The song gives a fabulist account of a ban on Western rock music by an Arab king. The lyrics describe the king's efforts to stop his population from listening to this music, such as ordering his military's jet fighters to bomb any people in violation of the ban. The pilots ignore the orders, and instead play rock music on their cockpit radios. The population then proceed to "rock the casbah" by dancing to the music. This scenario was inspired by the ban on Western music in Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.