revolution, but these apparently have nothing at all to do with Mississippi or sawyers.  Likewise there have been a few attempts to create English language lyrics for the song over the years, but none of them have stuck.  Mississippi Sawyer is an instrumental tune. 

   Here is a version from my friends Rachel Eddy and Kristian Herner from Sweden, with Bill Fahy. This version is kind of laid back, and It's perfect for playing along with.

I also like this version by Annie and Mac, which is played at a nice even tempo, with a perfect view of the left hand technique for banjo and guitar,  This is really helpful for those of us trying to learn the song....but Annie and Mac are playing in the key of C rather D. I think that most of the known world plays this song in D, so if you learn via Annie and Mac, you will want to capo on 2 in order to coexist with the rest of the world.  
   At the Trolley Stop, we are always in D, and we generally kick it up a notch or two. 

 
A PART 

D---   D---   G---   G--- 
D---   D---   A7--- D---
 
B PART

D---   D---  A7--- A7--- 
D---   D---  A7--- D---