The Cairo Gang is a musical declaration uniting the romanticists with the d… Read Full Bio ↴The Cairo Gang is a musical declaration uniting the romanticists with the doomsayers for a round of high fives and hand shakes. The ballad _Mother Earth_ is acoustically organic, delivering the listener an early Neil Young feel with bewitching flutes and bongos. Over the course of recent years, The Cairo Gang has been a lingering passion for Emmett Kelly, a stimulated singer/songwriter with an impressive list of musicians in his rolodex. Performing with a back up band or solo, Kelly always brings a freshened thrill to the world of quiet rock music. After mastering countless instruments, Kelly decided to put his skills to work and record some tunes that have been afloat in his headspace. And thank the heavens he did, because this album perfectly tweaks the butterflies in all of our stomachs. Deep, soft rock for tobacco tinged hearts, that’s The Cairo Gang in a nutshell.

The Cairo Gang has toured w/ Beth Orton & was a guest on the Will Oldhem album "The Letting Go" recorded in Reykjavík, Iceland

While there's nothing new about the Cairo Gang's debut full-length, none of it sounds canned or dated either. How do they make oft-cited influences sound fresh? Long answer: The Cairo Gang take the instrumentation of gentle British 70's folk with the free-form composition and detached, beard-stroking vibe of post-rock, all executed with the fidelity and humility of homespun indie rock. Short answer: The Cairo Gang cuts across musical movements of several years' span to create music sounding distinctly out of time.

Be What You Are
The Cairo Gang Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Don't tell me that you're sorry
Don't tell me that you want to change
If you know what you want to be
Be what you are

Don't tell me that you're pretty, baby
Just say it's got to be this way
I got to make my own decision

And my own mistakes

I want to find myself a stranger who listens
I want to be the only one around who can hold you

I took that time to tell you nothing
I know that I will be alright

Don't beat me down, gentle
I think that what you have to be
Just don't keep saying that you love me
It's just a tear

Don't tell me that you're sorry
Don't tell me that you want to change

If you know what you want to be
Be what you are

Overall Meaning

The Cairo Gang's song "Be What You Are" is a poignant exploration of the struggle to assert one's own individuality and identity against the pressures of conformity and external expectations. The opening lines emphatically reject the notion of apology or any attempt to change oneself to please others, and instead assert the importance of authenticity and self-confidence. The singer urges the listener to embrace who they truly are, rather than trying to fit into someone else's mold.

The chorus reinforces this theme, with its repetition of the empowering line "If you know what you want to be, be what you are." The singer is encouraging the listener to trust their own instincts and desires, and not to let other people's opinions or judgments sway them. The verses continue this theme with lines like "I got to make my own decision/And my own mistakes," emphasizing the importance of autonomy and the right to determine one's own path.

Several lines in the song suggest a yearning for connection and intimacy, as well as a sense of isolation or alienation. The desire for a "stranger who listens" and to be the "only one around who can hold you" hints at a deep emotional longing, while the line "I took that time to tell you nothing" suggests a frustrating inability to communicate effectively. The tension between these conflicting feelings of independence and intimacy, of being oneself and being understood and loved by others, adds a layer of complexity to the song's message.

Overall, "Be What You Are" is a powerful call to embrace one's own individuality and to resist the pressure to conform to societal expectations. With its simple yet resonant lyrics and plaintive acoustic guitar accompaniment, the song captures the universal struggle to find one's place in the world and to live life on one's own terms.

Line by Line Meaning

Don't tell me that you're sorry
Stop apologizing and make a change instead

Don't tell me that you want to change
Words are not enough, show me your actions

If you know what you want to be
Have a clear vision of who you want to become

Be what you are
Be true to yourself and follow your own path

Don't tell me that you're pretty, baby
Physical appearance is not enough to keep me interested

Just say it's got to be this way
Accept the reality of the situation

I got to make my own decision
I am responsible for my own choices and actions

And my own mistakes
I will learn from my failures and grow stronger

I want to find myself a stranger who listens
I seek someone who will hear me out without judgment

I want to be the only one around who can hold you
I want to be the one you turn to for comfort and support

I took that time to tell you nothing
I wasted my words on meaningless chatter