“Rosanna” by Toto

There has been some confusion in terms of who the titular “Rosanna” is referring to in real life. Around the time this song came out, one member of Toto, Steve Porcaro, was dating Hollywood actress Rosanna Arquette.  However, the song was not written by him but rather another bandmate, David Paich. But considering that David also had a crush on Arquette, he did in fact name the tune after her. However, one of his first true loves was also a girl by the name of Rosanna. So even though the song is named after Arquette, the “Rosanna” the singers (who are neither Porcaro or Paich) are talking about would be one of David Paich’s early sweethearts.

Verse 1

And with that being established, we can see that the narrator is truly in love with this lady. Indeed in the first verse alone it is revealed that he wants her to be the first thing he sees when he awakens in the morning. Moreover he feels blessed to actually call her his own, since he deems her to be above his class.

Verse 2

That latter statement becomes even more prominently into play in the second verse. Here, after once again admitting how he feels about her, the singer then goes on to state that she is rather ‘looking for more than he could ever be’. So whereas he is more than content in their relationship, her feelings seem to be the exact opposite.

Verse 3

And by the third verse, the audience is made aware that he and Rosanna have in fact gone their separate ways. However, on his part two sentiments remain. One is that apparently he is still in love with her. And secondly, he is astonished about how effectively she has left him heartbroken in the aftermath of their relationship. And these sentiments, especially the latter, are also repeated in the fourth verse.

Conclusion

Then as the song concludes, he alludes to the idea that even as the years have progressed he still thinks about Rosanna regularly. Moreover, the chorus itself is seemingly based on the idea of him having completely submitted to Rosanna’s demands when they were together. So again, that would imply that even to this day he is bit surprised that she dumped him.

So whereas “Rosanna” can accurately be classified as a love song, perhaps more pointedly we can refer to it as one centered on heartbreak. And going back to the first paragraph of this article, what it simply boils down to is the singer still having feelings for one of his first girlfriends, a lady who also gave him the boot.

David Paich talks about “Rosanna”

David Paich has verified that Rosanna is in fact about ‘one of his first loves’, not Rosanna Arquette. However, he was also personally acquainted with the actress since she was moving with Steve Porcaro at the time. And Steve was not only David’s bandmate but also his roommate and best friend.

So basically, Paich had already completed the entire song but was still stumped in terms of what to name it. He was in the studio at the time. And then came in Rosanna Arquette who, according to him, “was cuter than ever”. Moreover he “had a crush on her” at the time. And being taken aback with her in the moment, he went on to name the tune “Rosanna”.

Interesting to note is that the fans themselves had long concluded that this track was named after Rosanna Arquette. But in the confusion, i.e. she dating Steve Porcaro, the song being written by David Paich and sung primarily by Bobby Kimball, they actually thought it was Kimball who was dating her. But again this song is not even about Rosanna Arquette, although she played along with the shtick at the time.

Quick Facts about “Rosanna”

This is the opening track of Toto’s fourth album, which itself is entitled “Toto IV”. And Columbia Records released it as the lead single from that project on 1 April 1984. That project also featured the classic hit single “Africa“.

“Rosanna” proved to be a major hit for Toto, peaking at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart and getting all the way to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.  And in addition to going Platinum in the United States, “Rosanna” also earned the band a Grammy Award for Record of the Year, in addition to contributing to “Toto IV” taking home its own Grammy also. Moreover the track charted in almost 20 countries overall.

“Rosanna” was produced by the entirety of Toto. And one of its most-prominent members, David Paich, wrote the song.

The music video stars Cynthia Rhodes and also features former Hollywood A-lister Patrick Swayze (1952-2009), both as dancers, before they blew up as core cast members of the hit film “Dirty Dancing” (1987). And the clip had Steve Barron as its director.