This lyric ran and ran in NewsRevue, done by several different casts performed in various ways.
There was a sense of optimism about the Middle East peace process that autumn. Yitzhak Rabin was pushing hard for a peace deal on the Israeli side and Yasser Arafat was also doing the diplomacy rounds. The Oslo Accord was signed the day after I wrote this lyric.
I press the above point, because, writing in 2019 with peace seeming further away than ever, such a lighthearted and irreverent lyric would seem inappropriate; unhelpful even.
But the fact of the matter was that peace seemed ever so close, Rabin was the distant handshake type and Yasser was definitely the kissing type. Perhaps unfortunately, a kiss never happened between those two leaders.
I have found a 2018/2019 equivalent asymmetric kiss between Theresa May and Jean-Claude Juncker, which has the requisite lack of mutual enthusiasm as I envisaged it for Rabin and Arafat. And let’s face it, the kissing doesn’t seem to be helping the Brexit process – click here.
Below is the actual, famous September 1993 handshake, with all that hope and promise that went with it, the day after I wrote the Yasser Kissing Song lyric:
Next up, the Yasser Kissing Song lyric:
THE YASSER KISSING SONG
(To the Tune of “It’s In His Kiss”)
INTRO
He’s so ugly, slimy and fat,
I don’t wanna kiss from Yasser Arafat.
VERSE 1
{Does he shake your hand?}
Not in the Middle East,
{We don’t understand}
You’ll get a snog at least;
If you have a chat with Yasser Arafat,
You’ll get a kiss {smack on the lips},
Oh yeh, you’ll get a kiss {that’s how it is}.
VERSE 2
{One day he’s in Amman}
Embracing King Hussein,
{Then kissing in Oman}
Then schmoozing on his plane;
Watch those Sultans glow once that Yasser goes,
Back to Tunis {that’s where he lives},
Oh no, they don’t want his {dalliances}.
MIDDLE BIT
Kiss him and squeeze him tight,
To influence the PLO – vote;
Just make sure that he doesn’t stick,
His tongue down your throat.
VERSE 3
{About his huge tea towel}
Oh no, it’s a keffiyeh,
The way he wears it is awfully queer;
But the PLO have got Jerico,
And Gaza strip {we want his peace},
Oh yeh but not his kiss,
Smack on the lips !!!!!
Below is Cher singing It’s In His Kiss with the lyrics on the screen: