1. SATURN by Sleeping At Last from the album Atlas: Year One "You taught me the courage of stars before you left How light carries on endlessly even after death With shortness of breath you explained the infinite How rare and beautiful it is to even exist" Check out the lyric videohere
2. WEIGHTS by Everything Everything from the album Man Alive "Friend, don't break the code A tiny part, a tiny part remains I know how it starts And now I know I know how it ends" Remember this?
3. DISTANT PAST by Everything Everything from the album Get to Heaven "Drag my tongue across the sand So happy just to crawl across the land Soon I'll be the best around I'm gonna keep my plunder underground Hard flesh cold against the rain Dust billowing around my brazen brain" Listen to the song here
4. VIOLENT SKY by Apparat from the album Krieg Und Frieden (Music For Theatre) "I've seen you all along The place they called it home Coming down beneath a violent sky These skies were happy kids The music going loud To move here under the cloud of screaming" Listen to the song here
5. STILL WAITING by Tom Chaplin [single] This song goes out to all the undiscovered archaeological finds... "Still waiting Forever left to wonder why Still waiting In truth I know that really I'm Still out there Still waiting A wandering ghost for evermore Still out there Still waiting I feel like I've been here before" Listen to the acoustic version of the song here
MESOPOTAMIA
6. WILD THINGS by Alessia Cara from the album Know-It-All This song goes out to the wild man himself, Enkidu, from the Epic of Gilgamesh. "I lose my balance on these eggshells You tell me to tread I'd rather be a wild one instead Don't wanna hang around the in crowd, The cool kids aren't cool to me, They're not cooler than we are So aye, we brought our drum and this is how we dance" Listen to and watch the official video for the song here
7. BE BRAVE by My Brightest Diamond from the album All Things Will Unwind This song goes out to Shamhat who ventured into the wilderness to tame Enkidu in the Epic of Gilgamesh. "Be brave dear one Be ye changed or be ye undone" Listen to and watch the official video for the songhere
8. TAKE ME TO THE RIVER by The Talking Heads from the album More Songs About Buildings and Food "Take me to the river, drop me in the water Take me to the river, dip me in the water Washing me down, washing me down" Listen to and watch the official video for the song here
9. WHEELS by Foo Fighters from the album Greatest Hits This song goes out to the Sumerian and Mesopotamian inventors who made the wheel possible. "Well we all want something better than We wish for something new Well we all want something beautiful I wish for something true Been lookin' for a reason and Something to lose When the wheels come down When the wheels touch ground" Listen to the song here
10. RISING WATER by James Vincent McMorrow from the album We Move "Because you make me feel alive In spite of rising water" Listen to the song here
EGYPT
11. WALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN by The Puppini Sisters from the album The Puppini SistersHit Pac 5 "All the school kids so sick of books They like the punk and the metal bands When the buzzer rings (oh whey oh) They're walking like an Egyptian" Listen to the song here
12. PHARAOHS by Audien from the album Daydreams "She got dark skies and black eyes Wear a gold dress at first line Like a spirit uncaged just taking over me And I would stair up into the sky Together, our star will never die If Gods built us, so we could roll again
We could be Pharaohs watching as the world unfolds Living in another life, together as the sky ignites" Listen (and dance) to the songhere
13. PHARAOHS (feat. Roses Gabor) by SBTRKT from the album SBTRKT "All I see is you. Stars. Open. Arms. Pharaohs. God. Golden All I see is you. Stars. Open. Arms. Pharaohs. God. Kings and queens" Listen to the song here
14. A GIRL, A BOY, AND A GRAVEYARD by Jeremy Messersmith from the album The Reluctant Graveyard Here is a modern interpretation of life, death, and the afterlife that I thought you may enjoy... "I feel like I'm some kind of Frankenstein Waiting for a shock to bring me back to life But I don't want to spend my time Waiting for lightning to strike" Listen to the song here
15. KINGDOM OF KUSH by Melt Yourself Down from the album Melt Yourself Down There are no lyrics here, but since the ancient Kushites were known for their ironworks, it was too perfect a match not to include. Get your dancing shoes on! Listen to the songhere
HEBREWS
16. ABRAHAM, a single by The Miles Mosley "You can call me Abraham Straight from the mountains of Jerusalem I got my shield, I got my sword Forged from Egyptian gold I'm feared I haven't cried in years Sho'nuff I'm scared Mediocrities everywhere But not here!" Listen to the song here
17. JACOB AND SONS/JOSEPH'S COAT by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Original Cast from the musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat "Way way back many centuries ago, Not long after the Bible began Jacob lived in the land of Canaan, A fine example of a family man.
Jacob, Jacob and sons, Depended on farming to earn their keep. Jacob, Jacob and sons, Spent all of his days in the fields with sheep.
Jacob was the founder of a whole new nation Thanks to the number of children he had He was also known as Israel, but most of the time His sons and his wives used to call him Dad." Listen to and watch the song performed here
18. GO DOWN MOSES by Louis Armstrong from the album Great Black Gospel Hits, Volume 1 "Go down Moses Way down in Egypt land Tell old pharaoh to let my people go!
Now when Israel was in Egypt land Let my people go! Oppressed so hard they could not stand Let my people go!" Listen to the song here
19. EXODUS by Bob Marley & The Wailers from the album Exodus "Movement of Jah people!" Listen to the song here
20. YA HEY by Vampire Weekend from the album Modern Vampires of the City "Through the fire and through the flames (Ya Hey, Ya Hey, Ut Deo, Ya Hey, Ya Hey) You won't even say your name (Ya Hey, Ya Hey, Ut Deo, Ya Hey, Ya Hey) Through the fire and through the flames You won't even say your name Only "I am that I am" But who could ever live that way? (Ya Hey, Ya Hey, Ut Deo, Ya Hey, Ya Hey, Ut Deo, Deo)" Genius.com has an interesting analysis of the lyricshere Listen to the song here
PHOENICIANS
21. START WEARING PURPLE by Gogol Bordello from the album Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike "Start wearing purple, wearing purple! Start wearing purple for me now!" Listen to the song here
22. GOLD by Chet Faker from the album Built on Glass Those Phoenicians certainly loved their gold! "Cause all that remains before it's begun You gotta know, I'm feeling love Made of gold, I'll never love her Another one, another you It's gotta be love I said it" Listen to the song here
23. THE SAILOR SONG by Autoheart from the album Punch "Should I run a million miles Away from every memory of you, you? Let that be a lesson to me Think not with my heart but with my head" Watch the music video and listen to the song here Spoiler Alert/Disclaimer: the video has a rather tragic ending
24. THANK YOU by Dido from the album No Angel "And I want to thank you For giving me the best day of my life Oh, just to be with you Is having the best day of my life" Watch the music video and listen to the song here
25. TRANSATLANTICISM by Death Cab For Cutie from the album Transatlanticism "Most people were overjoyed They took to their boats I thought it less like a lake And more like a moat The rhythm of my footsteps Crossing flatlands to your door Have been silenced forevermore The distance is quite simply Much too far for me to row It seems farther than ever before" Check out the lyrics and listen to the song here