Music Friday: Can a Little Band of Gold Keep Her Love From Going Cold?

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you sensational songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, Oscar- and Grammy-winning artist Glen Hansard ponders whether a simple band of gold has the strength to save his marriage in the 2015 folk song “Wedding Ring.”

Written by Hansard, “Wedding Ring” is about a man who loves his wife but has serious doubts about her fidelity. He describes her as a “wildcat on the prowl” and fears he may be losing her.

In the catchy opening verse, the Irish singer-songwriter-actor-musician asks, “Wedding ring, wedding ring / Little band of gold / Will you be strong enough to keep her / Keep her love from going cold?”

“Wedding Ring” appears as the second track of his second studio album Didn’t He Ramble. The 2015 LP scored a nomination for Best Folk Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards. It also performed well on the charts, rising to #5 on the US Billboard Folk Albums chart and #16 on the US Billboard Top Alternative Albums chart. Three years earlier at the 55th Grammy Awards, Hansard took home the coveted gilded gramophone in the category Best Musical Theater Album.

Born in Dublin in 1970, Hansard dropped out of school as a 13-year-old and eked out a living as a street performer. At the age of 20, he formed a band called The Frames and later became one half of the folk rock duo The Swell Season.

He showed off is acting chops in The Commitments (1991) and starred in the musical Once (2007). In that role, he performed the lead ballad “Falling Slowly” with co-star Markéta Irglová. The tune netted him an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

According to Allmusic.com, Hansard is an artist who is not afraid to lay bare his soul for his audience to see. Hansard claims his music inspiration comes from three world-class artists.

Says Hansard, “In my house, when I was a kid, there was the holy trinity, which was Leonard Cohen, Van Morrison and Bob Dylan — with Bob sitting center.”

Trivia: Hansard became a dad for the first time in October 2022 at the age of 52.

Please check out the video of Hansard’s live performance of “Wedding Ring” at the Tempodrom in Berlin, where he shares the stage with renowned American jazz trombonist and singer Curtis Fowlkes. The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“Wedding Ring”
Written and performed by Glen Hansard, featuring Curtis Fowlkes.

Wedding ring, wedding ring
Little band of gold
Wedding ring, wedding ring
Little band of gold
Will you be strong enough to keep her
Keep her love from going cold?

Where you running to now, baby
Running all the time
Where you running to now, darlin’
Running to all the time
Well, I sure hope it’s to your sister
And not that mean trombone player of mine

I’ve been trying to reach you, darlin’
I try, I try in vain
I’ve been trying to reach you, darlin’
Though I try, I try in vain
I always end up losing you
And walking home in the rain

Wedding ring, wedding ring
Little band of gold
Wedding ring, wedding ring
Little band of gold
Will you be strong enough to keep her
Keep her love from going cold?

There’s a wildcat in you, woman
A wildcat on the prowl
There’s a wildcat in you, woman
A wildcat on the prowl
Every time I put my arms around you
I can hear that wildcat growl

I remember when I met you
There was something about the moon
I remember the night I met you
There was something about the moon
I didn’t know if it was waxing or waning
But I knew that you’d be leaving soon

Wedding ring, wedding ring
Little band of gold
Wedding ring, wedding ring
Little band of gold
Will you be strong enough to keep her
To keep her love from getting old?

Wedding ring, wedding ring
Little band of gold
Wedding ring, wedding ring
Little band of gold
Will you be strong enough to keep her
To keep her love from going cold?

Will you be strong enough to keep her
To keep her love from getting old
Will you be strong enough to keep her
To keep her love from going old?

Credit: Andy Witchger, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Post Malone Recounts How He Nearly Lost a $600K Diamond Tooth Down a Drain

In a wild cover story for the current issue of Esquire magazine, pop music juggernaut Post Malone recounts how he almost lost a $600,000 diamond tooth down a Roman drain after a near-tragic Chicken McNugget accident.

Malone was chomping down on his favorite fast food when one of his two diamond canines (the pointy teeth that look like fangs) sprang from his mouth. He snatched it in his hand, but then fumbled the bezel-set bling right down a drain.

"I’m like, '… Man, I’m going to have to go into the ancient Roman sewers,’" he told Esquire.

Undaunted, Malone crafted a retrieval device from a pair of pliers and a takeout-pizza plastic tripod. The rescue was a success and the "Rockstar" artist quickly employed a local dentist to reinstall the 6-carat treasure.

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Malone first revealed his diamond canine replacements on social media back in June of 2021. The 12-carat total weight pair were the result of a year-and-a-half of trial and error by celebrity dentist Thomas Connelly. Malone wanted to take the idea of diamond veneers to the next level. Malone challenged the doc Connelly to create diamond teeth.

“It’s very difficult to cut holes in diamonds without destroying them,” Connelly told Rolling Stone magazine in 2021. He also noted that there was a lot of diamond waste during the cutting process. A 12-carat rough diamond was required to yield a 6-carat canine tooth. Overall, the dentist sourced 40 carats of diamonds from Belgium and had them custom cut in Israel.

In June 2022, Malone released his fourth studio album. It was appropriately titled Twelve-Carat Toothache, a clever tribute to his diamond teeth, one of which almost got away.

Doctor Connelly told Rolling Stone's readers that there's no special method to cleaning diamond teeth. He can just brush them normally.

“He’s now got two functional, full diamond teeth,” Connelly told the publication. “They light up the room. They sparkle, they shine. They’re amazing.”

Malone recently surpassed former record-holder Bruno Mars as the artist with the most RIAA diamond-certified (10 million sold) singles.

Credits: Diamond embeds screen capture via Instagram / connellydds. Post Malone in concert by The Come Up Show from Canada, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Diamond Stats 2022: Russia Mines Most Carats, Botswana Nets Highest Value

The massive Russian Federation and tiny country of Botswana share top honors on 2022's list of the most prolific rough diamond producers in the world.

The Russian Federation extracted 41.9 million carats of diamonds in 2022, placing it on top of the leaderboard, far ahead of #2 Botswana (24.7 million carats) and #3 Canada (16.2 million carats).

The rankings rejigger when we analyze the diamond output in terms of value, with Botswana rising to the top of the list ($4.9 billion), followed by the Russian Federation ($3.5 billion) and Angola ($1.9 billion).

Of the world's 195 countries, only 22 engage in diamond mining. And of that group, the top 10 diamond mining countries accounted for 99.2% of all rough diamonds mined in 2022. World production was 120.2 million carats at a value of $16.2 billion.

Here's the current rankings of the Top-10 diamond producing countries by carat weight and by value. The stats are based on statistics compiled by Kimberly Process (a diamond-industry certification organization) as well as Dr. Ashok Damarupurshad, a precious metals and diamond specialist in South Africa.

Russian Federation: Carat Ranking #1 / Value Ranking #2

According to Dr. Damarupurshad's analysis, Russia produced more than a third (35%) of the world's rough diamonds in 2022 (by weight) and a little over one-fifth of its value.

Botswana: Carat Ranking #2 / Value Ranking #1

Botswana is famous for its gem-quality rough diamonds, six of which rank in the Top 10 of the largest rough diamonds ever discovered. That quality factor is why the country ranked #1 in value, topping its Russian rival by 40% even though its carat output was only 59% of Russia's total.

Canada: Carat Ranking #3 / Value Ranking #4

Dr. Damarupurshad noted that although Canada is also known for producing gem-quality diamonds, its production is on a declining trend as older, richer pipes at the Ekati and Diavik mines deplete. Nevertheless, Canada still ranked #3 in production (16.2 million carats) and #4 in value ($1.8 billion) in 2022.

The next seven countries on the list are all on the continent of Africa. In fact, eight of the top 10 diamond-producing countries are African, accounting for 51% of the world's diamond output by weight, and 66% by value.

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): Carat Ranking #4 / Value Ranking #11

The disparity in this countries rankings reflects the prevalence of lower-grade rough. The DRC generated 9.9 million carats with a value of just $65 million. The vast majority of diamonds produced in the DRC are used for industrial purposes.

South Africa: Carat Ranking #5 / Value Ranking #5

The home of the 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond, the largest diamond ever unearthed, South Africa produces consistently high-quality diamonds and has been doing it for more than a century. The Cullinan was found in the Premier Mine in 1905. In 2022, South Africa generated 9.6 million carats valued at $1.5 billion.

Angola: Carat Ranking #6 / Value Ranking #3

Angola produced 8.7 million carats, but banked $1.9 billion — a number topped only by Botswana and Russia. The high value is a testament to a finer grade of rough material unearthed in 2022. Dr. Damarupurshad reported a marginal increase in carats in 2022, but a 20% increase in value compared with 2021.

At this point in the list, production and value take a big step down.

Zimbabwe: Carat Ranking #7 / Value Ranking #7

Zimbabwe's output of 4.4 million carats was about half of the tally of #6 Angola, and the diamond value of $424 million was barely a fourth of Angola's total. Zimbabwe's overall output improved compared to 2021, but the value retreated by nearly 40%.

Namibia: Carat Ranking #8 / Value Ranking #6

This country on the southwest coast of Africa produces gem-quality diamonds sourced largely from off-shore activities. In 2022, Namibia produced 2 million carats with a value of $1.2 billion. Dr. Damarupurshad called Namibian production in 2022 "the diamond mining highlight of the year." The value of diamond output grew by 50% and the price-per-carat grew to $601 — the highest of the Top-20 diamond mining countries in the world.

Lesotho: Carat Ranking #9 / Value Ranking #8

In 2022, this tiny, landlocked country which is completely surrounded by South Africa, scored a #9 spot with a rough diamond output of 727,000 carats and a #8 spot on the value chart with $314 million in revenue. In 2021, Lesotho diamonds generated the highest price per carat ($756), but the country failed to maintain that status in 2022 ($432 per carat).

Sierra Leone: Carat Ranking #10 / Value Ranking #9

Sierra Leone barely managed to remain in the Top 10 in 2022 based on production (688,000 carats) and value ($143 million). Both numbers were slightly down from the country's performance in 2021.

Credit: Image of 342-carat rough diamond mined in Botswana, courtesy of Lucara Diamond.