#the bangles

The Bangles - Parkpop festival Jun 29, 1986 The Hague, Netherlands

The Bangles - Walk Like an Egyptian 1986

"Walk Like an Egyptian" is a song by the American pop rock band the Bangles. It was released in September 1986 as the third single from the band's second album, Different Light (1986). It was the band's first number-one single in the US, being certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and Billboard ranked it the top song of 1987 in the US. It was also successful internationally, reaching number one in seven other countries and peaking at number three on the UK Singles Chart.

Liam Sternberg said he was inspired to create the song while on a ferry crossing the English Channel. When the vessel hit choppy water, passengers stepped carefully and moved their arms awkwardly while struggling to maintain their balance, and that reminded Sternberg of the depiction of human figures in ancient Egyptian tomb paintings. He wrote the words "Walk like an Egyptian" in a notebook. Later, Sternberg looked back in the notebook and, composing the melody with a guitar, he put together an up-tempo song with lyrics about Egyptian hieroglyphs, the Nile River, crocodiles, desert sand, bazaars and hookah pipes and then segued into modern scenes of blonde waitresses, school children and police officers.

"Walk Like an Egyptian" received a total of 91,7% yes votes!