[Ymir's blood]

Originally Posted by JoeP

I was hoping someone would want to see it.

Toto's Africa: A Lovecraftian Analysis
It has long been obvious to me that many so called 'love' songs really are stories about supernatural horror and the Cthulhu Mythos.This became apparent to me in childhood, as it was inconceivable that so much time would be spent recording songs about love. Obviously there had to be a deeper meaning, and with careful reading of the lyrics, it is a simple matter to find it. It is a skill that I don't need as much anymore, due to listening to music whose subject matter is more open, but the song 'Africa' by Toto recently came up. Now, some might dismiss this song as Eighties cheese by a bunch of session musicians intent on claiming a larger share of money, but I think it goes much deeper than that.

So, without further ado, Africa: the tale of a man transformed by unearthly forces at the command of an elder goddess from the stars. My commentary on the lyrics is in red.


1. I hear the drums echoing tonight
The drums he hears signify communications with another world, unearthly revealed knowledge.

2. But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation
‘She’ being an elder goddess, with whom the drummers seek to converse.

3. She's coming in twelve-thirty flight
The goddess arrives after midnight, the ‘witching hour.’ Darkness represents the unknown, the unknowable.

4. Her moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salvation
She flies on unearthly wings, down from the stars and moon. The stars serve a dual role, both home to her and also as guides towards his salvation.

5. I stopped an old man along the way
The old man represents wisdom, though not of this world.

6. Hoping to find some old forgotten words or ancient melodies
He seeks folklore (hidden knowledge), to spare him from his doom.

7. He turned to me as if to say: "Hurry boy, it's waiting there for you"
Instead, the old man sees his fate and encourages him not to fight it.

8. It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
The path to salvation, away from the dark goddess will not be easy. Already his efforts have been fruitless.

9. There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
A hundred men or more (the power of the physical world) will not avail him. No gun or bomb can save him...

10. I bless the rains down in Africa
The goddess comes down from the stars, the clouds block her way. Perhaps the life giving rains also delay his fate in other ways...

11. Gonna take some time to do the things we never had
Finding his salvation takes time, the rain makes this possible.

12. The wild dogs cry out in the night
Another sound he hears reflecting the primitive unknown (wild).

13. As they grow restless longing for some solitary company
The unknown calls out to him offering solace from the misery he now feels, at the price of his humanity.

14. I know that I must do what's right
Despite the temptation, he reaffirms his desire to find salvation.

15. Sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti
Olympus was home to the gods in classic western myth. Kilimanjaro is the Kadath where his destiny lies, where he will either find his cure or else his doom.

16. I seek to cure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that I've become
His fear is of the external changes he’s suffered, but he knows that the true cure must be one of the soul. It drives him onwards, to his rendezvous at Kilimanjaro!