The song almost cut from the Toto IV record prior to its release. Having spent an incredible amount of time producing the tune, the band became so tired of the song that they didn’t want it on the album. The song itself was very different from anything the band had done before, and some members felt that it didn’t sound like Toto.
“I didn’t think it was very good,” said Steve Lukather (Classic Rock Revisited, 2003). “That tells you what can happen when we pick our own singles!”
David Paich, who co-wrote the song with Jeff Porcaro, said that it “could have been the beginning of a solo project [for me] because it was so different. I thought I’d save it…[because] World Music wasn’t around then.”
The initial idea for the song came from David Paich, playing on his piano. Jeff explains the idea behind the song: "... a white boy is trying to write a song on Africa, but since he's never been there, he can only tell what he's seen on TV or remembers in the past."
Musically the song took quite some time to assemble, as David and Jeff explain below.
David Paich on the Yamaha keyboards used: "On 'Africa' you hear a combination of marimba with GS 1. The kalimba is all done with the GS 1; it's six tracks of GS 1 playing different rhythms. I wrote the song on CS-80, so that plays the main part of the entire tune." (Keyboard, 09/1995)
Jeff Porcaro reminisces about how the song's iconic drum track was created:
I was about 11 when the New York’s World Fair took place, and I went to the African pavilion with my family. I saw the real thing; I don't know what tribe, but there were these drummers playing, and my mind was blown. The thing that blew my mind was everybody was playing one part. As a little kid in Connecticut, I would see these Puerto Rican and Cuban cats jamming in the park. It was the first time I witnessed someone playing one beat and not straying from it, like a religious experience, where it gets loud, and everyone goes into a trance. I have always dug those kind of orchestras, whether it be a band of all drummers. But I just love a band of guys saying one thing. That's why I loved marching band, and I said, "Gee, someday there's going to be a little drum orchestra where everybody plays one thing, and you don't stray from it. You do it until you drop. You're banished from that land if you move from that one part.
So when we were doing "Africa", I set up a bass drum, snare drum and a hi-hat, and Lenny Castro set up right in front of me with a conga. We looked at each other and just started playing the basic groove.... The backbeat is on 3, so it's a half-time feel, and it's 16th notes on the hi-hat. Lenny started playing a conga pattern. We played for five minutes on tape, no click, no nothing. We just played. And I was singing the bass line for "Africa" in my mind, so we had a relative tempo. Lenny and I went into the booth and listened back to the five minutes of that same boring pattern. We picked out the best two bars that we thought were grooving, and we marked those two bars on tape. We made another mark four bars before those two bars. Lenny and I went back out; I had a cowbell, Lenny had a shaker. They gave us two new tracks, and they gave us the cue when they saw the first mark go by. Lenny and I started playing to get into the groove, so by the time the that fifth bar came --which was the first bar of the two bars we marked as the cool bars we liked-- we were locked, and we overdubbed shaker and cowbell.
So there was bass drum, snare drum, hi-hat, two congas, a cowbell, and a shaker. We went back in, cut the tape, and made a one-bar tape loop that went 'round and 'round and 'round. The Linn machine was available to us. Maybe it would have taken two minutes to program that in the Linn, and it took about half an hour to do this. But a Linn machine doesn't feel like that! So we had an analog groove. We took that tape, transferred it onto another 24-track for six minutes, and David Paich and I went out in the studio. The song started, and I was sitting there with a complete drumset, and Paich was playing. When he got to the fill before the chorus, I started playing the chorus, and when the verse or the intro came back, I stopped playing. Then we had piano and drums on tape. You have to realize that there are some odd bars in "Africa", so when you have a one-bar loop going, all of a sudden, sometimes Lenny's figure would turn around. So Lenny went in and played the song again, but this time he changed his pattern a little for the turn-arounds, for the fills, for the bridge, for the solo. We kept the original part and the new one. Then we had to do bongos, jingle sticks, and big shakers doing quarter notes, maybe stacking two tracks of sleigh bells, two tracks of big jingle sticks, and two tracks of tambourine all down to one track. I was trying to get the sounds I would hear Milt Holland or Emil Richards have, or the sounds I would hear in a "National Geographic" special, or the ones I heard at the New York World's Fair. -- "Modern Drummer" (November 1988)
Since "Africa" was released in 1982 it has been played on every single tour.
Africa
Toto Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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 rains down in Africa
(Gonna take the time)
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had (ooh, ooh)
The lyrics of Toto's song "Africa" tell a story of a person traveling to Africa in search of something, something to heal the fear and anxiety that plagues them. The song is a journey that explores the unknown fears that come when we venture into the unknown, into places that are not familiar. The opening lines of the song, "I hear the drums echoing tonight, but she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation," creates a juxtaposition between the familiarity of the drums and the unfamiliar whispers. The singer is on a journey to find the unknown, to find that which they do not yet know.
Throughout the song, there are references to classical African natural features such as Serengeti and Kilimanjaro. These references give the song a sense of place, grounding it in a specific location. As the singer moves closer to their goal, they start to understand what they seek is not the physical location but instead the personal growth they will gain from their journey. "I seek to cure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that I've become," is a reflection of the inner struggle they face, knowing that they must keep going no matter what.
The chorus, "I bless the rains down in Africa, gonna take some time to do the things we never had," is an acknowledgment that it will not be easy to let go of the fear and anxiety that holds us back. But through perseverance and the willingness to go and explore what is unknown, we can find that inner peace we desire.
Line by Line Meaning
I hear the drums echoing tonight
The singer hears the sounds of drums in the distance.
But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation
The person he is thinking of can only hear faint background conversations.
She's coming in, 12:30 flight
The person he is thinking of is arriving on a flight at 12:30.
The moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salvation
The wings of the plane he is on reflect the stars and give him hope that he will find what he is looking for.
I stopped an old man along the way hoping to find some old forgotten words or ancient melodies
He encounters an old man and hopes to learn something from him, perhaps some ancient wisdom.
He turned to me as if to say 'Hurry boy, it's waiting there for you'
The old man tells the singer to hurry because what he is searching for is nearby.
It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
The singer is committed to someone and it will be difficult to separate him from that person.
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
No matter how many people try, they will not be able to keep the artist from his loved one.
I bless the rains down in Africa
The artist appreciates the natural beauty of Africa, and is grateful for the rain that nourishes the land and its people.
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had (ooh, ooh)
The artist intends to take time to discover new experiences and enjoy life.
The wild dogs cry out in the night, as they grow restless longing for some solitary company
The singer observes the restless behavior of wild dogs at night, and wonders if they are lonely like himself.
I know that I must do what's right, as sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti
The artist recognizes the importance of making the right choices, just as he recognizes the grandeur of Kilimanjaro rising above the Serengeti.
I seek to cure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that I've become
The singer seeks to heal his innermost fears and doubts, and is afraid of who he has become.
Hurry boy, she's waiting there for you
The person he is thinking of is waiting for him to join her.
I bless the rains down in Africa
The singer expresses his gratitude for the life-giving rains in Africa.
(I bless the rain)
The artist repeats his blessing for emphasis.
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had (ooh, ooh)
The artist reiterates his intention to enjoy life and seek new experiences.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: David F Paich, Jeffrey T Porcaro
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@AdrianoOnda
This song makes me feel nostalgic to something i never experienced
@ssspencer7778
I can relate to this spiritually 😂👌🏽
@τσιταςαχα
i feel the same..
@Prod.Exo_
i fucks wit you, i had that same feeling about another song
@dadakm6238
poetic
@lindseyvelveeta2156
Yes same! So weird many of us feel this way.
@1017ryan
it’ll be 2070 and this will still pop into my head randomly i swear
@V-for-Vendetta01
Number 15
@gubtefumcki6399
Ryan Smith If your still alive at the time and not a vegetable
@noahjenney6041
I swear to God this guy has a comment on every youtube video