The song is about the Haight-Ashbury scene in San Francisco around 1966-1967. At the time long "granny dresses" were popular among young hippie girls, and the song's title and first verse is a nod to them. Fillmore Slim was a neighborhood character --- musician, hustler, raconteur --- and many of the locals without funds would use whatever was cheap and available to get high, including Robitussin (cough syrup)and elderberry wine, as mentioned in the last verse.
The song is about the Haight-Ashbury scene in San Francisco around 1966-1967. At the time long "granny dresses" were popular among young hippie girls, and the song's title and first verse is a nod to them. Fillmore Slim was a neighborhood character --- musician, hustler, raconteur --- and many of the locals without funds would use whatever was cheap and available to get high, including Robitussin (cough syrup)and elderberry wine, as mentioned in the last verse.