Chords + Lyrics | Africa
Intro
||: N.C :|| x4
||: A G#m C#m | C#m :|| x4
Verse 1
||: 4/4 B D#m7 | G#m7 B/F# | A/E E/F# | 6/4 G#m7 A G#m C#m :||
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.
| 4/4 B D#m7 | G#m7 | A G#m7 C#m | C#m |
He turned to me as if to say, “Hurry boy, it’s waiting there for you”.
Chorus 1
||: F#m D | A Esus4 E :||
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.
| F#m D | A C#m | E F#m G#m |
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had (ooh, ooh).
Instrumental 1
||: A G#m C#m | C#m :||
Verse 2
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 2
||: F#m D | A Esus4 E :||
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.
| F#m D | A C#m | E F#m G#m |
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had (ooh, ooh).
Instrumental 2
||: A G#m7 C#m | C#m :||
Solo
| 4/4 B D#m7 | G#m7 B/F# | A/E E/F# | 6/4 G#m7 A G#m C#m |
| 4/4 B D#m7 | G#m7 | A G#m7 C#m | C#m |
Hurry boy, she’s waiting there for you.
Chorus 3
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, I bless the rains down in Africa (I bless the rain).
I bless the rains down in Africa, (I bless the rains) I bless the rains down in Africa.
I bless the rains down in Africa (it’s gonna take some time).
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had (ooh, ooh).
Outro
||: A G#m C#m | C#m :||
Africa Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Africa. I’ve used stem separation to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, bass, keys, horns, and vocals intact.
After studying the chords and TAB, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing this tune with a band.
Should you want to play along with the original recording instead, you need to tune your guitar sharp to 442Hz. In the backing tracks, I’ve done this job for you by tuning it to 440Hz.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
Composed on the piano, we’re in for some seriously clever chords when we journey into Toto‘s Africa for a lesson in modal interchange.
Chorus
Let’s start with the chorus, which is in the key of A, moving VI – IV – I – V, like this:
| F#m (VI) D (IV) | A (I) Esus4 (V) E |
Notice how Toto disguises the key centre of A by placing chord I as the third chord of the progression.
Intro
For the intro/instrumental section, we’re treating that A as Lydian as we move IV – III – VI in the key of E, like this:
| A (IV) G#m (III) C#m (VI) | C#7sus4 |
This is a modal interchange. A is both Ionian and Lydian in Africa, depending on the section. There’s tablature (TAB) which includes that crazy keyboard lick in the last bar for this if you keep scrolling down this guitar lesson.
Worth mentioning is the end of the chorus where we move from A major to A Lydian (E major) by playing a C#m, chord III in A, and chord VI in E.
This is followed by E, chord V in A, chord I in E, and then F#m–G#m, now we’re back in A Lydian as two minor chords a tone apart must be chords II – III.
Verse
The verse starts in the key of B: I – III – VI – I, like this:
| B (I) D#m7 (III) | G#m7 (VI) B/F# (I/5) |
This makes our A chord a bVIIx, so when it comes in next, it feels like it has tension before it becomes clear that we are playing the same chords as during the intro again. It’s another modal interchange, back to A being Lydian, like this:
| A/E (IV/5) E/F# (I/9) | 6/4 G#m7 (III) A G#m C#m (VI) |
The fact that the key centre is a tone above the other two sections lifts the song harmonically, similar to what modulating at the end of a song does – genius!
Steve Lukather must have been on a coffee break when Africa was put together as this chord progression has keyboard player written all over it. He didn’t even get to play the solo.
Maybe the success of the album, its two singles, and simultaneously being in Michael Jackson’s band helped soothe the pain.
I’ve designed TAB for all sections of Africa, including how I worked out that keyboard lick and incorporated it into the strumming so you can play Africa on one acoustic guitar.
After exploring this, a chord chart is all you need; here’s one I made for you.
Africa Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Africa chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Africa iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
Africa | TAB
This took me a while to work out, but it was well worth it. I’d like to take you on a journey, describing how and why I ended up with the TAB for the intro, incorporating that keyboard lick.
Intro
Here’s an intro part that works — the second bar is in keeping with the overall vibe, but it’s ignoring the keyboard lick.
I found a keyboard transcription of that lick and placed it using the Em shape of the C#m chord, which gave me this:
The A and G#m chords had to move up the neck to fit it all together, but after trying repeatedly, I gave up — that lick was just too difficult and felt disjointed with the chords.
So, I used the rhythm and spirit of it to strum instead, moved back down the neck, and ended up with this:
Playing along with the backing track, this worked. However, on my own, it just felt strange, so I modified the rhythm and eventually found this part:
Even though this isn’t 100% correct, it felt like the best compromise overall.
Verse
Let’s move on to the verse. I’ll just give you one example here.
Play this along with the backing track until it feels natural, then try it on your own as an acoustic arrangement..
Chorus
Lastly, here’s the chorus.
When you can play all sections, try it along with the backing tracks above.
Following this, consider how you could improve the arrangement and make it your own for an acoustic arrangement or when playing Africa with a band.
Africa, 1982 and Toto
Toto’s highlights could be condensed down to four massive hits; Hold The Line, Georgy Porgy, Rosanna, and Africa. Rosanna and Africa were on the album Toto IV, released in 1982.
This must have been an intense year for the band members as they also featured as a session band on Michael Jackson’s legendary album Thriller, where they appeared on almost every song.
Africa reached #1 in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands, and Switzerland.
The song has sold six times platinum and saw a resurgence in the late 2010s over social media.
For whatever reason, Millennials love this song, especially in the U.K. Maybe it’s because they grew up on David Attenborough. Or maybe, it’s just down to Africa being a great tune.
Personally, I’m putting it all down to the chords.
Africa Chords: Continue Learning
Step-by-step Guitar Courses
Master guitar by studying real tunes. Build your skills with video lessons, eBooks and practice routines that connect theory with the music you love!
Explore SpyTunes step-by-step Guitar Courses.
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
