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"Circle of Life" is a song from Disney's 1994 animated film The Lion King, composed by Elton John with lyrics by Tim Rice. The song was performed by Carmen Twillie (female vocals) and Lebo M (opening Zulu vocals) as the film's opening song. Elton John also sang a pop version of the song with the London Community Gospel Choir which was included in the film's soundtrack and made into a music video. The song was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song in 1994 along with two other songs from The Lion King, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" and "Hakuna Matata". "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" won the award. The song reached #11 in the UK and #18 in the US.
The song is also featured frequently in attractions that include The Lion King at Disney theme parks, such as parades.
Michael Crawford sang this song as part of a medley for The Disney Album in 2001.
Plot
The song takes place at the very beginning of the film, the dawn of Simba's presentation. As the song progresses, various animal herds travel through the Pride Lands to gather at Pride Rock. There, Rafiki meets up with the current King of the Pride Lands, Mufasa and his mate, Sarabi. After blessing Mufasa's newborn cub Simba, Rafiki lifts the cub up high for all the animals to see, and the animals bow before their future king.
The song reprises at the end of the film, after Simba has taken the throne. Rafiki presents Simba and Nala's newborn cub, recalling the opening. In The Lion King 1½, the song is used again.
Musical
Act I
Rafiki raises Simba into the air with Mufasa and Sarabi looking on from the original London cast of the Lion King.
In the film's musical adaption, the opening sequence is altered noticeably in certain ways; for example, the song is sung by the Rafiki character accompanied by a chorus of multiple background singers garbed in unusual, distinctive costumes or manipulating numerous different puppets resembling Serengeti fauna rather than being performed by an unseen voiceover, as in the original film. The sun rising on the Pride Lands, Rafiki commences the start of the production by kicking off the song and summoning the various animals of the surrounding area for baby Simba's presentation. As the first two verses of the musical number end, a representation of Pride Rock appears onstage carrying its two reigning rulers, Queen Sarabi cradling the small puppet representing her newborn cub in her arms. As the choir chants excitedly in the background, Rafiki accompanies them atop Pride Rock to bless the baby prince before raising him high in the air, singing joyfully alongside the bowing chorus.
Act II
At the end of Act II Simba's friends and family acknowledge him as the rightful king after Simba and the Pridelanders defeated Scar and the hyenas. Rafiki crowns Simba with the mantle of kingship after his victory and Simba ascends Pride Rock. He then gives a mighty roar across the whole kingdom and the animals come back to the Pride Lands to recognize Simba as the rightful king. The assembly of animals that appear are slightly different from the beginning of Act 1, with no wildebeests, no adult elephant (only the baby elephant) and two zebras instead of three. Only half of the bird ladies from the beginning appear along with three cranes and the birds as kites on poles. The lionesses appear to celebrate the continuing circle of life before the animals as they present a newborn cub, the future lion king. The circle of life begins again with Simba and Nala having a newborn lion cub of their own. The musical ends as Rafiki presents Simba and Nala's newborn cub to all of the animals. A blackout finishes Act II and leads to the curtain call at the end of the second act
Lyrics
Opening
Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba
Sithi uhm ingonyama
Nants ingonyama bagithi baba
Sithi uhhmm ingonyama
Ingonyama Siyo Nqoba
Ingonyama Ingonyama nengw enamabala
Meaning:
Here comes a lion, Father
Oh yes, it's a lion
Here comes a lion, Father
Oh yes, it's a lion
A lion We're going to conquer
A lion A lion and a leopard come to this open place
Song
From the day we arrive on the planet
And blinking, step into the sun
There's more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
There's far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found
But the sun rolling high
Through the sapphire sky
Keeps great and small on the endless round
It's the Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life
It's the Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life
Musical Lyrics
Nant's ingonyama, bagathithi baba!
stiti umm, ingonyama;ingonyama negwengabo!
Antelope: Mai ba bo, Haa, ingonnyama baba!
Nant's ingonyama, bagathithi baba, hyaa!
stiti umm, ingonyama; ingonyama negwengabo!
Antelope: Hao, kusani bo, bheki agalela (chou!!)
Nants inonyama, bagathithi baba, hyya!
siti umm, ingonyama
Helele
ingonyama,
Ohh! sizonqobababa, helele
ingonyama,
Hayyo! sizonqobababa
Ingonyama negwenamabala
(ingonyama)
(enamabala baba)
(whoa, ingonyama baba, enamabala)
(ingonyama negwenamabala continues)
From the day we arrive on this planet,
And blinking, step into the Sun.
There's more to see, than can ever be seen, more to do, than can ever be done.
Hmm, there's far too much, to take in here,
More to find, than can ever be found.
But the Sun rolling high,
Through the sapphire sky,
Keeps great and small, on the endless round,
It's the circle of life!
(kalaliko bheki akale!)
And it moves us all,
Through despair and hope,
Through faith and love.
Till we find our place,
On the path unwinding.
In the circle,
The circle of life.
(ingonyama negwenamabala)
(improvisation by antelope)
It's the circle of life!
(kalaliko bheki akale!)
And it moves us all,
Through despair and hope,
Through faith and love.
Till we find our place!
On the path unwinding,
In the circle!
The circle of life
(loud drumbeat)
Note: Lyrics beginning with capital letters are Rafiki's lines, while others are the chorus and the antelope lines. The song was re-recorded in 2003 by the Disney Channel Circle of Stars, a group of actors and actresses who have appeared in Disney Channel television series and original movies. The line-up was significantly different when their next re-recording, "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes," was released two years later.
Elton John's Version
Umm hmm
Oh ho
Oh ho
Oh ho
Oh ho
From the day we arrive on the planet
And blinking step into the sun
There's more to be seen than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
Some say, eat or be eaten
Some say, live and let live
But, all are agreed as they join the stampede
You should never take more than you give
In the circle of life
It's the wheel of fortune
It's the leap by faith
It's the band of hope
Till, we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the circle
The circle of life
Some of us fall by the wayside
And some of us soar to the stars
And some of us sail through our troubles
And some have to live with the scars
There's far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found
But the sun rollin' high
Through the sapphire sky
Keeps the great and small on the endless round
In the circle of life
It's the wheel of fortune
It's the leap by faith
It's the band of hope
Till, we find our place
On the path unwinding, yea
In the circle
The circle of life
It's the wheel of fortune, yea
It's the leap by faith
It's the band of hope
Till, we find our place
On the path unwinding, yea
In the circle
The circle of life
On the path unwinding, yea
In the circle
The circle of life
The Lion King 1½
In DisneyToon's 2004 direct-to-video film The Lion King 1½, Timon and Pumbaa are watching this musical number in a dark theater when Timon suddenly uses a remote control to fast forward to where they appear in the film. Pumbaa argues that the film shouldn't go out of order and attempts to rewind the film back to the beginning. Timon and Pumbaa start fighting over control of the film until they agree that the film should tell their side of the story. Throughout the rest of the film, it is occasionally interrupted to have Timon and Pumbaa comment on whatever is happening.
Popular Culture
Due to the film's impact on popular culture, the song "Circle of Life" is often referenced in other media.
It is currently the main theme song for Disney's Animal Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort. Disney's Epcot park currently features a cinema-type film called Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable from 1995 with Timon, Pumbaa and Simba discussing environmental topics at the Walt Disney World Resort as well.
In one of Disney's many self references, this also appeared as a false beginning of Chicken Little when Buck was trying to open the movie.
Ronan Keating recorded a cover for "Disneymania".
At the 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner, President Barack Obama jokingly claimed he was going to sh ow his long-form birth video, spoofing an earlier controversy about refusing to show his long-form birth certificate to prove he was, in fact, born in the United States. The opening chant was played from the film, and Simba was seen being lifted to the skies. This was used to poke fun at Obama's Kenyan heritage.
Trivia
- The song has become the theme of Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park in Walt Disney World in Florida. In Epcot, the song is featured in the attraction Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable starring characters from the film.
- The Season 3 Phineas and Ferb song "On the Savannah" in first part of the 2-part episode "Where's Perry?" has a similar setting and is also done with African singers.
- The choral element in between the "it's the circle of life "and" and it moves us all" is an approximate "kalaliko bheki akale.
- This song is often compared to Vuelie from the film Frozen, in the sense that they are both sung at the beginning of their films and are also sung by a native chorus( Norwegian and African).
See also
- The Lion King
- The Lion King 1½
- "On the Savannah"
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This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original article was at Circle of Life. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with DisneyWiki and Disney Fan Fiction, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License. |
| The Lion King |
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 Films and shows: The Lion King | The Lion King II: Simba's Pride | The Lion King 1½ | Timon & Pumbaa (Episode List) | House of Mouse | Timon and Pumbaa's Wild About Safety | Hakuna Matata (Disney/Digimon crossover) Video games: The Lion King | Timon & Pumbaa's Jungle Games | The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventures | Kingdom Hearts II Attractions: Fantasmic! | Festival of the Lion King | World of Color | Disney Dreams! | Celebrate the Magic Original Film Characters: Simba | Nala | Mufasa | Scar | Rafiki | Timon | Pumbaa | Zazu | Shenzi, Banzai and Ed | Sarabi | Sarafina | Pridelanders | Hyena Clan | Wildebeests | Cape Buffalo | Gopher | Diku (Deleted Character) Sequel Characters: Kiara | Kovu | Zira | Vitani | Nuka | Outsiders | Crocodiles Midquel Characters: Ma | Uncle Max | Iron Joe | Meerkat Colony Timon and Pumbaa Characters: The Native Chief | The Three Natives | Monti | Baampu | Nobi | Fred | Quint | Bruce | Stink | Jackal | Ralph and Eddie | The Cobra | Teds | Savage Lion | Bartholomew | Toucan Dan | Vulture Police | Ned the Elephant | Rabbit | Uncle Boaris | Boss Beaver | Boy Beaver | Lester the Whale | Speedy | Smolder the Bear | Little Jimmy | Irwin | El Toro | Wolverine | Jumbo Jumbo | Cheetato and Cheetata | Rita Book | Captain Bloodbeard | Cisco Pig | Cisco Pig's Gang | Dr. Caliostro | Torgo | Meerkat Angel | Pumbaa Jr. | Nefu | Dr. Happy | Leslie Lambeau | Sharla | Claudius | Herman | Lara | Madame Credenza | Duke Meerkat | Tatiana | Mother Eagle | Baby Earl | King Leopold | Princess Claudia | Pimon and Tumbaa | Mad Dog McGraw, Billy the Goat, and Three-fingered Jackelope Locations: Africa | Mount Kilimanjaro | Pride Rock | Pride Lands | Water Hole | Elephant Graveyard | The Gorge | Hakuna Matata (location) | The Jungle | Rafiki's Ancient Tree | The Outlands | Madame Credenza's Place | Savage Rock | Boss Beaver's Log Land Songs: Circle of Life | I Just Can't Wait to Be King | Be Prepared | Hakuna Matata | Can You Feel the Love Tonight | This Land | ...To Die For | Under the Stars | King of Pride Rock | Busa | He Lives in You | We Are One | My Lullaby | Upendi | Not One of Us | Love Will Find a Way | Digga Tunnah | That's All I Need | The Morning Report | Lioness Hunt | Rafiki Mourns | One by One | Grasslands Chant | Chow Down | The Madness of King Scar | Shadowland | The Lion Sleeps Tonight | Endless Night | Warthog Rhapsody (Deleted Song) Other: The Lion King (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | Broadway Musical | Rhythm of the Pride Lands | List of Species seen in The Lion King Franchise See also: The Disney Afternoon |