i thought you were an arab

i thought you just got off of the plane

desert sand still in your shoes

and the sand was probably virginia beach

and you were from newport news

i thought you were an arab

i saw the desert in your eyes

i thought of asking for a job in abu dhabi

'til you sprang a big surprise

you handed me the money

that's what a real arab does

so i thought you were an arab

and all the time you were the fuzz

i thought you were an arab

desert caliph or a sheik

i thought i'd be your friend in congress

you'd be grateful

what a terrible mistake

you handed me the money

and that was all i saw

so i thought you were an arab

and all the time you were the law

abdul was kinda obvious

now that i kinda think it through

the way you spoke american without an accent

sure reflected well on you

when you handed me the briefcase filled of cash

i accepted with a wink

you can catch it on the evening news you rat

now i'm headed for the clink

i thought you were an arab

when you were really apple pie

you had a little shopping list of congressman

and prominent upon the list was i

i smiled for the camera

i couldn't see it from my seat

so i thought you were an arab

and all the time you were the heat

you were lawrence of the fbi

you really played it to the hilt

there'll be no mercy back in jersey

when you tell 'em how the fatal milk was spilt

i thought you were kings of the fabled east

all you really were was bums

i got caught with my hand in the cookie jar

now my hand is full of crumbs

i thought you were an arab

i saw the desert in your eyes

i thought of asking for a job in abu dhabi

'til you sprang a big surprise

you handed me the money

that's what a real arab does

so i thought you were an arab

and all the time you were the fuzz

i thought you were an arab

and all the time you were the fuzz