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Elizabeth Foster

Dr. Cassel

ENG 1201.501

16 February 2020

Africa

“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”. These are lyrics that I am sure most are

familiar with. The song comes on in the car or at a party, and suddenly everyone is belting out

the words. The song was originally produced by Toto in 1982 and later remade by the band

Weezer in 2018. While both versions of "Africa" share the same lyrics, Toto's version of the

song is more appealing to an audience who are most concerned with storytelling and visuals.

However, Weezer's version appeals to an audience who are more interested in the music and

what is being said in the song than being entertained by visuals. What exactly is it though, that

makes this song so popular?

Let us first look at Toto’s version of the song. There has been debates about what the

song is really about, however, one can interpret that the singer has a deep love for Africa. In the

song, Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, is mentioned along with some other aspects of

the continent. The musical side of the song is, without a doubt, very catchy. It is a mixture of

nostalgia and timelessness that has spanned over a couple of generations now.

Toto’s music video for the song “Africa” matches the same creativity level as the music

and lyrics. As mentioned prior, one might guess that the video is meant for an audience who are
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more interested in storytelling and visuals. Those who are interested in storytelling and visuals

usually tend to prefer a music video that matches the lyrics of the song they are listening to. Not

only is the audience hearing the lyrics to the song, but they have a music video, or visual, to

satisfy those words. Toto’s version of “Africa” is more than just a song the audience can listen

to, but also an experience.

Weezer’s remake of “Africa” has an interesting backstory. Besides making the bold

decision to redo an iconic song, they were convinced by a fifteen-year old girl to do so. The

young fan blew up the band’s social media, trying to, and ultimately succeeding in, getting them

to cover the song. While the lyrics of Weezer’s version of “Africa” is completely the same as the

original, it does definitely have an entirely different feel.

Focusing on the music aspect of Weezer’s version first, the listener will notice it starts off

with a clash of cymbals, then proceeds on to sound very similar to Toto’s version. However,

once the audience gets deeper into the song, Weezer’s sounds change from being similar to the

original, to more of a hard rock and even slightly pop version. Electric guitars and hard

drumming replace the innocent sound of Toto’s xylophone.

Weezer’s music video of “Africa” is certainly a lot different than Toto’s. First, previously

discussed, Toto’s video was all about creating a visual for the audience while singing for them.

The audience was shown a video that incorporated aspects of Africa in it like the safari animals

and the color schemes. Weezer’s version, on the other hand, is meant for an audience who cares

more for what the singer is saying, as well as the instrumental part of the song. While Toto’s

version is very appealing to the ear, with its mellow sounds, Weezer’s version is meant for an

audience who are seeking a song they can feel. For this very reason, they are not as concerned as
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what the music video includes, because they are more focused on the sounds. To appeal to that

kind of audience, Weezer’s video is crisp and clean, and the camera man is continuously panning

around the musicians as they play. No fancy effects or visuals were needed to create the video.

While Toto and Weezer’s version of the song are both similar and different, we can all

agree that there is something about the song that makes it appealing to everyone. Pathos plays a

very big role in “Africa”. Whether or not the singer has actually been to Africa, it is very clear

that there is a deep love and longing for it. Toto did a really good job creating an emotional need

for a place. Suddenly, even if the audience has never been to Africa, something about the way

Toto sings about it makes you want to go. Despite the differences, Weezer took an iconic

original and turned it into something for the next generation to enjoy.
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Works Cited

Weezer. “Africa”. YouTube. Uploaded by Weezer, 24 September 2018,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk5Dwg5zm2U

Toto. “Africa”. YouTube. Uploaded by Toto Toto, 22, May 2013,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTQbiNvZqaY