This picture of Kev Russell of the Gourds and his excellent beard was taken by me at the Golden Light Cantina, Amarillo, Texas. But his beard is the wrong kind for the song, which is about the Donegal beard (without moustache) featured in the beardgrowing contest in Shamrock, Texas.
I told you about the road trip my son Matt and I went on as part of my birthday celebrations, but I don't think I said that we made a detour to Shamrock on our way to Amarillo. As it was the week before St Patrick's Day we were hoping to spot some contestants and their beards...but as it turned out the place is pretty much a ghost town (as are many of the small towns we went through in the Panhandle) and we only saw one person - a man with no beard at all. So that was disappointing.
The first song, then, is Lion's Mane by the Gourds, from the Growin' a Beard documentary.
Next is Jole Blon by Gary US Bonds. I am facing considerable opposition on RR (hi, steenbeck) but the fact is I have loved this version from the first time I heard it - when I didn't even know that Bruce was on it. I especially like the lines
When your hair turns to silver
I'll still call you Delta flower...
But then I am, as is well known, a big ol' softie.
Next choice is Richard Thompson's She Cut Off Her Long Silken Hair, a song full of sexual symbolism and bitter loss and regret. My best shot for this week, I think. You can't beat bitter loss and regret, after all.
Last is The Famous Flower of Serving Men by Martin Carthy. Three different people's hair is mentioned!
Lion's Mane
Jole Blon
She Cut Off Her Long Silken Hair
The Famous Flower of Serving Men
