Ahab The Arab
"Ahab the Arab" is a novelty song written and recorded by Ray Stevens in 1962. In the song, Arab is pronounced "Ay-rab" to rhyme with Ahab. The hero of the story is Clyde the camel and Stevens has made references to Clyde numerous times throughout his career.
| Artist |
 artist
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| Language |
language
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| English title |
english title
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| A-side |
a-side
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| B-side |
b-side
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| Written |
written
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| Published |
published
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| Released | May 1962
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format
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| Recorded |
recorded
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| Studio |
studio
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venue
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| Length | 2:47 (single version)
3:45 (album version) |
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| Composer |
composer
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| Lyricist |
lyricist
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Lyrics
Let me tell you about Ahab the Arab
The sheik of the burning sand
He had emeralds and rubies just drippin` off `a him
And a ring on every finger of his hand
He wore a big ol` turban wrapped around his head
And a scimitar by his side
And, every evenin`, about midnight
He`d jump on his camel named Clyde, and ride
[Spoken] Silently through the night to the sultan`s tent where he
would secretly meet up with Fatima of the Seven Veils,
swingingest grade "A" number one US choice dancer in
the sultan`s whole harem, `cause, heh, him and her had
a thing goin`, you know, and they`d been carryin` on
for some time now behind the sultan`s back and you
could hear him talk to his camel as he rode out across the
dunes, his voice would cut through the still night desert
air and he`d say (imitate Arabic speech and finish with "Sold! American)
which is Arabic for, "Stop, Clyde!" and Clyde`d say, (imitate camel
sound), which is camel for, "What the heck did he say anyway?"
Well, he brought that camel to a screechin` halt (verbal screeching sound)
In the rear of Fatima`s tent
Jumped off Clyde, snuck around the corner
And into the tent he went.
There he saw Fatima layin` on a zebra skin rug
With
[Spoken in falsetto and possibly with female backups] "Rings on her fingers and
bells on her toes and a bone in her nose ho, ho."
[Spoken] There she was, friends, lyin` there in all her radiant
beauty, eating on a raisin, gr*pe, apricot, pomegranate,
bowl of chittlin`s, two bananas, three Hershey bars,
sipping on a RC co-cola listenin` to her transistor,
watchin` the Grand Ole Opry on the tube, readin` a Mad
magazine while she sung, "Does your chewing gum lose
it`s flavor?" Yeah, Ahab walked up to her and he say,
(imitate Arabic speech), which is Arabic for "Let`s twist
again like we did last summer, baby.!!" Ha, ha, ha!!
You know what I mean! Whew! She looked up at him from off the rug,
give him one of the sly looks,
She said (suggestive giggles, then outright laughter) "Crazy, crazy, crazy baby!"
(`round and around and around and around, and around and around and around)
Yeah, and that`s the story `bout Ahab the Arab
The sheik of the burnin` sand
Ahab the Arab, the swingin` sheik of the burnin` sand
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