Rosanna
"Rosanna" is a song written by David Paich and performed by the American ro… Read Full Bio ↴"Rosanna" is a song written by David Paich and performed by the American rock band Toto, the opening track and the first single from their 1982 album "Toto IV". This song won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year at the 1983 ceremony. "Rosanna" was also nominated for the Song of the Year award. It is regarded for drummer Jeff Porcaro's half-time shuffle, commonly known as the "Rosanna shuffle".

The song reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks, behind "Don't You Want Me" by The Human League and "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor. It was also one of the band's most successful singles in the UK, peaking at No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart and remaining on the chart for eight weeks.

The song was written by David Paich, who has said that the song is based on numerous girls he had known. As a joke, the band members initially played along with the common assumption that the song was based on Rosanna Arquette, who was dating Toto keyboard player Steve Porcaro at the time and coincidentally had the same name. Arquette herself played along with the joke, commenting in an interview that the song was about "my showing up at 4 a.m., bringing them juice and beer at their sessions."

The West Side Story-inspired video was directed by Steve Barron and set in a stylized urban streetscape, with Rosanna represented by a dancer whose bright red dress contrasts with the gray surroundings. The band plays within a chain-link fence enclosure. Cynthia Rhodes is featured as the lead dancer Rosanna, which led to her being cast in Staying Alive the following year. Patrick Swayze was also uncredited as a dancer in the music video and he and Rhodes would both star in the movie Dirty Dancing.

Despite not playing on the actual recording, new bassist Mike Porcaro (brother of Jeff and Steve) appears in the video, as original Toto bass player David Hungate left before the video was made. Lenny Castro is also featured with the band as a percussionist.

Rosanna
Toto Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

All I wanna do when I wake up in the morning is see your eyes
Rosanna, Rosanna
Never thought that a girl like you could ever care for me, Rosanna

All I wanna do in the middle of the evening is hold you tight
Rosanna, Rosanna
I didn't know you were looking for more than I could ever be
Not quite a year since she went away, Rosanna, yeah
Now she's gone and I have to say

Meet you all the way, meet you all the way, Rosanna, yeah
Meet you all the way, meet you all the way, Rosanna, yeah

I can see your face still shining through the window on the other side
Rosanna, Rosanna
I didn't know that a girl like you could make me feel so sad, Rosanna

All I wanna tell you is now you'll never ever have to compromise
Rosanna, Rosanna
I never thought that losing you could ever hurt so bad

Not quite a year since she went away, Rosanna, yeah
Now she's gone and I have to say

Meet you all the way, meet you all the way, Rosanna, yeah
Meet you all the way, meet you all the way, Rosanna, yeah

Not quite a year since she went away, Rosanna, yeah
Now she's gone and I have to say

Meet you all the way (yeah-yeah), meet you all the way, Rosanna, yeah
Meet you all the way (ooh-ooh, yeah), meet you all the way, Rosanna, yeah





Meet you all the way, meet you all the way, Rosanna, yeah
Meet you all the way, meet you all the way, Rosanna, yeah

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Toto's song "Rosanna" tell the story of a man who's in love with a woman named Rosanna. He wakes up in the morning and all he wants to do is see her eyes, because he finds comfort and affection in her gaze. He goes on to admit that he never thought a girl like her could ever care for him. This suggests that he probably feels like he's not worthy of her love or that she's out of his league.


Later in the evening, all he wants to do is hold her tight, but he didn't know that Rosanna was looking for more than he could ever be. This implies that Rosanna probably had higher expectations or that there were issues in their relationship that he was not aware of. The song also talks about how Rosanna has been gone for almost a year, and that he still feels sad and misses her. He recognizes that losing her has hurt him more than he had thought it would.


Overall, "Rosanna" is a song about unrequited love and the pain of losing someone you care about. The singer realizes too late that he couldn't live up to Rosanna's expectations, and he's left with regret and longing.


Line by Line Meaning

All I wanna do when I wake up in the morning is see your eyes
My love for you is so strong that my morning is incomplete without seeing your beautiful eyes, Rosanna.


Rosanna, Rosanna
Addressing my love for you, dear Rosanna.


Never thought that a girl like you could ever care for me, Rosanna
I always underestimated myself and never imagined that a wonderful girl like you would ever be interested in me, Rosanna.


All I wanna do in the middle of the evening is hold you tight
The affection I have for you makes me crave the feeling of holding you close, even in the evening, Rosanna.


I didn't know you were looking for more than I could ever be
I realize now that you wanted more from me than I could ever provide, Rosanna.


Not quite a year since she went away, Rosanna, yeah
It has been less than a year since you left, Rosanna.


Now she's gone and I have to say
Now that you're no longer with me, I must express how I feel about you, Rosanna.


Meet you all the way, meet you all the way, Rosanna, yeah
I am willing to go to any length to be with you, Rosanna.


I can see your face still shining through the window on the other side
I still remember your face, and it's like I can see it shining through the window on the other side, Rosanna.


I didn't know that a girl like you could make me feel so sad, Rosanna
I never expected to be so heartbroken over losing such an amazing girl like you, Rosanna.


All I wanna tell you is now you'll never ever have to compromise
I want you to know that with me, you'll never have to settle for less than you deserve, Rosanna.


I never thought that losing you could ever hurt so bad
The pain of losing you was something I never thought I could bear, Rosanna.




Lyrics © editionPlus Verlags GmbH, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: David Paich

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823

I don't understand the fight.

I'll keep Jeff on my list because i can tell it's him in 2 bars. That friggin FOOT, for one thing, lol. I think Bonzo has a faster foot, tho. If that matters. Particularly with ONE pedal and that unwieldy as hell 26 kick (Can you tell i have one, too? lol). "Beat it."

Also amazing high hat in "Lowdown" by Boz Skaggs. I'm disgusted with the much lower quality of the guy he hired now to play live. He leaves about 75% of the coolest stuff out. The first 2 seconds is amazing. That tiny pick up fill...

I'll go Louie Bellson in Soul on top w James Brown.

Buddy Rich is hard for me to follow, but I'll keep Uncle Albert. Too bad about the awful horn overload at the end of that one.

I thought Ringo wasn't too complex (this gave me hope :) until i REALLY studied him. Kenny Aronoff says in his book, the isolated tapes have more in them than you'd think...

Bonzo could be a bit sloppy. JP Jones is hiding some whopper mistakes on occassion. Try some hardcore metronome work for a few weeks, then listen to Zep. You'll see interesting dragging of time. It's NOT off-time, it is "behind the beat." But still feels odd trying to be dead on it for a month, lol

I'd add Steve Smith. Also huge Steve Perry fan and i think Jon Cain wrote unique songs w Perry (and Schon).

Danny Seraphine from Chicago. I had to listen to Chicago EVERY DAY ALL DAY at a restaurant in Chicago. This lost it's charm after the 4th year or so.

Couldn't hear them for 15+ years. AT ALL. lol.

Then i got thrown "Beginnings" with no warning at a jam. Yeah, it gets harder as the song goes on, i assure you... lol

I'm also big on Bernard Purdie. Jeff is more rock n roll (harder hitter, I think), Bernard (where 1/2 shuffle came from.on "home at last," by Steely Dan as a variant)...is extremely smooth.

Oh, and the drummer for Liquid Soul. He's just about blown away by bassist Ricky Showalter, because i never remember his name. He's on "Here's the deal" album and tracks "World's on a leash," "Spam Sucker" and "Salt Peanuts." The latter original song ran 7,500 to buy rights from Dizzy Gillespie for 1:00. I know this for a fact. Worth EVERY dime.

And another personal favorite, James Gadson. Also extremely friggin SMOOTH player. Played for Bill Withers on a live video, and also on the Marvin Gaye "I want you" PRACTICE tape (thumbnail: bass player wearing hair beads).

It's so simple it's amazing. Leave the 4th snare hit out. There ya go. So now you have SPACE at the end on the phrase.

Also like Don Henley. I have a soft spot for singing drummers, so I'll throw in Levon Helm and Karen Carpenter ("Dancing in the streets" clip from "Remembering the Carpenters" Look it up on my channel or go buy it. Just trust me. :)

jmo.



All comments from YouTube:

@sunshinefogleman127

One of the single most perfect rock songs of all time 💃

@xxxxxxxx3476

When you wake in the morning , and this song is singing in your head ,then that's the sign of a true classic .
And there aren't many like that these days !!!

@karenstrader6300

So true

@CharliePaul-ys6bs

K​@@xxxxxxxx3476

@natevm7888

It's up their with Steve Perry/Journey. Gotta give Arnel his props stepping in

@josesalvadormendozareyes9421

ME

@johnmarcotiza8274

I'm thankful my daughter listen to this song when she is in her room, I often only hear the drum intro tho

@jakefellner5786

😳

@baldskiperfume2215

Lol

@marija6495

LMFAO

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