Both as a standalone and as part of the DSOTS album, you can take this lyric as read. As a matter of public record, Jourgensen's drug intake was legendary even in the 1980s. By the late 90s, in his own words, he was grappling with massive addiction issues and had lost almost everything: friends, spouse, money and had nearly died more than once. "Dark Side of the Spoon" is a both funny & sad title for an album made by a musical genius who was losing the plot; and this song is a message to his fans & friends saying he knows it. It's painful to listen to so I'm glad the "Keith Richards of industrial metals" wised up and cleaned up. Well done sir.
All the old paintings on the tombs
They do the sand dance don't you know?
If they move too quick (oh whey oh)
They're falling down like a domino
All the bazaar men by the Nile
They got the money on a bet
Gold crocodiles (oh whey oh)
They snap their teeth on your cigarette
Foreign types with the hookah pipes say
(Whey oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh)
Walk like an Egyptian
The blonde waitresses take their trays
They spin around and they cross the floor
They've got the moves (oh whey oh)
You drop your drink, then they bring you more
All the school kids so sick of books
They like the punk and the metal band
When the buzzer rings (oh whey oh)
They're walking like an Egyptian
All the kids in the marketplace say
(Whey oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh)
Walk like an Egyptian
Slide your feet up the street, bend your back
Shift your arm then you pull it back
Life is hard you know (oh whey oh)
So strike a pose on a Cadillac
If you wanna find all the cops
They're hanging out in the donut shop
They sing and dance (oh whey oh)
They spin the clubs, cruise down the block
All the Japanese with their yen
The party boys call the Kremlin
And the Chinese know (oh whey oh)
They walk the line like Egyptian
All the cops in the donut shop say
(Whey oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh)
Walk like an Egyptian
Walk like an Egyptian
They do the sand dance don't you know?
If they move too quick (oh whey oh)
They're falling down like a domino
All the bazaar men by the Nile
They got the money on a bet
Gold crocodiles (oh whey oh)
They snap their teeth on your cigarette
Foreign types with the hookah pipes say
(Whey oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh)
Walk like an Egyptian
The blonde waitresses take their trays
They spin around and they cross the floor
They've got the moves (oh whey oh)
You drop your drink, then they bring you more
All the school kids so sick of books
They like the punk and the metal band
When the buzzer rings (oh whey oh)
They're walking like an Egyptian
All the kids in the marketplace say
(Whey oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh)
Walk like an Egyptian
Slide your feet up the street, bend your back
Shift your arm then you pull it back
Life is hard you know (oh whey oh)
So strike a pose on a Cadillac
If you wanna find all the cops
They're hanging out in the donut shop
They sing and dance (oh whey oh)
They spin the clubs, cruise down the block
All the Japanese with their yen
The party boys call the Kremlin
And the Chinese know (oh whey oh)
They walk the line like Egyptian
All the cops in the donut shop say
(Whey oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh)
Walk like an Egyptian
Walk like an Egyptian
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Blue
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About what OpinionHead wrote almost two years ago, I think that's right: the last part of lyrics deal with international issues because it doesn't name countries of places at random, but countries and places which where significant for the Cold War scenario. Now, given that, I think it's not so much because the song speaks about it, but rather that the lyrics are imbued by the spirit of those times. Back on those days, it was a "hot" subject and referring it on a song, I believe, was kind of cool and catchy. It meant that the egyptian dance was a current issue, just like Cold War.