Toto/WIUO – Africa (Chords)

It really shouldn’t have taken a request I couldn’t turn down (they bribed me with a pizza) before I wrote this one up. It’s one of my favourite WIUO covers and definitely one of the funnest to play.

I’ve written up the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra’s version. It’s one fret lower than the Toto version but otherwise they’re very similar. So if you want to play along with the original slap a capo on the first fret.

If you’re playing by yourself it’s worth playing Gm instead of Gm7 (outside the Ab-Gm7-Cm move) otherwise the change between Gm7 and Bb get’s lost.

Suggested Strumming

The song is in 2/4 time. So this simple strum will get you most of the way through:

The trickiest bit of strumming comes in the Ab-G7m-Cm move which you can play like this:

I kept getting thrown by the Cm being in the middle of the bar. It feels like the start of a new bar. So if you’re as stupid as me it’s worth paying attention to the count in that part.

Twiddly Bits

I’ve included the tab for the little twiddly bit in the intro in the chord sheet. It’s made up of two parts. The top line (Uke 1) is the main one. So if you’ve just got one twiddling uke use that one.

And here’s my stab Age’s solo:

Buy the WIUO version
Buy the Toto version

More WIUO

Blue Smoke
Hey Ya
I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man
It’s a Heartache
Short People
The Bucket
The Israelites

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