patience, Fergie, I said I'd [maybe] ask Joe for the lyrics


THE WEE WHITE TURBAN
(Joe Mulheron)

'Twas a bundle that was hanging in what's known as father's tent,
A bundle of striped material black and red,
And when I asked me mother, now, just what did it contain,
"It's your father's Bedouin uniform," she said.
And as I put the kaftan on, she was smiling through her veil,
As she wrapped the wee white turban round me head.

It's just a wee white turban he wrapped around his head,
Forty yards of good material there and more,
An old kaftan that he stole in Marrakesh,
A pair of boots belonging to the cattle corps.
An old curved sword in its sheath of camel hide,
A wavy dagger he used against the foe.
When it comes to blood and snatters, sure the man that really matters,
Must wear the wee white turban of the P.L.O.

'Twas the turban that me father wore, in the desert long ago,
When he left me mother's harem on the run.
'Twas the turban that he wore when he stood by Nasser's side,
When he put the British army on the run.
The Brits were sending aeroplanes and SAS men by the score,
The Suez Canal was theirs they said.
Your da' swam to the tanker
Lit the gelignite and sank her
And claimed the canal for Egypt then instead.

It was two miles from Damascus when he made the final stand,
Surrounded by his enemies ten to one
As he lay in the sun there baking,
He knew there'd be no prisoners taken
And the ammo for the AK almost done
From Knock Airport to refuel came in slow
Your da' hijacked the Boeing;
Says he, "To West Belfast we're going
To wear the wee white turban of the P.L.O."


Who said (in a thread on Irish political songs) that you can't have funny songs about serious matters?! This one is quite pan-Arab, from Damascus to Marakesh, and has its share of stereotypes. I think it's a send up of "The Broad Black Brimmer" as much as anything else.