Hmmm,

A cur-mudgeon-ly BTW, Jon: spent girlhood summers in The Blue Ridge, never met a dog named "Gray," most of the hounds I saw were fawn or tan or etc., but, hey, it could have been named for anything. Thing is, I did meet a surprising number of dogs named "Trey," which, I believe is a corruption of the French word "tres," meaning three. If you keep hounds and they do their work well, you want to hang on to the bloodline, and you might want other folks to know that your dog is "the Third," that is, the offspring of the offspring of a dog you thought well enough of to keep and breed, and that you have several canine generations of investment in him. Therefore, a song that mentions a dog named "Tray," makes a more complex and subtle allusion to the singer's roots than one named "Gray."

Knew of a hound called Ol' Dog that sired a "Deuce" (never saw it spelled out, coulda been "Doose" for all I know), that sired a "Trey" (did see that spelled), that sired a "Quat," that sired a "Sanc." Sanc was dumb as dust but he could sniff your merest whim. Best let old lyrics lie, say I!

Shula