Cotton Tail

Cotton Tail

"Cotton Tail" is a 1940 composition by Duke Ellington. It is based on the rhythm changes from George Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm". The first Ellington recording is notable for the driving tenor saxophone solo by Ben Webster. Originally an instrumental, "Cotton Tail" later had lyrics written for it by Ellington. Later, more lyrics were written, based on the 1940 recording, by Jon Hendricks, and recorded by Lambert, Hendricks and Ross.

Cotton

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus Gossypium in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose and may contain minor percentages of waxes, fats, pectins, and water. Under natural conditions, cotton bolls facilitate the dispersal of the seeds.

Tail

The tail is the elongated section at the rear end of a bilaterian animal's body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage extending backwards from the midline of the torso. In vertebrate animals that evolved to lose their tails, the coccyx is the homologous vestigial of the tail. While tails are primarily considered a feature of vertebrates, some invertebrates such as scorpions and springtails, as well as snails and slugs, have tail-like appendages that are also referred to as tails.

cotton

Noun

1. A fibrous substance.

Adjective

1. Made of cotton.

tail

Noun

1. The caudal appendage of an animal that is attached to their posterior and near the anus or cloaca.
2. An object or part of an object resembling a tail in shape, such as the thongs on a cat-o'-nine-tails; a strand of material hanging from something.

Verb

1. To hold by the end; said of a timber when it rests upon a wall or other support; with in or into
2. To swing with the stern in a certain direction; said of a vessel at anchor.