Toto “Africa”

 

Toto’s biggest song “Africa” was almost not included in their album “Toto IV” as the band felt that the song wasn’t “Toto” and they had grown so tired of it due to the time they spent producing it!

Guitarist and Singer Steve Lukather even said he didn’t think it was very good!

Luckily for us it was released and Toto went on to play it at every concert until 2008 when they split.

It is a very popular song amongst “acapella” bands.  Here are 2 different choirs singing Africa….

Perpetuum Jazzile:

unknown “Youtube” choir

French/Senegalese rapper put his own take on Africa.

But when Andy McKee posted his acoustic version on YouTube it went viral!

Over 9,000,000 views later it was taken down but here’s Andy playing it live in Shetland!

Since then multiple people have taken the song to their hearts and posted their own videos!

Jimmie Inch plays all the parts and sings his own harmonies in this version:

jotaburunov plays a bass version:

The Marvin Berrys in their living room:

And finally someone who adds nothing to the song at all….. fucking Chris de burgh

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

CHORUS:
It's gonna take a lot to take 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 have

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

CHORUS

(Instrumental break)

Hurry boy, she's waiting there for you

It's gonna take a lot to take 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 rains down in Africa, I bless the rains down in Africa
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never have