Toto's "Africa" - "Guess" or "Bless" the rains?

[running_piglet_cheese]

I’ll add my misheard lyrics. “I left the rains”. It really has a good beat and I can dance to it.

[Martini_Enfield]

You know, for years I thought the lyrics were "I bought the rains down in Africa- ie, the singer is some kind of Rain God, or else trying to help the country prosper by bringing rain to end the droughts etc.

Maybe I need to get my hearing checked…

[11811]

@pravnik

The proper response in that circumstance is “the eagle flies on Friday.” Then he hands you the top secret submarine schematics.

Kenneth? Is that you?

[PerditaX]

@tanstaafl

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…

Well, I thought the line was "rises like a leo’press above the Serengeti. As in “a female leopard.” It seemed like a cool image - a mountain “crouching” over the plain like a big cat.

I was really disappointed when I found out it was actually Olympus.

OTOH, I’m in the “miss the rains” camp.

[Anaamika]

Hey i thought it was leo’press, too. Sigh.

[Contrapuntal]

@11811

Kenneth? Is that you?

250.789936Hz

[Draelin]

@Kizarvexius

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.

Don’t feel bad. I’ve always heard it as “reins,” too. Although I usually flub the words before it because I never quite figured them out.

[FriarTed]

@PerditaX

Well, I thought the line was "rises like a leo’press above the Serengeti. As in “a female leopard.” It seemed like a cool image - a mountain “crouching” over the plain like a big cat.

I was really disappointed when I found out it was actually Olympus.

OTOH, I’m in the “miss the rains” camp.

I always knew it was “bless the rains” but I’m also with you about the “lepress” (which is how it was spelled in my mind, tho I had the same mental image you did & not a female leper which is what my spelling would have meant.)

Anyway, I wanted to congratulate you for being the first to mention the “leo’press”.

[Khampelf]

I met Claude Rains, down in Africa.
But I’ll forgive you, if you just can’t see that happening.

[Maastricht]

@Kizarvexius

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”.

Heh. New one; I always heard" “I passed the rains” as in " I endured and survived the rains" which made perfect sense to me. But then again, I’m not a native speaker of English.