Killing an Arab
The Cure * Track #8 On Boys Don’t Cry
Download "Killing an Arab"
Album Boys Don’t Cry
- #1
Boys Don’t CryThe Cure
- #2
Plastic PassionThe Cure
- #3
10:15 Saturday NightThe Cure
- #4Accuracy
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- #5Object
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- #6
Jumping Someone Else’s TrainThe Cure
- #7Subway Song
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- #8Killing an Arab
The Cure
- #9Fire in Cairo
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- #10Another Day
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- #11
Grinding HaltThe Cure
- #12World War
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- #13Three Imaginary Boys
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Killing an Arab by The Cure
Release Date
Performed by
The CureProduced by
Chris ParryWrited by
Robert Smith & Lol Tolhurst & Michael DempseyAbout
“Killing An Arab” was the first single released by The Cure. It was inspired by the pivotal moment in the 1942 novel The Stranger by Albert Camus where the protagonist shoots his friend’s mistress' brother, a man identified in the book only as ‘the Arab’. It is the apathy of the main character that...
Killing an Arab Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Standing on the beach with a gun in my hand
Staring at the sky, staring at the sand
Staring down the barrel at the Arab on the ground
I can see his open mouth, but I hear no sound
[Chorus]
I'm alive
I'm dead
I'm the stranger
Killing an Arab
[Verse 2]
I can turn and walk away or I can fire the gun
Staring at the sky, staring at the sun
Whichever I chose, it amounts to the same
Absolutely nothing
[Chorus]
I'm alive
I'm dead
I'm the stranger
Killing an Arab
[Verse 3]
I feel the steel butt jump, smooth in my hand
Staring at the sea, staring at the sand
Staring at myself reflected in the eyes
Of the dead man on the beach
(The dead man on the beach)
[Chorus]
I'm alive
I'm dead
I'm the stranger
Killing an Arab
Killing an Arab Q&A
Who wrote Killing an Arab's ?
Killing an Arab was written by Robert Smith & Lol Tolhurst & Michael Dempsey.
Who produced Killing an Arab's ?
Killing an Arab was produced by Chris Parry.
When did The Cure release Killing an Arab?
The Cure released Killing an Arab on Thu Dec 21 1978.
What did The Cure say about "Killing an Arab"?
As early as 1978, Smith has been defending the song as not racist:
…it’s not really racist, if you know what the song is about. It’s not a call to kill Arabs. It just happened that the main character in the book had actually killed an Arab, but it could have been a Scandinavian or an English bloke....