Art, I think I figured it out: after further listening, I realized that the drop in pitch was only about a third to a half a tone, not a whole tone as I had believed on my first couple of times hearing it. Now it sounds as if you fretted hard, perhaps up against the fret wire, and then slowly released the fretting tension enough to reduce the stretching of the string but not enough so the string was no longer fretted. It happens a beat after the word "sugaree" in each verse and in the same place in the breaks. Anyway, it adds a great nostalgic accent to a wonderfully nostalgic song and performance. This has got to be my favorite of all your songs.

Charles