But the surprising part is that the song is actually about a lonely missionary.
Wait. What?
In an interview published in The Guardian,** Paich explained that he had attended an all-boys Catholic school as a child ... that it was 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 one 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 feeling 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 does seek the advice of an Elder, hoping that person can provide wisdom from “some old forgotten words or ancient melodies.” All we know is that he is advised to “Hurry boy, it’s waiting there for you.” The “it” in this guidance is not clarified for us: is “it” the love of the land and the people? Or, is “it” the love of the woman? The song doesn’t tell us. We are left to ponder.
Who writes a 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, because the song almost poured out of him 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.
But 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, whether anyone even cares about what we are experiencing. It can be daunting. As they sometimes say: the struggle is real.
What we do know is this: while they were making their choices, those missionaries were not idle. They continued to “do the duty” as poet Robert Browning would put it. 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.
An attitude we could certainly imitate.
Paich recalled that, despite their struggles and loneliness, they 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): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDLJ3pUZm9A&app=desktop
PHOTO (and an excellent Billboard article about Toto and Africa): https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.billboard.com/amp/articles/columns/rock/8097503/toto-africa-oral-history-interview
**The Guardian interview: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/jan/30/toto-how-we-made-africa
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Proper 18 (23) (September 8, 2019)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=278
Jeremiah 18:1-11
Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Psalm 1
Philemon 1:1-21
Luke 14:25-33
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Friday morning is coming. Will you be with us? DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast is a perfect place and time to explore the scriptures, discuss how they impact our lives, and eat a nice meal. We read, we talk, we eat, and we laugh. Join us at 8:00 at “Our Breakfast Place” (formerly The Egg and I, corner of New Road and Franklin).
Blessings,
Steve
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