Lyrics for Rock the Casbah as interpreted by Brock256

Rock the Casbah Lyrics
Now the king told the boogie men
You have to let that raga drop
The oil down the desert way
Has been shaken to the top
The sheik, he drove his Cadillac
He went a-cruising down the ville
The muezzin was a-standing
On the radiator grille

The sharif don't like it
Rocking the Casbah, rock the Casbah
The sharif don't like it
Rocking the Casbah, rock the Casbah

By order of the prophet
We ban that boogie sound
Degenerate the faithful
With that crazy Casbah sound
But the Bedouin they brought out the electric camel drum
The local guitar picker got his guitar picking thumb
As soon as the sharif had cleared the square
They began to wail

The sharif don't like it
Rocking the Casbah, rock the Casbah
The sharif don't like it
Rocking the Casbah, rock the Casbah

Now over at the temple
Oh they really pack them in
The in crowd say it's cool
To dig this chanting thing
But as the wind changed direction
And the temple band took five
The crowd caught a whiff
Of that crazy Casbah jive

The sharif don't like it
Rocking the Casbah, rock the Casbah
The sharif don't like it
Rocking the Casbah, rock the Casbah

The king called out his jet fighters
He said you'd better earn your pay
Drop your bombs between the minarets
Down the Casbah way
As soon as the sharif was chauffeured out of there
The jet pilots tuned to the cockpit radio blare
As soon as the sharif was out of their hair
The jet pilots wailed

The sharif don't like it
Rocking the Casbah, rock the Casbah
The sharif don't like it (he thinks it's not kosher)
Rocking the Casbah, rock the Casbah
The sharif don't like it (fundamentally he can't take it)
Rocking the Casbah, rock the Casbah
The sharif don't like it (you know he really hates it)
Rocking the Casbah, rock the Casbah

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  • 103 Comments
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dalamiric
04-28-2002

Rated 0 
someone give the history of this!

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bosco9
05-13-2002

Rated 0 
i've looked everywhere for where the inspiration for this song came from. it's killing me. anyone know?

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roger wilco
05-13-2002

Rated 0 
no, but it was the unofficial theme for Operation Desert Storm, according to Armed Forces Radio!

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aebassist
05-16-2002

Rated 0 
It was a response to the ban of all western music by middle east nations

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bosco9
05-17-2002

Rated 0 
i got that much from it....but anything more specific? what's the casbah, other than a CA music club? and is the shariff just supposed to be the leader, or is it a specific one? great song either way....but i'd like to know if anyone's got the facts.

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1 Reply
WhatAnAnders
05-19-2002

Rated +1 
the casbah is a sector of Algerias capital Algiers that is largely avoided by most algerians and other outsiders for fear of their lives. So feared is the Casbah that police don't enter the region unless heavily armed. More than 20 police have been murdered in the Casbah since 1992.
The Casbah has served as an impregnable warren against Ottoman invaders and French colonialists. It is now the hotbed of resistance against Algeria's military regime - an Islamic insurgency that has resulted in the death of more than 60,000 people in the last five years.
The old Casbah was renowned for its tolerant atmosphere. Native Arabs rubbed shoulders with Jews, Spaniards, Portuguese and French. But that tolerance has disappeared and the sector remains isolated.





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dizziness61
06-06-2002

Rated 0 
wow, Aebassist and WhatAnAnders... good interpretations! i did a lil searching on the internet about "the casbah" and the ban of western music in the middle east. i think it could go either way.... but i wouldve never guessed either of those things... good job you two!

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dead_kennedys
06-18-2002

Rated 0 
wow is right more reasons why the clash rocks

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punkemofan
08-19-2002

Rated 0 
Hey this is what I found at allmusic.com:

AMG EXPERT REVIEW: After enduring five years as a cult act in the U.S., the Clash finally broke through on the U.S. charts with a Top Ten hit in the form of "Rock the Casbah." The lyrics, penned by Joe Strummer, were inspired by a news report of Iranians being flogged for the crime of owning a disco album and create an amusing fantasy where a disco-hating sharif is defied by everyone from the citizens to his own air force as he tries to stamp out "that crazy Casbah sound." The music lives up to the playful style of the lyrics with a rollicking melody that contrasts simple verse melodies that bounce up and down in a dance-friendly style with a shoutalong chorus that uses stuttered notes to create a punchy rhythm. The Clash's recording began as a short demo by Topper Headon consisting of a funky bass/drums vamp with some ticklish piano riffs on top. The rest of the band looped and remixed to it to a proper song length and fleshed it out with funky yet fiery electric guitar riffs, more percussion and an array of electronic sound effects. The result was a song that was tough enough for rock fans but rhythmic enough to appeal to dance music lovers. A combination of live exposure via a tour with the Who and a video on the then-new MTV network helped "Rock the Casbah" shoot to number eight on the U.S. pop charts. It remains a favorite on classic rock radio today and is frequently played by sarcastic disc jockeys whenever there is a military situation in the Middle East (example: it got a lot of airplay during the Persian Gulf War). — Donald A. Guarisco

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Aneurysm1985
03-07-2003

Rated 0 
Go The Clash. This song brings back memories of Schoolies Week at the Gold Coast in 2002.

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awaitworthwhile
03-11-2003

Rated 0 
clash is amazing.

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disco_blows_dogs_
03-12-2003

Rated -1 
THIS IS CALLED THE CLASH SELLING OUT. I RESPECT THEIR EARLIER MUSIC, AND THEY ARE ONE OF MY FAVORITE BANDS, BUT SERIOUSLY, THIS SONG WAS MADE TO BE A HIT, IT LACKS THE SOUL THEIR EARLIER SONGS DID.
THIS SONG IS SHIT.

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lyrastar
03-19-2003

Rated +1 
thats a little harsh disco blows dogs. Did you read anything about what was written above of the meaning of the song? Maybe it is about more than you thought.

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pretencious_snob
03-26-2003

Rated 0 
the clash didn't sell out here - yeah i know that it is a bit poppy but that is just the clash doing what made them great and that is integrating all kinds of music and putting out a great song. This is just a fun song and they weren't out to make a hit. Don't blame the clash blame the record company blame MTV blame all the people who are fans for a week because they like one song. The success of this song almost made joe strummer quit the band. the only complaint i have about the clash selling out is when you hear their songs on car commercials and i don't know if that is because their songs are owned by the record company or what.

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daz
03-28-2003

Rated 0 
ffs why do people instantly dislike songs because they become popular. Their shitty elitist attitudes piss me off. "i dont like that purely because you do." what a load of shit. they do not appreciate music just use it as a tool to try and be different. fuck 'em

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BigPoppaChidog
04-06-2003

Rated 0 
The first song that was played on Armed Forces Radio after Desert Storm began.

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oneiros lykos
04-20-2003

Rated 0 
Rock the Casbah is awsome. I dun know what disco's talking about. I have to agree, some of their later stuff I don't like because its too..."soft" maybe from what they originally started out with? But Rock the Casbah was written with thought. Come on, even if the Clash might've not been as great towards the end as when they started out, they're still a million times better then the bands out there today, who have already hit a downward spiral with their second single. Rock the Casbah is good.

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AirCav1stOfThe9th
05-01-2003

Rated 0 
The Clash is definitly one of the better pop punk bands of all time.

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gordonkayuk
05-03-2003

Rated 0 
Did topper headon write the lyrics ?

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Aftermath
05-12-2003

Rated 0 
this is one of those songs that never gets boring. I loved it from the minute I heard it. I have to hear more stuff from the Clash. I've liked all the stuff I've heard but, sadly, it's not much.

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intoodeep
06-05-2003

Rated 0 
i hate this song it should die, it killed the band

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intoodeep
06-05-2003

Rated 0 
i hate this song it should die, it killed the band

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Unky_Ruly
06-07-2003

Rated 0 
Are we getting into the whole "sellout" debate again? I don't think Joe Strummer had "HIT" in mind when he wrote this, especially seeing as it was written about pertinent world affairs. The notion of selling out is shit. So what if a radio station picks up a song or two??? What I can't stand is bands dramatically changing their sound in order not to "sellout" and in the process creating and album that is virtually unlistenable

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weezerific:cutlery
06-18-2003

Rated 0 
regardless of the meaning, i must say that this is a rawkous song.

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hideme28
06-22-2003

Rated 0 
the clash aint pop-punk "AirCav"... they are punk - joe strummer made punk

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