"Greasy Coat", also known as "Old Greasy Coat" is an American reel in A Dorian or A Mixolydian (Burl Hammons). It is played in Standard (Burl Hammons) or AEae (Edden Hammons) fiddle tunings. The parts are played ABCC.
There are several meanings for the term 'greasy coat'. It may be an old-time euphemism for a condom. It may also be the term refers to an unwashed fleece (i.e. still retaining the lanolin) or to a Confederate soldiers coat, worn, greasy and dirty from overuse.
There are numerous versions of this tune.
The banjo tablature is by John Letscher. His comment:
From Paul Brown and Bruce Molsky.
It was recorded by Andy Cahan, Laura Fishleder and Lisa Ornstein on Ship in the Clouds: Old Time Instrumental Music (1978), Burl Hammons on Shaking Down the Acorns (1973), The Hammons Family on The Hammons Family (1998), Edden Hammons on Edden Hammons Collection I (1947) (appears as "Old Greasy Coat"), Flat Mountain Girls on Idle Talk and Wicked Deeds (2007) and Ron Lunceford on Cotton Blossom - 19th Century Banjo Tunes, Clawhammer Style (2005).