"Leathery" might do in a pinch. gillymor's "thorny" is damn good, though, in the context!
I've run into this issue, and finally substituted the odd word--the n word in Stephen Foster, for e.g. Maybe the word "gay" as it occurs in many an old song would elicit similar pubescent/adolescent giggles? always a bit of a stickler for the verified lyric, but you may change horney...wish I knew the melody...the alliteration is preserved in gillymor's first two suggestions, and hirsute would be a lexical treat for the young folk to "googel" or whatever it is they do with their electronica. Ennywey.....
keep on pickin' dennis
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