Ahab, The Arab

Album: 1,837 Seconds of Humor (1962)
Charted: 5
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This novelty song is about a "sheik of the burning sands" named Ahab. Every night he hops on his camel named Clyde on his way to see Fatima, who is the best dancer in the Sultan's harem. Ahab's visits with Fatima don't sit well with the Sultan, and the two end up escaping on Clyde, and living happily ever after.
  • Asked by NashvilleGab if he's ever received any criticism for the song, Stevens replied: "When I was a kid, my mom gave me a book called Arabian Nights, and I wrote the song just from information I learned outta that book. You know, the book talked about Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves and 'open sesame' and, you know, all the fun stuff that is in that book."

    "And so I thought, I'll write a [song] about this guy, and he's messing around with one of the Sultan's girls in the harem. There's nothing racist about it."
  • Clyde the camel was named by Stevens after former Drifters lead singer Clyde McPhatter. For several years in the late 1990s and early 2000s Stevens released albums and video entertainment under the label Clyde Records (complete with camel-shaped logo).
  • Stevens originally named his music publishing company after the song, calling it Ahab Music, Inc. He changed the name to Ray Stevens Music in 1977.

Comments: 2

  • Jennifur Sun from RamonaOh so want to meet this man. He always makes me laugh. in fact every time I see the Tiny Toon's cartoon about (Istanbul) Constintanoble I call that camel Clyde.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyPer: http://www.oldiesmusic.com/news.htm {01-11-2018}...
    Ray Stevens opened his 'CabaRay Showroom' in Nashville on Wednesday, January 10th, 2018, as it was declared 'Ray Stevens Day' in the city by the Mayor...
    Exactly forty-seven years earlier on January 10th, 1971 Ray Stevens' "Briget the Midget (Queen of the Blues)" was at #54 on Billboard's Top 100 chart, two weeks later it would peak at #50 {for 2 weeks} and it spent ten weeks on the Top 100...
    And on March 28th, 1971 it peaked at #2 {for 3 weeks} on the United Kingdom's Singles chart, for the 3 weeks it was at #2, the #1 record for those 3 weeks was "Hot Love" by T. Rex...
    Between 1961 and 1979 he had twenty-seven records on the Top 100 chart, four* made the Top 10 with two reaching #1, "Everything Is Beautiful" for 2 weeks in 1970 and "The Streak" for 3 weeks in 1974...
    Mr. Stevens, born Harold Ray Ragsdale, will celebrate his 79th birthday in two weeks on January 24th {2018}...
    * Besides his two #1 records, his other two Top 10 records were "Ahab the Arab" {#5 in 1962} and "Gitarzan" {#8 in 1969}.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Mike Campbell

Mike CampbellSongwriter Interviews

Mike is lead guitarist with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and co-writer of classic songs like "Boys Of Summer," "Refugee" and "The Heart Of The Matter."

Donny Osmond

Donny OsmondSongwriter Interviews

Donny Osmond talks about his biggest hits, his Vegas show, and the fan who taught him to take "Puppy Love" seriously.

Carl Sturken

Carl SturkenSongwriter Interviews

Hitmaker Carl Sturken on writing and producing for Rihanna, 'N Sync, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Donny Osmond, Shakira and Karyn White.

American Hits With Foreign Titles

American Hits With Foreign TitlesSong Writing

What are the biggest US hits with French, Spanish (not "Rico Suave"), Italian, Scottish, Greek, and Japanese titles?

Mick Jones of Foreigner

Mick Jones of ForeignerSongwriter Interviews

Foreigner's songwriter/guitarist tells the stories behind the songs "Juke Box Hero," "I Want To Know What Love Is," and many more.

The Police

The PoliceFact or Fiction

Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.