Long ago on the banks of the Nile in mysterious Egypt
There reigned a queen who turned night into day
Ev'ry night, when the moon made the Nile a silver ribbon,
At her command with music grand, they'd start a cabaret.
Those ancient cut-ups cut up for that crowd
They made old Julius Caesar laugh out loud.
CHORUS:
In a cabaret 'neath the old Egyptian moon,
On the banks of the Nile you could hear those lover's [sic] croon.
High moguls and potentates flocked to Cleopatra's gates
It seems she put this poor old world in tune
When she did the tango with Marc Antony
And the dance of the Nile so full of mystery
She made the boys of ancient Rome
forget they ever had a loving little wife at home
In her cabaret 'neath the old Egyptian moon.
Even now on the banks of the Nile in mysterious Egypt
At twelve, each night, their ghosts come back to play
Ev'ry night 'neath the moon you can hear their ghostly revels
The ghost queen grand gives her command to start the cabaret.
Those ancient Jolsons cut up as before.
They must be good to make those Dead ones roar.