Can't get it out of our head!
- Chantal the happy traveller
- Mar 27, 2021
- 3 min read
Hi everyone, I thought I would share what Dennis and I have been listening to this week...
THE STORY of 'AFRICA' by TOTO
Toto's 1982 smash 'Africa' is without doubt one of the greatest songs of all time, let alone the 1980s.
It's almost impossible to not burst into song at the top of your lungs as soon as you hear that famous catchy intro.
And that chorus? "I bless the rains down in Africaaaaa". Incredible.
But did you know its fascinating backstory? What is the song actually about? Who wrote it? How was it made? Find out all you need to know about the iconic tune right here...
It almost didn't make the album at all Steve Porcaro and Steve Lukather once described the song as "dumb" and "an experiment", and that some of the lyrics were "goofy", particularly the line about the Serengeti. Steve Porcaro said it was the last song they recorded and it barely made the cut for the album. At one stage, Jeff Porcaro considered saving 'Africa' for a solo album as other members didn't think it sounded like a Toto song. At the time, the band were more focused on the album's lead single 'Rosanna'.
An Eagles member features on the song
'Africa' saw Eagles member Timothy B Schmit provide a 12-string acoustic guitar to the song, and he also sang backing vocals.
What happens in the video?
The music video was directed by Steve Barron. In it, a researcher in a library (played by David Paich) tries to match a scrap of a picture of a shield to the book from which it was torn out. As he continues, a librarian (Jenny Douglas-McRae) working at a desk takes notice of him, while natives in the surrounding jungle begin to close in on the library.
When the researcher finds a book entitled 'Africa', the native throws a spear, and the shield the native carries is the same as the one in the picture, sending a stack of books crashing down. 'Africa' falls open to the page from which the scrap was torn, but a lantern lands on it and sets it on fire, after which the librarian's eyeglasses are seen falling to the floor.
How did it do in the charts?
Across 1982 and 1983, the song became a massive hit around the world.
In the US, it topped the main Billboard chart, and it reached number 3 in the UK. It has sold over 6 million copies in the US alone.
Lyrics
I hear the drums echoing tonight
But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation
She's coming in, 12:30 flight
The moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salvation
I stopped an old man along the way
Hoping to find some old forgotten words or ancient melodies
He turned to me as if to say, "Hurry boy, it's waiting there for you"
It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had (ooh, ooh)
The wild dogs cry out in the night
As they grow restless, longing for some solitary company
I know that I must do what's right
As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti
I seek to cure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that I've become
It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had (ooh, ooh)
Hurry boy, she's waiting there for you
It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
I bless the rains down in Africa
(I bless the rain)
I bless the rains down in Africa (I bless the rain)
I bless the rains down in Africa
I bless the rains down in Africa (ah, gonna take the time)
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had (ooh, ooh)
Songwriters: David F Paich / Jeffrey T Porcaro
Africa lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Spirit Music Group
Amazing: the same song - same group but almost 40 years later!
Finally, do not forget to watch this amazing version of 'Africa'
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