I Hear the Drums Echoing Tonight

AFRICA - TOTO I hear the drums echoing tonight But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation She's coming in 12:30 flight The moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salvation I stopped an old man along the way, Hoping to find some old forgotten words or ancient melodies He turned to me as if to say, “Hurry boy, It's waiting there for you”

CHORUS: It's gonna take a lot to take me away from you There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do I bless the rains down in Africa Gonna take some time to do the things we never have

The wild dogs cry out in the night As they grow restless longing for some solitary company I know that I must do what's right As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti I seek to cure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that I've become

CHORUS

(Instrumental break)

Hurry boy, she's waiting there for you

It's gonna take a lot to take me away from you There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do I bless the rains down in Africa, I bless the rains down in Africa I bless the rains down in Africa, I bless the rains down in Africa I bless the rains down in Africa Gonna take some time to do the things we never have Music here The initial idea for the song came from David Paich. Jeff Porcaro explains the idea behind the song: "... a white boy is trying to write a song on Africa, but since he's never been there, he can only tell what he's seen on TV or remembers in the past." David Paich said: "At the beginning of the '80s I watched a late night documentary on TV about all the terrible death and suffering of the people in Africa. It both moved and appalled me and the pictures just wouldn't leave my head. I tried to imagine how I'd feel about it if I was there and what I'd do." Full Wikipedia article. Brian adds…. I have been there and seen something of what inspired this songwriting. I too have felt so inadequate to the observed need. Yet we keep going back, attempting to at least try to make a difference to a few, even when there are so many…. The following story says it all. Making a Difference to A FEW – There’s a well-known anecdote of two men slowly walking along a beach about 100 metres apart. A very large shoal of fish had become stranded by the outgoing tide. The man in front occasionally reached down as he walked, picked up a small fish flapping away helplessly, and threw it back in the channel. He did this several times. This slowed his progress until the second man eventually caught up with him. “What are you doing?” he asked. “I thought it was obvious”, the first man replied. “Yes…., but there are so many”, the second man responded. The first man looked him right in the eye and said, “Well, it sure made a difference to THOSE ONES!” And that is how we are to live, not overpowered by the need around us, but prepared to play a part – no matter how small and relatively insignificant. Let’s continue to make a difference to “THOSE ONES”!