Origins: Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy

Subject: Goin' downtown, gonna get me a jug of brandy
From: Humdinger Folksinger
Date: 25 Feb 98 - 11:40 AM

Can anybody remember the words to the above ... used to play and sing it many eons ago ... think it may have been an early Ian & Sylvia ... here's what I remember ...

I'm goin' downtown, Gonna get me a jug of brandy, Gonna give it all to Mandy, Keep me good, drunk, and boozy all the time, time, time, Good, drunk, and boozy all the time

I can remember the tune, just not the words ... must be "old-timers" disease ... Wow, that makes me sound like I'm 100 ... actually, I became a folkie at

Subject: RE: Goin' downtown, gonna get me a jug of brandy
From: Humdinger Folksinger
Date: 25 Feb 98 - 11:43 AM

Wow, these keys are really sensitive ... the last line was ... Actually, I became a folkie at 15 ... sorry for the duplication ...

Subject: RE: Goin' downtown, gonna get me a jug of brandy
From: Art Thieme
Date: 25 Feb 98 - 12:13 PM

Bob Gibson & Bob (Hamilton) Camp did this on LIVE AT THE GATE OF HORN on Elektra. Also on the later CD on Folk Era where they recreated the first LP many years later at Holstein's in Chicago. Art

Subject: RE: Goin' downtown, gonna get me a jug of brandy
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 25 Feb 98 - 06:50 PM

It's in DigiTrad. Search for Skillet

Subject: Lyr Add: I'M GONNA MAKE IT TO MY SHANTY EF I KIN
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 02 Jan 09 - 06:04 PM

Lyr. Add: I'M GONNA MAKE IT TO MY SHANTY EF I KIN

1
I've been workin' all the week,
Now I've stole a ham of meat.
I'm gonna make it to my shanty
Ef I kin, ef I kin;
Don't care where nor when;
I'm gonna make it to my shanty ef I kin.
2
Now I've stole me a bucket of lard,
Gonna keep my feet outa w'ite folks yards.
I'm gonna keep my skillit greasy
Ef I kin, ef I kin;
Don't care where nor when;
I'm gonna keep my skillit greasy ef I kin.
3
I walked all the way to New Orleans
Just to steal a sack of greens.
I'm gonna keep my pot a-bilin'
Ef I kin, ef I kin;
Don't care where nor when;
I'm gonna keep my pot a-bilin' ef I kin.
4
All them chickens up dat tree;
'Tain't nobody here but me.
Gonna ketch me some chickens
Ef I kin, ef I kin.
Don't care where nor when;
Gonna ketch me some chickens ef I kin.
5
All them rabbits up dat log,
An' I ain't got no rabbit dog.
Gonna ketch me some rabbits
Ef I kin, ef I kin;
Don't care where nor when;
Gonna ketch me some rabbits ef I kin.
6
I went all the way to Tennessee
Jest to ketch a bumblebee.
I'm gonna tote him in my pocket
Ef I kin, ef I kin;
Don't care where nor when;
Gonna tote him in my pocket ef I kin.

Panola County, Mississippi. Sung by a student at Courtland Public School (Black).
Arthur P. Hudson, "Ballads and Songs from Mississippi," AJFL vol. 39, no. 152, pp. 187-188, Apr.-June, 1926 (date of collection not stated).
---------------------------------------------

Fragments from Perrow, Songs and Rhymes from the South II, AJFL vol. 26, 1913

11. WITH A CHICKEN ON MY BACK
East Tennessee, mountain Whites, 1909

A
With a chicken on my back,
I'm goin' to my shack,
En' it's nobody's business but mine.
Lord! Lord!
En it's nobody's business but mine
(AJFL vol. 24, p. 357); reprinted in E. C. Perrow, vol. 26, pp. 123-173, V. Songs Connected with the Railroad.

B
Mississippi, Negroes; MS of M. F. Rubel, 1909

With them bloodhounds on my track,
And a chicken on my back,
I'se gwine to make it to my shanty, if I can.

If I can, can, can,
If I can, can, can,
I'se gwine to make it to my shanty, if I can.

With a ham-bone on my back,
And them bloodhounds on my back (track?)
I'se gwine to keep my skillet greasy, if I can.

C
Mississippi; Negroes; MS of A. B. Pitts

Chickens on my back, and bloodhounds on my track,
I've got to make it to my shanty, if I can.

Rabbit on the log, got no rabbit dog,
Shoot him with my pistol forty-four.

Uncle Dave Mason first recorded "I'll Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy" in 1924. In a note with thread 31041, Songs by Uncle Dave Macon, Macon apparently said he 'got it from an old colored man.'
Macon

These songs collected from 1909-1926 have the line 'I'm going to keep my skillet greasy.'
They may have been the precursors or contributors to Macon's song.

Keep my skillet greasy has two meanings in the South, both still heard:
Be ready to do what is necessary (to get away, take action, etc.).
Keep the stove (skillet) ready for cooking.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: If I Can (Keep Skillet Greasy)
From: Joe_F
Date: 02 Jan 09 - 08:37 PM

Here's how I remember it from Putney School, early 1950s -- astonishingly, I have not copy of it in my file:

I'm a-goin' downtown,
Gonna buy my a sack of flour,
Gonna cook it every hour,
Keep my skillet good and greasy
All the time, time, time,
Keep my skillet good and greasy
All the time.

I'm a-goin' downtown,
Gonna buy me a bottle of whisky,
Gonna give it to my Susie,
Keep her good and drunk and goosy...

Well, if you say so,
I'll never work no more,
Just lay around your shanty
All the time, time, time,...

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: If I Can (Keep Skillet Greasy)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 02 Jan 09 - 09:18 PM

Two versions posted in the Digitrad; the Putney is close to one of them, sung by Pete Seeger.

Subject: Origins: Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy
From: Joe Offer
Date: 19 Dec 22 - 04:07 PM

KEEP MY SKILLET GOOD AND GREASY (DT Lyrics)

I'm goin' downtown,
Gonna get me a sack of flour;
Gonna cook it every hour,
Keep my skillet good and greasy
All the time, time, time,
Keep my skillet good and greasy all the time.

Well, if you say so,
I'll never work no more.
I'll lay around your shanty
All the time, time, time,
Lay around your shanty all the time.

Well I'm goin' down town,
Gonna get me a jug of brandy.
Gonna give it all to Nancy,
Keep her good and drunk and goozy
All the time, time, time.
Good and drunk and goozy all the time.

Recorded by Seeger, Dave Macon
@food @drink @sex
filename[ SKILLTGR
TUNE FILE: SKILLTGR
CLICK TO PLAY
RG

Popup Midi Player

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Traditional Ballad Index:

Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy

DESCRIPTION: Non-ballad, in which the singer displays his interest in food and drink and his lack of interest in work. Verses vary widely; the song is recognized primarily by the line "(Gonna) keep my skillet (good and) greasy all the time."
AUTHOR: (Credited to Uncle Dave Macon on the Henry Whitter recording)
EARLIEST DATE: 1924 (recording, Uncle Dave Macon)
KEYWORDS: nonballad drink food
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Warner-TraditionalAmericanFolkSongsFromAnneAndFrankWarnerColl 122, "Gonna Keep My Skillet Greasy" (1 text, 1 tune, plus assorted excerpts not collected by the Warners)
Morris-FolksongsOfFlorida, #104, "Sandy's Mill" (1 fragment, 1 tune, linked to "Sandy's Mill" by the title and a few of the words but to "Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy" by the tune)
Abrahams/Riddle-ASingerAndHerSongs, pp. 98-99, "Mandy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber/Silber-FolksingersWordbook, p. 157 "Keep My Skillet Good And Greasy" (1 text)
DT, SKILLTGR SKILLTG2*
Roud #7479
RECORDINGS:
Doc Watson & Ralph Rinzler, "Skillet Good and Greasy" (on Ashley02, WatsonAshley01)
John Henry Howard, "Gonna Keep My Skillet Good & Greasy" (Gennett 3124, 1925)
Mississippi John Hurt, "Pay Day" (on MJHurt04)
Uncle Dave Macon "I'll Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy" (Vocalion 14848, 1924) (Bluebird B-5873, 1935)
Pete Seeger, "Skillet Good and Greasy" (on PeteSeeger02, PeteSeegerCD01)
Henry Whitter, "Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy" (OKeh 40296, 1925; rec. 1924)
File: Wa122

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I can find only one version in the Digital Tradition. Can anybody link to the other?

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: If I Can (Keep Skillet Greasy)
From: GUEST,Hootenanny
Date: 19 Dec 22 - 06:06 PM

A Skillet isn't a stove surely, it's a frying pan.

From memory I seem to recall that there is another meaning to this phrase "I'll Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy" relating to keeping ready for sexual activity.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: If I Can (Keep Skillet Greasy)
From: cnd
Date: 20 Dec 22 - 03:56 PM

Joe_F's version also matches very closely with the one I've listened to the most, from The Wanderers Three record We Sing Folk Songs (Dolton Records BLP-2021, released 1963), even down to the "goosy" phrase. A pop-folk group, they unsurprisingly do not mention their source for the song beyond "Arr. & Adpt. Harold Brown." The only minor differences: the alcohol verse comes first and flour verse second, and the replacement of whiskey and Suzie with brandy and Nancey. Plus the chorus "Good and drunk and goosy (x3) all the time [twice]".

Here's one of the best imitations of Macon's renowned banjo tossing and twirling I've come across - Leroy Troy - Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy

Hoot, the comment about a stove I assume was meant to apply via the skillet the idea that the kitchen was open. I don't think Q actually believed a skillet was a sort of stove, though some skillets do combine as sort of shallow a dutch oven.

Subject: ADD Version: Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy
From: Joe Offer
Date: 20 Dec 22 - 04:29 PM

Here's the Uncle Dave Macon Version:


KEEP MY SKILLET GOOD AND GREASY

I'se gwine down town for to buy me a sack of flour
Gwine to cook it every hour
Keep my skillet good and greasy all the time, time, time
Keep my skillet good and greasy all the time

Honey, if you say so, I'll never work-a no more
I'll lay round your shanty all the time, time, time
I'll lay round your shanty all the time

I'se chickens in my sack, bloodhounds on my track
I'm pullin' for my shanty home, home, home
I'm pullin' for my shanty home

If they beat me to the door, I'll put 'em under the floor
Keep my skillet good and greasy all the time, time, time
Keep my skillet good and greasy all the time

I'se a-walking down the street and I stoled a ham of meat
Got my skillet good and greasy all the time, time, time
Got my skillet good and greasy all the time

I'se gwine to the hills for to buy me a jug of brandy
Gwine give it all to Mandy
Keep her good and drunk and boozy all the time, time, time
Keep her good and drunk and boozy all the time

There's a man on the log, finger on the trigger and eye on the hog
Gun it went blip and the bullet it went zip
Fell on the hog with all of his grip
Got my skillet good and greasy all the time, time, time
Got my skillet good and greasy all the time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bkLnWN9WSA

Subject: RE: Origins: Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy
From: GUEST,guest rs
Date: 21 Dec 22 - 10:51 AM

I first heard this on Davy Graham's 'Folk, Blues & Beyond' album in the mid-60s - also, there's a great version on Mike Cooper & Derek Hall's 'Out Of The Shades' EP, watchable on tube, & worth a listen for Hall's superb guitar work.