Rock the Casbah
The Clash Lyrics

Now the king told the boogie men
The authorities have issued an order to stop people from dancing to certain music

"You have to let that raga drop"
You must stop playing that type of music

The oil down the desert way
The oil industry is thriving in this region

Has been shaken to the top
There has been a significant change in the hierarchy of power in this area

The Sheik he drove his Cadillac
The wealthy entrepreneur is showing off his wealth by driving his expensive car

He went a-cruisin' down the ville
He's showing off his lifestyle to the other people in the town

The Muezzin was a-standin'
The religious person is observing the events happening around him

On the radiator grille, ow
He is in a position where he can't escape from what's happening

Shareef don't like it
The leader doesn't approve of the changes taking place

Rockin' the Casbah, rock the Casbah
The new music style is becoming very popular among the locals and it's upsetting the leader

By order of the prophet
The directive is coming from a religious leader

We'll ban that boogie sound
Music authorities will stop the new music style from playing

Degenerate the faithful
The music will corrupt the moral fiber of the locals

With that crazy Casbah sound
The unique cultural sound is causing problems in the community

But the Bedouin they brought out an electric camel drum
The nomads are modernizing their musical instruments

The local guitar picker got his guitar pickin' thumb
The musician is ready to play and entertain the people with his guitar

As soon as the Shareef had cleared the square
As soon as the leader left the area

They began to wail
The music started playing and the people were dancing

Now, over at the temple
The religious place of worship

Oh, they really pack 'em in
It's very crowded inside the temple

The in-crowd say it's cool
The popular people feel the music is acceptable

To dig this chanting thing
They enjoy this type of musical chanting

But as the wind changed direction
Suddenly there was a shift in the situation

And the temple band took five
The musicians took a break from playing

The crowd caught a whiff
The people started hearing the new music coming from outside the temple

Of that crazy Casbah jive
The unique new music has reached the temple and people are excited about it

The king called up his jet fighters
The military is getting involved in the situation

He said, "You better earn your pay
The military must complete this mission properly

Drop your bombs between the minarets
They must strike targets in a certain area

Down the Casbah way"
They need to get rid of the problem that originated from here

As soon as the Shareef was chauffeured outta there
As soon as the leader was safely taken away from the area

The jet pilots tuned to the cockpit radio blare
Pilots listened to their commands through the cockpit radio

Soon as the Shareef was outta their hair
As soon as the leader was out of sight

The jet pilots wail
The pilots continue to fly and complete their mission

Shareef don't like it, he thinks it's not kosher
The leader thinks the situation is not acceptable

Rockin' the Casbah, rock the Casbah
The new music style has taken over the area and caused a problem

Shareef don't like it, fundamentally can't take it
The leader is ideologically opposed to this situation

Rockin' the Casbah, Rock the Casbah
The new music is so popular in the area that the leader is having trouble stopping it

Shareef don't like it, you know he really hates it
The leader is very upset with the situation and wants it to stop immediately