The second verse might refer to nuclear contamination.
Maybe due to the nuclear tests in Nevada or even due to the core melt in Chernobyl (April 1986; Graceland album was released in August 1986; recorded till June).
It was a dry wind
And it swept across the desert
it curled into the circle of birth: damage of DNA caused by nuclear radiation
And the DEAD SAND FALLING on the children the mothers and the fathers: nuclear fallout
And the automatic earth: the damage of electronic devices caused by the Electromagnetic Pulse of a nuclear explosion
The second verse might refer to nuclear contamination.
Maybe due to the nuclear tests in Nevada or even due to the core melt in Chernobyl (April 1986; Graceland album was released in August 1986; recorded till June).
It was a dry wind And it swept across the desert
it curled into the circle of birth: damage of DNA caused by nuclear radiation
And the DEAD SAND FALLING on the children the mothers and the fathers: nuclear fallout
And the automatic earth: the damage of electronic devices caused by the Electromagnetic Pulse of a nuclear explosion