(We’ll Soon Be Dry Like You)
From the 1919 musical “Monte Cristo Jr.”
Words by Alfred Bryan
Music by Jean Schwartz
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
1. King Rameses went to pieces seven thousand years ago
And passed a law that Egypt must go dry
He took the liquors from the “Slickers” all the way to Jericho
But kept his little toddy on the sly
The desert of Sahara flowed with honey so they say
Till prohibition came along and dried it up one day
CHORUS
Sahara, we sympathize with you
Sahara, we’ll soon be dry like you
I know why Cleopatra put that snake against her skin
She lost her mind completely when she lost her Gordon Gin
Omar Khayyam too a leap into his caravan
Grabbed his jug of wine and then he flew
And ever since all those Egyptians
Move their funny arms so queer
They got that way from reaching for imaginary steins of beer
Sahara, Oh Sahara, we’ll soon be dry like you
CHORUS
Sahara, we sympathize with you
Sahara, we’ll soon be dry like you
I know why Cleopatra put that snake against her skin
She lost her mind completely when she lost her Gordon Gin
Omar Khayyam too a leap into his caravan
Grabbed his jug of wine and then he flew
I know just why Rebecca
Took her little pitcher to the well
That old well just was camouflaging
For a lager beer hotel
Sahara, Oh Sahara, we’ll soon be dry like you
2. All the fakirs turned milk shakers
When they heard the awful news
No more the Arabs sang Mohammed’s praise
The camels halted and revolted
When they took away the booze
And travelled without water seven days
They brought the news to Cairo
And the folks were all surprised
The shock was so intense they say
They all got paralyzed
CHORUS
Sahara, we sympathize with you
Sahara, we’ll soon be dry like you
I know why Cleopatra put that snake against her skin
She lost her mind completely when she lost her Gordon Gin
Omar Khayyam too a leap into his caravan
Grabbed his jug of wine and then he flew
They laid poor Cleo on a table underneath a chandelier
Mark Antony got thirsty when he stood and gazed upon her bier
Sahara, Oh Sahara, we’ll soon be dry like you
CHORUS
Sahara, we sympathize with you
Sahara, we’ll soon be dry like you
I know why Cleopatra put that snake against her skin
She lost her mind completely when she lost her Gordon Gin
Omar Khayyam too a leap into his caravan
Grabbed his jug of wine and then he flew
Now I’ve found out the reason
For the silence of the mighty Sphinx
Her throat got dry, she couldn’t talk
When they came and took away her drinks
Sahara, Oh Sahara, we’ll soon be dry like you