7th November 2023
The inspiration for the song probably comes from watching the Mummy, the best action comedy to come out of the 90s, hands down. I was always taken by the sense of adventure, of endless possibilities but, also, that this great city is both the culmination, and the jumping off-point, of civilization. At least, that’s the way it came across, that here was a place where the old world and the new rubbed uneasy shoulders with each other. That, at the turn of the 20th Century, worlds were colliding and, for the opportunists like those in the song, there was money to be made.
What I enjoyed most, while writing the song, was the way the characters; the train driver, Jean-Michel and the boys, seemed just to appear, fully formed, and it was my job was give the listener a brief snapshot into their lives. Because, at its heart, I feel that that is the purpose of the song. To allow the listener to capture the feelings like that weary traveler, no longer newly arrived and captivated by the sight and the sounds and the smells of this teeming hive of humanity. The charms of the city wash over them, and the magic has perhaps begun to wear thin. Ever-present, the vastness of desert casts a torpor over everything and the desire for adventure is slowly fading away. You may wonder where the caravans are headed, but now, perhaps, you’ll never find out.
I’ve included the full lyrics below as well as the recording from its debut performance as part of my extended spot at the Aberdeen Folk Club last month. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! If you have any questions or comments please leave them below. Subscribe to my blog for my latest updates and follow me on Instagram for more content.
On the old road out of Cairo, on a sultry afternoon,
You can and watch the caravans slip away across the dunes.
And you wonder where they’re headed, as you slow cast an eye,
To the shit, the sun, the sand flies,
And the empty desert sky.
It’s a quarter after sunrise, when the steam train pulls in sight
With its hoards of red-eyed passengers who’ve travelling through the night.
And the driver’s eyes are empty and his cheeks are sunken in.
He’s missed too many dinners but he’s found too many gins.
Old Jean-Michel is waiting by the dusty road-side bar
For the boys who bring him mysteries from the el-Khalil’ bazaar.
And he knows that when they get there he can start his trade anew,
Selling hopes and dreams and promises to the people passing through
On the old road out of Cairo, on a sultry afternoon,
You can sit and watch the caravans slip away across the dunes.
And you wonder where they’re headed as you slowly cast and eye
To the shit, the sun, the sand flies,
And the empty desert sky.
When the early evening breezes kick up dervishes of dust,
And the haunting sound of jingle bells seems to come with every gust.
Well, it’s then you’d best be leaving, for your dreary, dank hotel,
Before the desert night has called you on a one-way trip to hell
I tell you
On the old road out of Cairo, on a sultry afternoon,
You can sit and watch the caravans slip away across the dunes.
And you wonder where they’re headed as you slowly cast an eye
To the shit, the sun, the sand flies,
And the empty desert sky.
Alex Cummings Music 