A favorite song/video of mine-- "Africa" by toto

[ailsagirl]

[asimovecho]

1. i always mix up these two

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[ailsagirl]

2. Both great songs-- I miss this kind of music

[LongTomH]

4. Meaning of Land Down Under

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=2962

The "Land Down Under" is Australia, where the group is from. The lyrics were written by lead singer Colin Hay, who explained in his Songfacts interview: "The chorus is really about the selling of Australia in many ways, the overdevelopment of the country. It was a song about the loss of spirit in that country. It's really about the plundering of the country by greedy people. It is ultimately about celebrating the country, but not in a nationalistic way and not in a flag-waving sense. It's really more than that."

Hay told us about composing the song: "It's a very important song for me. It always felt like a strong song, right from the start. Originally, the idea came from a little bass riff that Ron Strykert, the guitar player for Men at Work, had recorded on a little home cassette demo. It was just a little bass riff with some percussion that he played on bottles which were filled with water to varying degrees to get different notes. It was a very intriguing little groove. I really loved it, it had a real trance-like quality to it. I used to listen to it in the car all the time. When I was driving along one day in Melbourne, the chords popped out and a couple of days later I wrote the verses."

Some lyric translation:

Fried out Kombi - a broken-down van. The lyrics are often translated as "Combie," but the correct spelling is Kombi. It came from the VW Kombivan which was very popular in the '60s and early '70s, especially with surfers and hippies.

Head full of Zombie - Zombie was a particularly strong batch of marijuana which was floating around Australia for a long time. People called it "Zombie Grass."

Vegemite Sandwich - Vegemite is a fermented yeast spread that is pretty much a national institution in Australia. Some people love it and can't start the day without a piece of toast spread with Vegemite, and some go so far as to carry a small jar of it with them when they travel overseas. Some are indifferent to it, and others can't stand it. It kind of resembles smooth black tar, and is similar in taste to the English "Marmite," but Aussies will always tell you that Vegemite is far superior. Regarding the lyrics, "Where beer does flow, and men chunder..." Chunder is Aussie slang meaning to vomit.

[PSPS]

3. Joe Swanson

[MFM008]

5. It is one of my top

3 of all time.

[tanyev]

6. Have you seen the Kristen Bell & Dax Shepard video?

[ailsagirl]

8. I'll check it out-- thank you!!

[ailsagirl]

7. Here's ToTo doing Africa Live in Johannesburg 1997

Pretty powerful

[ailsagirl]

9. And one more-- Peter Gabriel "In Your Eyes" Live

[Binkie The Clown]

10. My favorite version by Perpetuum Jazzile

[sofa king]

11. For some reason, I always attribute this song to Asia.

But Africa is as far away from Asia as Toto is from Kansas.

[cab67]

12. I have to confess, the song has grown on me.

I thought it was too syrupy when I was in high school - I leaned toward college radio (alternative music back when it really was alternative).

Much of my field work in recent years has been in East Africa, and the lyrics of the song do cross my mind from time to time.

(For what it's worth, Kilimanjaro doesn't actually tower over the Serengeti - the Serengeti is fairly far to the west of Kilimanjaro, and unless you're in a plane or something, you won't Kilimanjaro from the Serengeti. Or from the Maasai Mara, which is basically the Serengeti, but on the Kenyan side of the border. Admittedly, the song was never intended to be a geography mnemonic, so this is a bit of overanalysis on my part.)

[ailsagirl]

13. I had thought it was syrupy too, at first

Probably the video had something to do with changing my mind. Although, to be honest, I don't necessarily understand the video!!

But it has stayed in my mind over the years and I felt like sharing it.

I appreciate the geography lesson!!

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

14. Racist! Colonialist! Cultural Approprationist!

Wait, is "approprationist" a word?

[cab67]

15. "Appropriationist" would be more accurate.

Or "appropriator."