This is the story
Of a love that flourished
In a time of hate
Of lovers no tyranny could separate
Love set into motion on the Nile's shore
Destiny ignited by an act of war

Egypt saw the mighty river as its very heart and soul
Source of life for all her people
That only Egypt could control
Destruction of her southern neighbor justified
Nubia exploited, left with little more than pride

Oh, Oh Fortune Favors the Brave
Oh, Oh Fortune Favors the Brave
We have swept to glory,
Egypt's mastery expands
From the Nile's northern most delta
To the dry, dry southern sands
The more we find, the more we see,
The more we come to learn
The more that we explore,
The more we shall return
Oh, oh Fortune favors the brave

It's all worked out, my road is clear
The lines of latitude extend
Way beyond my wildest dreams
Toward some great triumphant end
We seize the day
We turned the tide
We touched the stars
We mocked the grave
We moved into uncharted lands

Fortune favors the brave
The more we find, the more we see
The more we come to learn
The more that we explore
The more we shall return

Nothing is an accident
We are free to have it all
We are what we want to be
It's in ourselves to rise or fall
This is easy to believe
When distant places call to me
It's harder from the palace yard
Fortune favors the free

Oh, oh
Fortune favors the young!
Oh, oh
Fortune favors the brave!

You know nothing about me and care even less
How could you understand our emptiness
You've plundered our wisdom, our knowledge, our wealth
In bleeding us dry
You long for our spirit
But that you will never possess

The past is now another land
Far beyond my reach
Invaded by insidious
Foreign bodies, foreign speech
Where timeless joys of childhood
Lie broken on the beach

The present is an empty space
Between the good and bad
A moment leading nowhere
Too pointless to be sad
But time enough to lay to waste
Every certainty I had

The future is a barren world
From which I can't return
Both heartless and material
Its wretched spoils not my concern
Shining like an evil sun
As my childhood treasures burn
Shining like an evil sun
As my childhood treasures burn

While you've been away cavorting
Matters here have moved apace
Now I need you home supporting
All the plans I've put in place
First of all this means your wedding
You'll recall your future bride
For the way that Pharaoh's heading
Time's no longer on our side

According to the hawk god, Horus
Our most regal invalid
Is not that much longer for us
Build another pyramid!

There are many who'll be tearful
As our leader fades away
But our architects are cheerful
And each dog must have its day
If our country is to flourish
Then my son must take the lead
Be our inspiration, nourish
All our hopes our dreams our creed

Soon our monarch will have filled a Tomb
Just like his fathers did
Summon Egypt's greatest builders
Re: another pyramid

Build it, build it
Another pyramid

There will be a time for mourning
But for now put plans on hold
For I give the nation warning
That before the corpse is cold
We'll extend fair Egypt's power
Egypt's glory strength and style
We shall have our finest hour
Far beyond the mighty Nile

He must have a vault that's grand by
Any standards, floor to lid
Put five thousand slaves on stand by
Build another pyramid!

b Build it, build it
Build it, build it
Build it, build it
Build it-
Build it, build it
Build it-

He must have a vault that's grand by
Any standards, floor to lid
Put five thousand slaves on stand by
Build another pyramid!

I grew up in your hometown
At least began to grow
I hadn't got to my first shave
Before the body blow
Egyptians in the courtyard
My family in chains
You witnessed our abduction
Which possibly explains

How I know you
How I know you

Before that fateful morning
My family enjoyed
A privileged existence
For my father was employed
As advisor to the King no less
Which surely rings a bell
For as your are his daughter
You probably can tell

How I know you
Yes I know you

You know too much
And what you say
Is better left unknown
And now I'm just a slave like you
Our lives our not our own

I never have abandoned
And nor I think could you
That spark of hope for freedom
No terror can subdue

My only hope is silence
You've never seen my face

No you remain a princess
In any time or place

You don't know me

Yes, I know you

You don't know me

How I know you
How I know you

In life one has to face a huge assortment
Of nauseating fads and good advice
There's health and fitness
Diet and deportment

And other pointless forms of sacrifice
Conversation? Wit? I am a doubter
Manners? Charm?
They're no way to impress
So forget the inner me , observe the outer
I am what I wear and how I dress

Oh now I believe in looking
Like my time on earth is cooking
Whether polka dotted
Striped or even checked
With the some glamour guaranteeing
Every fiber on of my being
Is displayed to quite remarkable effect

From your cradle via trousseau
To your deathbed you're on view, so
Never compromise, accept no substitute
I would rather wear a barrel
Than conservative apparel
For my dress has always been
My strongest suit

Staying in or hitting town wards
From the top and working downwards
I ensure that every stitch
Is stitched in time

Whether wig or hat or turban
Whether clad boudoir or urban
Not to strut your stuff
Outrageously's a crime

And the few who are invited
To my wardrobe are delighted
As they wander through my things
To find en route

That in negligee or formal
I am anything but normal

For my dress has always been
My strongest suit

I am what I wear

I said anytime

Anywhere

So bring me all my finest
Most audacious, my divinest
Most revealing
Most expensive and to boot

Most arresting
Most heartstopping
Most free-flowing
Most eye-popping
Most arresting
Most heart-stopping

Dress has always been

My strongest suit

My strongest suit

You know that
I am what I wear

Dress has always been
My strongest
My strongest
My strongest
My stroooooooooongest suit

My strongest suit!

To sail away to half discovered places
To see the secrets so few eyes have seen
To see moments of enchantment on our faces
The moments when we smile and those in between

If I could leave this place then I'd be sailing
To corners of my land where there would be
Sweet southern winds of liberty prevailing
The beauty so majestic and so free

There'd be no ties of time and space to bind me

And no horizon I could pursue

I'd leave the world's misfortunes far behind me

I'd put my faith and trusting in something new

But why should I tell you this

A stranger I just met

A woman whom I hardly know at all and should forget
A journey we can only dream of
Enchantment passing through
And how is it I say these things
So easily to you

But why did I tell her this?
A stranger I've just met
A woman who I hardly know at all
And will forget
Anonymous and gone tomorrow
Enchantment passing through
And all I've done is tell her things
She already knew
She knew ...She knew....

I may leave a great impression
As I race through a succession
Of the latest crazes,
Chase the newest fad
I feel better when beguiling
Find that fashion keeps me smiling
But in my heart I know it's rather sad

That a life of great potential
Is dismissed, inconsequential

And only ever seen as being cute
So I'll flutter to deceive

Oh no you must believe
That one day you're bound to find

A Stronger Suit

It's knowing what they want of me that scares me
It's knowing having followed that I must lead
It's knowing that each person there compares me
To those in my past whom I now succeed
But how can whatever I do for them now
Be enough
Be enough

Aida! Aida!
All we ask of you
Is a lifetime of service, wisdom, courage
To ask more would be selfish
But nothing less will do
Aida! Aida!

You robe should be golden,
Your robe should be perfect
Instead of this ragged concoction of thread
But may you be moved by its desperate beauty
To give us new life for we'd rather be dead
Then live in the squalor and shame of the slave
To the dance! To the dance!

Aida! Aida!
All we ask of you
All we ask is a lifetime of service, wisdom, courage
To ask more would be selfish
But nothing less will do
Aida! Aida!

Aida! Aida! Aida! Aida! Aida!

I know expectations are wild and almost
Beyond my fulfillment but they won't hear
A word of a doubt or see signs of weakness
My nigh on impossible duty is clear
If I can rekindle my ancestors' dreams
It's enough
It's enough

Aida!

It's enough.

I once knew all the answers
I stood on certain ground
A picture of true happiness
Confidence so effortless
No brighter could be found

Oh No

I never asked the questions
That trouble me today
I knew all there was to know
Love worn lightly
Put on show
My conquests on display

I can't believe
He's changing

And who'd have thought that confidence could die?
Not me , Not me
That all I took for granted was a lie
Not me, Not me

And who'd have guessed I'd throw my world away
To be with someone I'm afraid will say

This can never be

Not me,not me

He's in love
But he's not the only one
Who'll be changed

I shall not envy lovers
But long for what they share

An empty room is merciless
Don't be surprised if I confess
I need some comfort there

And who'd have thought
That love could be so good?
Not me, not me
And show me things I never understood
Not me, not me
Who'd have guessed he'd throw his world away
To be with someone til his dying day
Not me, not me
And who'd have thought that love could be so good
Not me, not me
My/his secrets & My/his passions understood
Not me, not me
Who'd have guessed I'd/ he throw My/his world away
To be with someone til my/his dying day
Not me/not me

This can never be

We all lead such elaborate lives
Wild ambitions in our sights
How an affair of the heart survives
Days apart and hurried nights
Seems quite unbelievable to me
I don't want to live like that
Seems quite unbelievable to me
I don't want to love like that
I just want our time to be slower and gentler,
wiser,
free

We all live in extravagant times
Playing games we can't all win
Unintened emotional crimes
Take some out, take others in
I'm so tired of all were going through
I don't want to live like that
I'm so tired of all were going through
I don't want to love like that
I just want to be with you
Now and forever,
peaceful,
true

This may not be the moment
To tell you face to face
But I could wait forever
For the perfect time and place

We all lead such elaborate lives
We don't know whose words are true
Strangers, lovers, husbands, wives
Hard to know who's loving who

Too many choices tear us apart
I don't want to live like that

Too many choices tear us apart
I don't want to love like that
I just want to touch your heart
May this confession
Be the start

Take me in my dreams recurring
Cheerful as a childhood dance
Into one more taste of freedom
One more longing backward glance
In the sway of somber music
I shall never, never understand
Let me slip into the sweeter
Chorus of that other land

The gods love Nubia, the beautiful, the golden
The radiant, the fertile, the gentle and the blessed
The pain of Nubia is only for the moment
The desolate the suffering the plundered, the opressed

The gods love Nubia, their glorious creation
Its songs roll sweetly across the harvest plain

The tears of Nubia, a passing aberration
They wash into the river and are never cried again

The gods love Nubia, we have to keep believing
The scattered and divided, we are still it's heart

The fall of Nubia, ephemeral and fleeting
The spirit always burning
Though the flesh is torn apart.

The fall of Nubia Ephemeral and fleeting
The spirit always burning
Though the flesh is torn apart
Take me in my dreams recurring
Cheerful as a childhood dance
Into one more taste of freedom
One more longing backward glance

The gods love Nubia, the beautiful, the golden
The radiant, the fertile, the gentle and the blessed
The pain of Nubia is only for the moment
The desolate the suffering the plundered, the opressed
The gods love Nubia we have to keep believing
Though scattered and divided we are still it's heart
The fall of Nubia ephemeral and fleeting the spirit always
Burning though the flesh is torn apart
The spirit always burning though the flesh is torn apart

Take me in my dreams recurring
One more longing backward glance

It's so strange he doesn't show me
More affection than he needs
Almost formal too respectful
Never takes romantic leads
There are times when I imagine
I'm not always on his mind
He's not thinking
What I'm thinking
Always half a step behind
Always half a step behind

I'm in every kind of trouble
Can't you tell, just look at me
Half ecstatic,half dejected
b All in all I'm all at sea
Easy terms I thought I wanted
Fill me now with chilling dread
You could never know the chaos
Of a life turned on it's head
Of a life turned on it's head

I am certain that I love him
But a love can be misplaced
Have I compromissed my people
In my passion and my haste?
I could be his life companion
Anywhere but where we are
Am I leader?
Am I traitor?
Did I take a step too far?

Did I take a step too far!

This is the moment
When the gods expect me
To beg for help
But I won't even try
I want nothing in this world
But myself to protect me
But I won't lie down, roll over and die

All I have to do is to forget how much I love him
All I have to do is put my longing to one side
Tell myself that love's an ever-changing situation
Passion would have cooled
And all the magic would have died
It's easy, it's easy

All I have to do is to pretend
I never knew him
On those very rare occasions
When he steals into my heart
Better to have lost him when
The ties were barely binding
Better the contempt of the familiar
Cannot start
It's easy, It's easy

Until I think about him
As he was when I last touched him
And how he would have been
Were I to be with him today
Those very rare occasions
Don't let up they keep on coming
All I ever wanted and I'm throwing it away

It's easy, it's easy as life

But then I saw the faces
Of a worn, defeated people
A father and a nation
Who won't let a coward run
Is this how the gods reward
The faithful through the ages?
Forcing us to prove
The hardest thing we've done
Are easy
So easy

And though I'll think about him
Til the earth draws in around me
And though I choose to leave him
For another kind of love
There is no denial,
No betrayal but redemption
Redeemed in my own eyes
And in the pantheon above
It's easy
It's easy as life
It's easy as life
It's easy as life

Don't come on so cocksure boy,
You can't escape your genes
No point in feeling pure boy,
Your background intervenes
Listen good and listen straight,
You're not the master of your fate
To this you must be reconciled,
You'll always be your father's child
At times acclaimed,
At times reviled
You'll wind up doing just what I've done
Like father, like son

Don't assume your vices
Get handed down the line
That a parent's blood suffices
To condemn the child's design
I've done wrong,
I can't deny,
But at least I know that
I Shouldn't blame that on my stock,
This may come as quite a shock
I'm no chip off any block,
I wouldn't wish those words on anyone
Like father, like son

Son you're nervous,
Take my hand
All is settled, all is planned
You've got the world at your command
I don't think you understand

I appreciate too well
The squalor at which you excel
It isn't very hard to tell
Evil's a distinctive smell

He's lost all sense of reason,
and why?
Some foreign slut
That is the road called treason,
Some doors are slamming shut
Just like me he's found
That flesh can excite
But will enmesh
Once we rid him of this blight.
Once this harlot's out of sight.
Then I think he'll see the light.
He won't walk back to daddy he will run.
b Like father, like son...

I'm sorry for everything I've said
And for anything I forgot to say
When things get so complicated
I stumble at best muddle through
I wish that our lives could be simple
I don't want the world only you
Oh I wish I could tell you this face to face
But there's never the time never the place
So this letter will have to do
I love you....

There is a time
There is a place
When love should conquer all
The rest of life is pushed aside
As truth and reason fall
But only if that selfishness
Can lead to something good
I thought I knew you princess
But I never understood
I don't know you
I don't know you

I am here to tell you
We can never meet again
Simple really, isn't it,
A word or two and then
A lifetime of not knowing
Where or how or why or when
You think of me or speak of me
And wonder what befell
The someone you once loved
So long ago so well

Never wonder what I'll feel
As living shuffles by
You don't have to ask me
And I need not reply
Every moment of my life
From now until I die
I will think or dream of you
And fail to understand
How a perfect love can be
Confounded out of hand

Is it written in the stars
Are we paying for some crime
Is that all that we are good for
Just a stretch of mortal time
For some God's experiment
In which we have no say
In which we're given paradise
But only for a day

Nothing can be altered,
There is nothing to decide
No escape, no change of heart,
No anyplace to hide

You are all I'll ever want,
But this I am denied
Sometimes in my darkest thoughts,
I wish I'd never learned

What it is to be in love
And have that love returned

Is it written in the stars
Are we paying for some crime
Is that all that we are good for
Just a stretch of mortal time
For some God's experiment
In which we have no say
In which we're given paradise
But only for a day

How did I come to this?
How did I slip and fall?
How did I throw half a lifetime away
Without any thought at all?
This should have been my time
It's over, it never began
I closed my eyes to so much for so long
and I no longer can
I try to blame it on fortune
Some kind of shift in a star
But I know the truth and it haunts me
it's flown just a little too far b

I know the truth and it mocks me
I know the truth and it shocks me
It's flown just a little too far.

Why do I want him still?
Why when there's nothing there?
How to go on with the rest of my life
To pretend I don't care
This should've been my time
It's over-It never began
I closed my eyes to so much for so long
and I no longer can

I try to blame it on fortune
Some kind of twist in my fate
But I know the truth and it haunts me
I learned it a little too late

Oh I know the trth and it mocks me
I know the truth and it shocks me
I learned it a little too late
Too late

We all lead such elaborate lives
Wild ambitions in our sights
How an affair of the heart suvives
Days apart and hurried nights
Seems quite unbelievable to me
I don''t want to live like that
Seems quite unbelievable to me
I don't want to love like that
I just want our time to be
Slower and gentler,wiser, free

We all live in extravagant times
Playing games we all can't win
Unintended emotional crimes
Take some out take others in
Too many choices tear us apart
I don't want to live like that
Too many choices tear us apart
I don't want to love like that
I just want to keep your heart
May this confession be the start

I know you'll give me courage
To face what I must face
With all these complications
In another time and place

We all lead such elaborate lives
We don't know whose words are true
An affair of the heart survives
All the pain the world can do
I'm so tired of all we're going through
I don't want to live like that

I'm so tired of all we're going through
I don't want to love like that
I just want to be with you
Now and forever peaceful
True.

There'll be no ties
of time and space to bind us

And no horizon
we shall not pursue

We'll leave the world's misfortunes
far behind us
And I will put my faith and trust in you

From deep within a tomb
A gentle light still shone
Showing me my path
As I ascended to the throne
Certain in my heart
That ancient wars must cease
The lovers' deaths gave birth
To a reign of peace

And their story
And my journey
And the lesson they provide
Draw their strength
b And inspiration
From a love that never dies