Africa (Toto song)
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"Africa" is a song by rock band Toto. Its story is told from the perspective of a man in Africa awaiting his female partner's inbound flight. The protagonist looks forward to their time together during the rainy season as it grants a reprieve from his normal responsibilities. The song's catchy chorus incorporates metaphor for his determination to guard his time with her: "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". The song was included on their 1982 album Toto IV, and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in February 1983 and number three on the UK Singles Chart a few months later. The song was written by the band's keyboardist David Paich, who also sings both verses of the song, and drummer Jeff Porcaro. Bobby Kimball sings the chorus.
Covers
Singer-songwriters Howie Day and Olivia Lufkin have recorded cover versions; Lufkin's version is released as the B-side of her 2001 single, "Sea me". Virginia Coalition and Umphrey's McGee often perform "Africa" in their live shows, and the song has been a popular cover for a cappella groups. Tukuleur, a group from Africa, recorded a French-language hip hop version of the song titled Afrika.
American guitarist Andy McKee has recorded an instrumental version of the song on his Dreamcatcher album.[1]
Sampled on
"Africa" has been used as a sample in several songs. These include:
- Nas - "New World"
- Ja Rule - "Murder Reigns"
- Xzibit - "Heart of Man"
- JoJo - "Anything"
- Cryzp - "Africa"
- Eric Prydz - "Take Me Away"
- Marcus Levin - "2 Take Me Away"
- Brazen - "Toto"
- Karl Wolf - "Africa"
In popular culture
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City features the song on an in-game radio station
- The American Dad! episode "Camp Refoogee" features the song briefly.
- SingStar features the song on the SingStar Rock Ballads solos edition
- The Scrubs episode "My Way Home" featured this song at the beginning of the episode.
- It is the official song of the Great Midwest Trivia Contest held at Lawrence University.
- A snippet of this song was repeatedly featured on the radio show Get This
- A snippet of this song and the video was used in a SONY cassette tape commercial