As I was driving home for my break, I heard a song on the radio that I remember from when I was a kid. I was singing along, sort of, when it dawned on me that I'd been getting the words wrong. Forever. It was a song called "Africa" by TOTO (yes, I had to look that up, and yes, you know this song).

I know this song, strangely enough, because of my grandmother. Back in the "olden days," better known as the 1980's, Ford gave (I say "gave," but I'm sure they charged for it) people buying new cars a mix tape to test out a new-fangled technology called "the audio cassette tape." On this particular mix tape were songs like "Memory" from Cats, "Let's Hear It for the Boy," and "Africa." And my sister and I know the words to all of these songs. I don't even have to ask her. I know she does. Because we heard that Ford tape on repeat whenever we were in Grandma's car.

So, there's a line in this song, "Africa," that I've always (always, always, always) thought was: "It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you / There's nothing that a hundred men on Mars could ever do." Because, after all, who's gonna mess with guys on Mars?

I realized today that there was no way some 80's band included martians in a song with nothing but references to Africa. When I came home to look it up and find out how the line really goes...(I'm laughing now)...it got worse. I thought he said "I guess the rain's down in Africa."

Nope.

Apparently there's a girl on a plane (a part of the song I've obviously never understood at all) and he says "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 / Gonna take some time to do the things we never had. OOooo."

No martians. I get that. But I don't get this song. What is he talking about? Granted, it didn't make any sense in my version either, what with the Martians who want to separate loved ones and rain that may or may not actually be in Africa. But I guess I figured it wasn't supposed to make sense. Now I just don't get it. Was this girl in Africa? Is she coming back because it was raining? Because that's just stupid. It obviously would NOT take 100 men on Mars to drag him away, if all she had to do was go to Africa to get rid of him.

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