Chords for What's The Story Behind Toto's Africa?

[A] _ _ [Dbm] _ _ _ [A] _
Toto's Africa.
[Dbm] Invariably, the two [A] words used to answer the question, what [Dbm] is one of
the best songs ever [A] made? _
_ [Dbm] But how did a song about [A] a love affair in and with Africa, [Dbm] written
in the 80s [A] by a band from Los Angeles who had never been, [Dbm] become one of the most celebrated
[A] songs of all time?
This is [Dbm] the story, the origin, [A] the resurgence of the [Dbm] once thought
unworthy song, [A] Toto's Africa. _
_ [Dbm] _ _ _ _ [A] _
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[A] _ _ [Db] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [Gbm] _ Before David Paich begins [Ab] to compose [Ebm] Africa, [B] he is first
moved by what he is seeing on the [A] television.
[E] Dreadful images [Db] of [Abm] families and children living
in [A] horribly impoverished conditions, [Dbm] air in UNICEF [B] commercials, advocating [Ebm] charity and
the need [Abm] for help, not just in Africa, but [Gb] all over the [E] world.
Millions of [Eb] children in over 100 countries [Abm] dream they'll find the help they [Eb] need to walk again or to [Dbm] keep from going blind.
David [B] being compelled by this [Ebm] immediately becomes [Abm] inspired and rushes to his Yamaha [Dbm] CS80 keyboard.
He says, [Abm] I sat down and started playing and the chorus just came out like magic.
I remember
after I'd sung I Bless the Rains Down in Africa, I just stopped and went, wait a minute, I
might be a little talented, but I'm not that talented.
God's using me for an instrument
[A] here, but [Abm] wait, because David has more to add about his fascination with Africa than
just UNICEF commercials.
David's [Dbm] love affair with Africa started even further back.
He
[Ebm] continues, one of the reasons I was in a rock band was to see the world.
As a kid, I'd
always been fascinated by Africa.
I loved movies about Dr.
Livingstone and [Dbm] missionaries.
[Ebm] I went to an all-boys Catholic school and a lot of the teachers had done missionary
work in Africa.
They told me how they would bless the villagers, their Bibles, their books,
[Abm] their crops, and when it rained, they'd bless the rain. _ _ _
_ [A] _ _ _ [Dbm] _ [B]
[Abm] That's where the hook line, I Bless the Rains Down in Africa, came from.
They said loneliness
and celibacy were the hardest things about life out there.
Some of them never made it
into the priesthood because they needed companionship, so I wrote about a person flying in to meet
a lonely missionary.
It's a romanticized love story about Africa, based on how I'd always
imagined it.
[A] The descriptions of its beautiful landscape came from what I'd read in National Geographic.
[Ebm] _ _ _ _ _
_ [Dbm] [Abm] Furthermore, David's song wasn't well received by the band, [A] even jokingly suggesting David
Page [Gb] hangs onto it for his [B] solo [Ebm] album.
Toto, [Abm] as a band, has a bit of a [B] side joke [Gb] when it
comes to [A] the songs that didn't fit them [Db] all.
[Abm] Anytime a song was suggested that maybe [A] wouldn't
make the cut, they would say to each other, [Dbm] save [B] that for your solo album.
[Ebm] Guitarist [Abm] Steve
Lukather had so little faith in [B] the song [A] that he had this to say about [Db] it.
_ [Abm] _
_ [A] _ Not [Dbm] _ [B] _
_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [Db] _ _ _ _
only _ _ _ _
[B] having [Ebm] reservations about [Abm] the song, [B] but even the music video too, [A] which as we
all [Eb] know is [Db] touted as one of the greatest music [Abm] videos ever created.
[Dbm] Steve continues to say,
Then we made a video [B] that was so full of [Ebm] cheese.
They built [B] this stage that looked like a pile
of giant books [A] and stood us on top of it.
[Dbm] You could see me laughing.
[Abm] I hated videos
[A] and I hate the 80s for the mullet that I [E] used to have, [Abm] and the clothes they put us in to
make us look androgynous.
We are not that band.
On the cover of the single, I have a
look on my face that says, [A] I'm gonna kill you.
And [B] now I have to sit here and eat my
words because Africa has [Abm] become a standard and I'm very [B] proud of David for it.
[Abm] For whatever reason, the band allowed for Africa to be [A] on their next album.
And it was
a hit.
Columbia Records calls the band to tell them they're playing the song [Abm] in discos
and clubs.
[A] Africa started as a small cult hit and began to climb the charts.
The band
recalls looking at each other in amazement.
Africa [Db] was and still is unstoppable.
[Ebm] Sadly,
[Abm] even though he lost the bet, guitarist Steve Lukather didn't run naked down Hollywood Boulevard
as he said he would.
[Dbm] And as for David, the songwriter who felt a mystical presence [B] giving
him the song, [Ebm] who was [Abm] convinced it was worth something, who [Dbm] dreamed as a child of going
to Africa, finally got to perform there.
[Abm] David says, [A] we finally played Africa, performing
in Cape Town and [B] Johannesburg.
I went on [Abm] a safari through a game reserve.
[B] People had
heard the song and asked, [Dbm] so when were you in Africa?
[Ebm] I admitted I'd never been there
until now.
They said, but you describe it so beautifully.
That just warms my heart.
[Abm] _ _ _
_ _ Once in a while, stories fall into our laps [A] that remind [Abm] us that it's okay to believe in
things, have a little faith in yourself, and challenge others on what can and can't happen
in this world, even if it's just a song. _ _
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