What does Johnny Cash refer to when he says he has a “mackinaw?”

Question

In Johnny Cash’s song Country Trash, he says:

I got a mackinaw and a hunting dog

What is a mackinaw? I’m a Michigander myself, so I’m familiar with Mackinac Island and Mackinaw City and the etymology of those names, I’m just unclear as to what a mackinaw is.

Kris · Accepted Answer · 2017-10-23T04:23:37.283

5

Basically it is a raincoat.

Mackinaw cloth is a heavy dense water-repellent woolen cloth, similar to Melton cloth. It was used to make a short coat of the same name, sometimes with a doubled shoulder. These jackets have their origins on the Canadian frontier and were later made famous by American loggers in the upper Midwest as workwear during the mid-19th century logging boom.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mackinaw_cloth

http://cdn-5.olive-drab.com/images/soldier_ww2_field_unif_01.jpg

edited Oct 23 '17 at 04:23

answered Oct 23 '17 at 04:15

Kris

166
2

1

Upper Midwest, hence “mackinaw.” Thanks! – Zenon Oct 23 '17 at 04:44

What does Johnny Cash refer to when he says he has a “mackinaw?”

1 Answers1