The 6 Best Songs About Red Hair

What? Why you may ask? What does this have to do with Jewliciousness? Well, that’s a good question! I’ve had reason to contemplate red hair and Jews of late, and in doing so I recalled reading somewhere that red hair is indigenous only to Scots, the Irish and Jews. I had also always heard that King David was a ginger so perhaps there may have been some credence to these rumors. So I did some research and this is what I discovered from Wikipedia:

Red hair is also fairly common amongst the Ashkenazi Jewish populations, possibly because of the influx of European DNA over a period of centuries. In European culture, prior to the 20th century, red hair was often seen as a stereotypically Jewish trait: during the Spanish Inquisition, all those with red hair were identified as Jewish. In Italy, red hair was associated with Italian Jews, and Judas was traditionally depicted as red-haired in Italian and Spanish art. Writers from Shakespeare to Dickens would identify Jewish characters by giving them red hair. The stereotype that red hair is Jewish remains in parts of Eastern Europe and Russia.

And Moment Magazine posed the following question – Do Jews have more red hair than the Irish? To which was offered the following response:

FALSE! The association of Jews with red hair has a long history, dating back even to the Bible, in which rugged Esau and the harp-playing warrior king David were both believed to be redheads. Some more sinister Jews, too, were thought to be “gingers”: Judas and Shylock are often depicted with flaming locks. In fact, the link has become so widespread in popular culture that some believe there are more auburn-haired Jews than there are Irish, those most famous redheads. Not so, says Abel. “Scotland and Ireland have the highest proportion of people with red hair,” he says. The myth may be the result of confounded expectations: “There’s a higher percentage of Jews with red hair than you might expect from the fact that they came from the Middle East and most people in the Middle East have dark hair,” says Abel, though the number appears to be no higher than the approximately four percent of the world’s population who are endowed with red tresses.

Interesting right? Well worth delving into I think. And while you check out the existence, or lack thereof, of historical evidence that our greatest King ever was a redhead, listen to the following tunes, which represent the 6 best songs ever written or performed about redheads. If you have any faves, let me know in the comments!

The White Stripes – Fell In Love With a Girl

Red hair with a curl
mellow roll for the flavor
and the eyes for peeping
can’t keep away from the girl
these two sides of my brain
need to have a meeting

REM – Redhead Walking

Don’t get close
She’ll warn you with her growl
She’s a bud cuttin’, star studded, leather chested girl
Out there a redhead walkin’
Redhead walkin’
The redhead walkin’
Better listen keep your distance from the crimson

Mark Ronson feat. Amy Winehouse – Valerie

‘Cause since I’ve come on home, well my body’s been a mess
And I’ve missed your ginger hair and the way you like to dress
Won’t you come on over, stop making a fool out of me
Why won’t you come on over Valerie?

Bruce Springsteen – Red Headed Woman

Well brunettes are fine man
And blondes are fun
But when it comes to getting a dirty job done
I’ll take a red headed woman
A red headed woman
It takes a red headed woman
To get a dirty job done

Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton – Jolene

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
Please don’t take him just because you can
Your beauty is beyond compare
With flaming locks of auburn hair
With ivory skin and eyes of emerald green

Bob Dylan – Tangled Up In Blue

Early one morning the sun was shining
I was laying in bed
Wondering if she’d changed at all
If her hair was still red
Her folks they said our lives together
Sure was going to be rough
They never did like Mama’s homemade dress
Papa’s bankbook wasn’t big enough

The White Stripes – Icky Thump

Redhead senorita
Looking dead
Came and said
Need a bed
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