Before the eyes of storytelling girls

i could tell you stories like the government tells lies

ah, but no one listens anymore

in the rooms, the women come and go

talking on the mobile phones

and the television talks about the war

when i was a baby, there was laughter in my house

my daddy smoked domestic cigarettes

and thursday nights on the radio

live in concert- live from cairo:

mother of egypt!

mama, mama, be with me

with the music in your breast

in your glittering evening dress

and the white flag in your fist trembling

i could tell you stories like the past was dead and gone

but i know nothing changes in this world

every day the muezzin calls

the sun comes up and baghdad falls

before the eyes of storytelling girls

she was just a poor man's daughter

going down into the sultan's bed

he was desert, she was water

and he remembered every word she said, that she said,

and i say, grandma, grandma, be with me

in your tragic wedding gown

with your long hair hanging down

and the stories tumbling out, tumbling

i could tell you stories like the government tells lies

ah, but no one listens anymore

in the rooms the women come and go

talking on the mobile phones

and the television talks about the war, about the war

the television talks about the war