indian26

There are many songs that have become my Peace Corps theme songs. One of the songs that will always remind me of Mozambique, even when I am 100 years old, is Africa by Toto.

I do not know if Toto ever spent time in Mozambique, but it does not matter to me because his lyrics hit the spot. And I am sure that Toto’s interpretation of the song is completely different than mine, but that is the power of music. Here is the song:


I hear the drums echoing tonight
But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation
Shes coming in 12:30 flight
The moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salvation
I stopped an old man along the way
Hoping to find some long forgotten words or ancient melodies
He turned to me as if to say, hurry boy, its waiting there for you

Chorus:
Its gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
Theres 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

The wild dogs cry out in the night
As they grow restless longing for some solitary company
I know that I must do whats right
Sure as kilimanjaro rises like olympus above the serengeti
I seek to cure whats deep inside, frightened of this thing that Ive become

Chorus

Hurry boy, shes waiting there for you

Its gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
Theres nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in africa, I bless the rains down in africa
I bless the rains down in africa, I bless the rains down in africa
I bless the rains down in africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had




So, I am sure that most of you have heard of this song.  If not, I recommend you find a copy of it and listen to the song.  Let’s dissect the song.


I hear the drums echoing tonight
***I love sitting on my porch on Sunday mornings and hearing the drums from the local churches. Some churches actually have small drums and others use blocks of wood to make the sounds. And you can hear the ladies singing along with the drums. It’s awesome.***


The moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salvation
***The stars here are amazing. It just feels so good to walk around town at night with no streetlights or car lights, just using the stars as a guide. Or imagine brushing your teeth under the stars in your front yard. Or taking a bath outside (in the outdoors bathroom) and looking up to see the stars. ***


I stopped an old man along the way
Hoping to find some long forgotten words or ancient melodies
He turned to me as if to say, hurry boy, its waiting there for you
***This part of the song reminds me of the open hospitality here and the sense of community. Everyone is so friendly and the older people are mostly willing to share their stories of life in Mozambique during the Portuguese rule and civil war. ***


Its gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
Theres 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
***When I first arrived in Mozambique, this verse made me think of the rainy season in Mozambique. My sister had just sent me four new cds during my first month at site. I did not have electricity, but I did have a portable cd player. For 9 days, it rained nonstop. I had only been living in my house for a few weeks and was still having problems with the roofs. The two roofs were not connected, so the water would run down my wall inside my house every time it rained. I did not have a table or any furniture except two plastic chairs and my bed. So, my wall was like a waterfall for 9 days. And since my house was on a hill, the water would flow into my bedroom. So, I slept with my two suitcases on my bed for the 9 day period. And since it was raining nonstop, it was too muddy to venture out of the house. So, I laid in bed the whole time and listened to my new music, especially Africa by Toto.   Now, 19 months later, I still remember those 9 days of laying in bed listening to music. Now, I am glad when it rains because we have such a water shortage in our town. The well is usually dried up, so we have to rely on rain water to fill up the well again. Every time it rains, we put tons of buckets outside to collect the valuable water.***


The wild dogs cry out in the night
As they grow restless longing for some solitary company
I know that I must do whats right
Sure as kilimanjaro rises like olympus above the serengeti
I seek to cure whats deep inside, frightened of this thing that Ive become
***I have no comments on this verse at this time. However, I know that this verse has meaning to me too, but I just cannot put it down in writing right now.***


Hurry boy, shes waiting there for you
***In the beginning, this verse made me think that Africa was waiting for me. All I had to do was step outside my house and be immersed into my African community. There were many things to be learned about Mozambique and Africa, such as language, culture, religion, social norms, and food. Now that I am nearing the end of my time in Mozambique, this sentence is taking on a different meaning. I think it still means that Africa is waiting for me, but its different now. Before, I felt that Africa was waiting for me to become part of its life line. Now, I am already part of the heartbeat of Africa. The blood of Africa is pumping through my veins right now and will continue to do so when I leave next year. And I am part of Africa’s blood and tears too. Now, I do not need to leave my house to be immersed into my African community. Every second, whether I am in my bedroom or in the classroom, I am part of Africa and Africa is part of me too. I know that this probably sounds cheesy to some of the readers, but Africa gets under your skin. It burrows deep inside you and refuses to let go of you. ***