1.0RouteNote - Radarhttps://routenote.com/radarRadar Teamhttps://routenote.com/radar/author/rn_adm_rad/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="4DyM5ru6oX"><a href="https://routenote.com/radar/what-is-totos-africa-actually-about/">What Is Toto’s “Africa” Actually About?</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://routenote.com/radar/what-is-totos-africa-actually-about/embed/#?secret=4DyM5ru6oX" width="600" height="338" title="“What Is Toto’s “Africa” Actually About?” — RouteNote - Radar" data-secret="4DyM5ru6oX" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script> /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); //# sourceURL=https://routenote.com/radar/wp-includes/js/wp-embed.min.js </script> https://routenote.com/radar/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/africa-toto.jpeg640640Toto’s “Africa” was written by a man imagining Africa. David Paich had not experienced the continent in the way the song’s grand imagery might lead you to assume. Instead, the song grew from childhood Catholic-school memories, documentaries, articles and an emotional fascination with Africa from afar. In other words: one of the most famous songs about Africa is partly about imagining somewhere you’ve never been. Which may explain why some of its geography is slightly adventurous. Who wrote “Africa”? David Paich and Jeff Porcaro of Toto. Paich developed the central musical and lyrical idea. He has spoken about seeing documentaries...