# Toto's "Africa" - "Guess" or "Bless" the rains? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 3, 2006, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totos-africa-guess-or-bless-the-rains/379012 "2006-11-03T19:27:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totos-africa-guess-or-bless-the-rains/379012/1 "2006-11-03T19:27:03Z")
The other day “Africa” by Toto came on the radio. Very good song. It occurred to me that I didn’t know wha tthe hell they were singing in the third line (“She’s coming in twelve-thirty flight” as it turns out) so I looked up the lyrics. I was absolutely flabbergasted to read that the chorus goes, > [@](#): > > I **bless** the **rains** down in Africa… I’ve heard this song like a hundred times and I was absolutely certain it’s “I **guess** the \*\*rain’\*\*s down in Africa.” So I queue up the song on my iPod and… well, it still sounds to me like “guess,” not “bless.” All the lyrics sites I checked (okay, three of them) say “Bless” but they all steal from each other anyway so that doesn’t mean a lot. Is it “bless” or “guess”? ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totos-africa-guess-or-bless-the-rains/379012/2 "2006-11-03T19:33:59Z")
“Bless” makes sense if you look at the song in a quasi-mystical way (which seems supported by the natural exoticism employed in the rest of the lyrics). “Guess” doesn’t make any sense, unless the song was about a guy who approached you on the street, asking, “Tell me, is there rain down in Africa?” and you had to provide a non-authoritative, non-committal reply. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totos-africa-guess-or-bless-the-rains/379012/3 "2006-11-03T19:42:11Z")
> [@](#): > > “Guess” doesn’t make any sense, unless the song was about a guy who approached you on the street, asking, “Tell me, is there rain down in Africa?” and you had to provide a non-authoritative, non-committal reply. But I understand that the rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totos-africa-guess-or-bless-the-rains/379012/4 "2006-11-03T19:43:10Z")
It’s “bless” according to Toto’s [web site](http://www.toto99.com/lyrics/ivlyrics.shtml). ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totos-africa-guess-or-bless-the-rains/379012/5 "2006-11-03T19:45:40Z")
Oh, I thought it was “I **miss** the rains…” all this time, which makes more sense to me than blessing them! ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totos-africa-guess-or-bless-the-rains/379012/6 "2006-11-03T19:46:53Z")
I guess **mess** is right out. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totos-africa-guess-or-bless-the-rains/379012/7 "2006-11-03T19:49:25Z")
[QUOTE=Zebra] I guess **mess** is right out. [/QUOTE] Golden Showers? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totos-africa-guess-or-bless-the-rains/379012/8 "2006-11-03T19:51:31Z")
I don’t know, but just yesterday, as I was driving home, I realized they were making 3 syllables out of Serengeti. Ser’ngeti,if you will. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totos-africa-guess-or-bless-the-rains/379012/9 "2006-11-03T20:32:09Z")
This song came on the music system the other day while I was at a restaurant with Mrs. M. and I wondered aloud just what the hell they were saying. I may have also offered a few unkind words as to the quality of the piece and to the musical merits of Toto in general. Anyway, it sounds to me like “guess” too. I don’t think “bless” really makes much sense either. What kind of men-gods are these Toto people who bless the rain? I like to think they they say “I flushed the drain,” “I messed with pain” or “I lost my brain.” ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totos-africa-guess-or-bless-the-rains/379012/10 "2006-11-03T20:37:16Z")
And I always thought they were singing “I’ve **felt** the rains down in Africa”. In my defence, I had a really crappy sound system when the song was popular. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totos-africa-guess-or-bless-the-rains/379012/11 "2006-11-03T20:50:07Z")
Lance Murdoch??? Murdoch from the A-Team posts on our boards? Or is there another Murdoch? Anyway, I really do like the song and the sound of it. I rather like Toto, too. _shrug_ ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totos-africa-guess-or-bless-the-rains/379012/12 "2006-11-03T22:04:54Z")
I’ve always heard it as “bless”. But the real reason I posted here was to say that this is, in fact, the Greatest Song Ever Written, by virtue of the fact that it manages to use “Serengeti”, “Olympus”, and “Kiliminjaro” _within the span of four measures._ ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totos-africa-guess-or-bless-the-rains/379012/13 "2006-11-03T22:11:21Z")
[QUOTE=Caricci] I don’t know, but just yesterday, as I was driving home, I realized they were making 3 syllables out of Serengeti. Ser’ngeti,if you will. [/QUOTE] …Kiliminjaro rises above the Seeeer-en-get-i (4) is what I hear. And “bless”. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totos-africa-guess-or-bless-the-rains/379012/14 "2006-11-03T22:14:09Z")
I thought it was “miss” too. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totos-africa-guess-or-bless-the-rains/379012/15 "2006-11-03T22:34:26Z")
[QUOTE=ArchiveGuy] “Guess” doesn’t make any sense, unless the song was about a guy who approached you on the street, asking, “Tell me, is there rain down in Africa?” and you had to provide a non-authoritative, non-committal reply. [/QUOTE] The proper response in that circumstance is “the eagle flies on Friday.” Then he hands you the top secret submarine schematics. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totos-africa-guess-or-bless-the-rains/379012/16 "2006-11-03T22:54:37Z")
Y’all were closer than I was by about a light year. I thought the line was “I passed the reins”. You know, as in “I yielded up control”. Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totos-africa-guess-or-bless-the-rains/379012/17 "2006-11-04T01:25:10Z")
[QUOTE=Anaamika] Golden Showers? 😃 [/QUOTE] …fill your eyes Smiles await you when you rise… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BlueKangaroo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@BlueKangaroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueKangaroo)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totos-africa-guess-or-bless-the-rains/379012/18 "2006-11-04T03:29:14Z")
I’m with **Anamika** and **you with the face**. I’ve always heard “miss”. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totos-africa-guess-or-bless-the-rains/379012/19 "2006-11-04T04:03:09Z")
I’ll join in to add that I too always heard it as “I’ll miss the rains…” I’ll also say I always heard the other line as “sure as Kilamanjaro rises like _an empress_ above the Serengeti”. Which almost makes sense but I guess “Olympus” makes more… ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totos-africa-guess-or-bless-the-rains/379012/20 "2006-11-04T07:06:20Z")
[QUOTE=tanstaafl] I’ll also say I always heard the other line as “sure as Kilamanjaro rises like _an empress_ above the Serengeti”. Which almost makes sense but I guess “Olympus” makes more… [/QUOTE] To the extent that it can make sense, since Kilimanjaro is not on the Serengeti. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/totos-africa-guess-or-bless-the-rains/379012.md?page=2)