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Alyssa Bratcher

Dr. Cassel

English 1201

27 June 2020

Fight for You

Many songs are known to be sampled by other artists. One in particular is “Fight for

You” by Jason Derulo which is a rendition of the song “Africa” by Toto. Both of these songs

have a different version of expressing what they love and what they are fighting for, however,

the artists use similar lyrics to express their love for something. In the 1982 video of the song

“Africa” it represents a man’s love for knowledge. Jason Derulo’s 2011 video “Fight for You” is

about doing whatever it takes to be with the woman he loves.

The pop song music video “Fight for You” by Jason Derulo begins with shower water

falling, which is the visual used to represent the rain discussed in the lyric stating “just like the

rain down in Africa.” Next following this scene of the music video, viewers are able to see there

is a woman he is in love with and he is singing about how nothing can break them apart.

However, the lyric “friends are cool but we both know they don’t want to see us together”

suggests no one is supportive of their relationship and he does not want to lose the love they have

so he is willing to do whatever it takes. During the video, Jason Derulo and the woman he loves

dance in a subway which suggests the scenery has nothing to do with the continent of Africa, but

it actually has to do with a big city where subways are a common use for transportation. Toward

the end of the video Jason is singing on a rooftop alone. For viewers this possibly represents a

hard time for their relationship, so he is singing alone but later on reconnects with her because as

he said before, “you’re worth fighting for.” An important part in his music video, is when he
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begins to sing to connect to his audience. For example, Jason Derulo says “If you got someone

that’s worth fightin’ for don’t let nobody hold ya down let me hear ya say woah.” These lyrics

show Jason connecting with viewers that also have a special someone in their life that they are

willing to fight for at all costs.

“Africa” by the classic rock band Toto has quite a different meaning than the

interpretation viewers receive from Jason Derulo’s remake. In the music video the love is not

between two people, but a man and his love for the continent Africa. A lyric “nothing is gonna

drag me away from you” talks about the love this man had for Africa and nothing was going to

distract him from finding what he is searching for in the video. Another lyric line states “Hurry

boy, she’s waiting there for you” because the knowledge he seeks from a book is sitting on the

shelf waiting to be found by the man so he can connect the missing page. The video mentions the

mountain Kilimanjaro and Serengeti which are famous landmarks of Africa. The scenery the

video mainly takes place in a library. The man is looking through books to find which book this

missing page belongs to. Certain things of ancient Africa culture are also shown throughout the

video to show the knowledge the man seeks about Africa. For example, masks and a spier are

used to emphasize the man’s interest in Africa. As the video continues, the man finally finds a

book titled “Africa” which is where the missing page is from. However, then a lantern falls and

burns the book. It also shows the glasses on the floor and the fire occurring which lets viewers

see that he was able to find what was looking for, but he was unable to see what it was actually

about.

Both videos have different stories, which also means the audience each artist is trying to

attract is also different. “Africa” by Toto is geared more toward their classical rock fans because

that is their main genre. Also, since it is an older song, the majority of their fans are most likely
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in their fifties or older. They also focus on love for knowledge through the video, trying to show

their viewers love is not always a romantic relationship. Due to the catchiness and popularity,

fans of all genres have become fans of the song. “Fight for You” by Jason Derulo is not as

popular as “Africa.” The pop artist focuses on the young adult crowd by portraying young love.

Even though this is not his most popular song, even the older generation has heard it because

most are able to make the connection between this song and “Africa” because the choruses are

identical and the music has similar rhythm with a twist.

In each of the songs one person is fighting for something they love. The difference is in

Jason Derulo’s “Fight for You” he is fighting for the woman he loves and to keep their

relationship strong no matter who or what attempts to get in the way. “Africa” by Toto is also

about a man fighting for what he loves, however, in this video his love is for the facts and

knowledge he can gain about the continent of Africa. The only lyric that is the same for both

songs is “It’s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you, there’s nothing that a hundred men or

more could ever do” which supports both artists fight for something they will not give up on.

Each artist portrays obstacles in their videos, but show how they are overcome and fight until the

end for the knowledge or person they love.

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Works cited

Derulo, Jason. “Fight for You.” Future History Platinum Edition. Beluga Heights, 2011.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV36OEBWRvU

Toto. “Africa.” Toto IV. Colombia Records,1982. https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=FTQbiNvZqaY