“Toto and the Rains Down in Africa”

(a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

When the members of rock band Toto first wrote and performed their Number One hit song about Africa, none of them had ever been near that continent. Band member and main lyricist David Paich later revealed that the song’s descriptions of Africa came from what he had read in National Geographic. When he finally toured Africa almost two decades later, locals were shocked to learn he had never been there before. They felt he had described it “so beautifully” in the song.

But the really surprising part of the story is that the song is actually about a lonely missionary.

Wait. What?

In an interview,* Paich explained that he had attended an all-boys Catholic school as a child. There, he first heard from teachers who had served as missionaries in Africa. They told tales about their work and did not hide how lonely it often was for them. The song reflects these stories. It attempts to capture the thoughts of a lonely missionary struggling with whether to follow his heart to a future with a woman he loves or to follow his heart to stay and minister to Africa.

The lyrics move back and forth between his feelings for the woman and his feelings for Africa. To the woman he sings: “It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you! There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do!” Yet, Africa keeps interrupting these declarations, calling to him with its sound and beauty. He seeks the advice of an Elder, hoping that person can provide wisdom from “some old forgotten words or ancient melodies.” He is advised to “Hurry boy, she’s waiting there for you!” The “she” in this guidance is not clarified for us: Is “she” the land and the people? Or is “she” the woman? The song doesn’t tell us. We are left to ponder.

Who writes a rock song about missionaries, about people felt called by God to go and serve others in a foreign land? Perhaps a person inspired to do so? Paich admitted that, since the song poured out of him almost fully formed, he felt “as if a higher power was writing through me.” I suspect the psalmists and the prophets of the Bible would recognize that feeling—and not just that feeling, but the struggles and loneliness, as well. 

Does a person need to be a missionary to relate to all that? Of course not. As we move along our own spiritual journey, we face struggles and loneliness. We question our commitment to the Lord, our adequacy to the task. We wonder whether anyone even cares about what we are experiencing. It can be daunting. 

Those struggles are at the heart of this week’s Luke passage: We must “count the cost” of following Jesus long before the time when we might have to pay it. How we do that weighing of choices varies with each of us. But it is an essential task to complete before moving forward. The Philemon passage hints at just such tough choices. It’s worth your time to read the entire letter.

That weighing of choices is at the heart of Toto’s song, too. And, while they were making their choices, those missionaries were not idle. Which brings us to another thing that stood out in Paich’s memory of his school days: the attitude the missionaries had toward those to whom they ministered. He recalled that, despite their struggles and loneliness, these missionaries blessed everyone and everything: “the villagers, their Bibles, their books, their crops.” Despite their own personal problems, these ministers never stopped ministering, never failed to extend their blessings.

They even blessed the rains down in Africa.

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Link to Africa performed by Toto (with lyrics)

*The Guardian interview