Circle Of Life
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"Circle of Life" is a song from
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's 1994 animated feature film ''
The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...
''. Composed by British musician
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
and composer
Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, five Grammy Awards, and has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmy Awards and a Tony ...
, with lyrics by Tim Rice, the song was performed by Carmen Twillie (the deep female lead vocals) and Lebo M (opening vocals in Zulu) as the film's opening song. In an interview, Rice said he was amazed at the speed with which John composed: "I gave him the lyrics at the beginning of the session at about two in the afternoon. By half-past three, he'd finished writing and recording a stunning demo." John sang a pop version (with alternative lyrics) of the song with the London Community Gospel Choir, which was included in the film's soundtrack and made into a music video. "Circle of Life" was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...
in 1994, along with two other songs from ''The Lion King'': "
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" and " Can You Feel the Love Tonight", the latter of which won the award. "Circle of Life" was also nominated for the
Grammy Award for Song of the Year The Grammy Award for Song of the Year is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. The Song of the Year award is one of the four most prestigious categories at ...
. The song reached No. 11 in the UK and No. 18 in the US and is featured frequently in attractions based on ''The Lion King'', such as Disney theme parks and parades.
Michael Crawford Michael Patrick Smith (born 19 January 1942), known professionally as Michael Crawford, is an English actor, comedian and singer. Crawford is best known for playing the hapless Frank Spencer in the sitcom '' Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'', Cornel ...
sang it as part of a medley for '' The Disney Album'' in 2001.


Opening of song

The song is well known for its opening line, sung by South African composer Lebo M in Zulu. Due to the difficulty to pronounce the lyrics for English speakers, they are often mispronounced. The Zulu version of the lyrics is:
''Nansi Bhe! Inyama Bakithi Baba'' ''(Chorus) Sithi uhm Bhe! Inyama'' ''Nansi Bhe! Inyama Bakithi Babooouu'' ''(Chorus) Sithi uhm Bhe! Inyama'' ''Siyo nqoba'' ''Ingonyama nengwe-namabala''
Which translates to English as:
''Here, behold! The living creatures of our land, oh father!'' ''We proclaim, behold! Living creatures!'' ''Here, behold! The living creatures of our land, oh father!'' ''We proclaim, behold! Living creatures!'' ''We shall conquer!'' ''(Chorus) The lion who bears the leopard’s spots.'' enotes royalty


Critical reception

Upon the release, Larry Flick from ''
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'' magazine named the song "a second sugar-coated confection from the soundtrack to ''
The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...
''. John flexes his distinctive voice to fine effect over a melodramatic instrumental that suits the grand, larger-than-life quality of the movie.
Power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Balla ...
's fate as a swift and sizable hit is assured." Troy J. Augusto from ''
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'' wrote, "Elton's unique, radio-friendly voice and the song's powerful, dramatic production (courtesy of Chris Thomas) mean broad, immediate success as the film continues its amazing run at the box office." In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton commented, "Sad to relate though it is another rather unimpressive Elton John ballad, unable to stand comparison with much of his classic output and is worryingly close in places to ' The One' – arguably the last single of any value he put out." Alan Jones from ''
Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...
'' noted, "Elton is in philosophical mood here and has a slightly continental flavour. Publicity for ''The Lion King'' movie from which the single is taken should push it into the Top 20." Leesa Daniels from ''
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'' gave "Circle of Life" a score of four out of five, writing, "He has managed to create a beautiful song, that, once you've seen the film, will reduce you to a big blubbering buffoon. The song is grand, majestic and deeply touching..."


Music video

The accompanying music video for "Circle of Life" was directed by US film composer, producer and film director
Richard Baskin Aaron Richard Baskin (born December 1, 1948)''Harlan Daily Enterprise'"Actor's Songs Do Not Please Nashville Set"/ref> is an American film composer and producer, best known as the musical director and producer of the Academy Award winning soundtra ...
, but shot half in black-and-white. The clips of the film were shown. The film's voice actors such as James Earl Jones and the choir were added in the video along a real cub and a female art designer. It was made available on
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in November 2017, and had generated more than 22 million views as of May 2025.


Live performances

John began to perform "Circle of Life", replacing " Can You Feel the Love Tonight", in some of his concerts, shows and performances for nearly 20 years from 1999 to 2018.


Personnel

*
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
– piano, lead vocals * Davey Johnstone
guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
* Chuck Sabostrings, drums * Phil Spalding – bass * Guy Babylonkeyboards


Theatrical version


Act I

In the theatrical adaptation, the opening sequence is noticeably different from the opening of the film. For example, the song is sung by
Rafiki Rafiki may refer to: * '' Cheeki Rafiki'', English sailing yacht * Rafiki, a mandrill in ''The Lion King'' * ''Rafiki'' (film), 2018 Kenyan film * Rafiki Saïd (born 2000), Comorian footballer {{disambiguation ...
instead of an off-screen female narrator. With the
sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...
rising over the Pride Lands, Rafiki commences the start of the production by singing the opening chant of the song and summoning the animals of the Pride Lands for the presentation of baby Simba. As the first two verses of the musical number end, a representation of Pride Rock appears on stage carrying its two reigning rulers, Sarabi cradling the small puppet representing her son in her arms with Mufasa alongside her. As the choir chants excitedly in the background, Rafiki accompanies the monarch and his consort to the top of Pride Rock to bless the cub before raising him high in the air, singing joyfully alongside the chorus as the gathered animals bow before their new prince.


Act II

At the end of Act II, Simba's friends and family acknowledge him as the rightful king after
Scar A scar (or scar tissue) is an area of fibrosis, fibrous tissue that replaces normal skin after an injury. Scars result from the biological process of wound repair in the skin, as well as in other Organ (anatomy), organs, and biological tissue, t ...
's defeat. Rafiki crowns Simba with the mantle of kingship after his victory and Simba ascends Pride Rock. There he gives a mighty roar which echoes across the whole kingdom, and the animals come back to the Pride Lands to recognise and salute Simba as the rightful king. The musical ends as Rafiki presents Simba and Nala's newborn cub (Fluffy) to all of the animals, followed by a blackout that finishes Act II and leads to the curtain call at the end of the performance. The assembly of animals that appear are slightly different from the start of the first act. There are no wildebeests nor adult elephants, only two zebras instead of three, nine gazelles instead of twelve, and half of the bird performers instead of four. Only the baby elephant, the rhino, the giraffes, three cranes, the cheetah, and the birds appear as poles on cranes as kites.


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Release history


Cover versions and usage in media

The song was featured in Disney's 2019 photorealistic computer-animated remake of ''The Lion King'' and was used in the first trailer of the film, a near shot-for-shot remake of the opening of the original animated film. This new version of the song was performed by Brown Lindiwe Mkhize, the actress who performed as Rafiki in the stage adaptation of the movie in London from 2005 to 2018. However, the new version also retains the original Zulu opening vocals by Lebo M from the 1994 film. G4 recorded a cover version of the song for their self titled debut album, which they had performed previously during series 1 of the British ''
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''. In 2017, American boyband 98° recorded a cover version of the song to help promote a re-release of ''
The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...
'' on
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as part of the Disney Signature Collection. The single was released as a digital download on 22 September 2017. The song was remixed by Mat Zo which was released in the album '' Dconstructed'' on 22 April 2014. At the 2011 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
jokingly claimed he was going to show his "long-form birth video", spoofing Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories that alleged he was born outside of the United States, rather than in his actual birthplace of
Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...
, Hawaii. The opening chant was played from the film, and Simba was seen being lifted to the skies. In 2015, the song was including in a Lion King songs medley performed by Youtuber and singer Georgia Merry.
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outfielder Yoenis Cespedes started using the song as his walk-up music during the 2016 Major League Baseball season.


References


Bibliography

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External links


''Lion King'' Circle of Life Lyrics
* * * * {{Authority control 1994 songs 1994 singles Elton John songs Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals Disney Renaissance songs Ronan Keating songs Gospel songs Song recordings produced by Chris Thomas (record producer) Songs from The Lion King (franchise) Songs with lyrics by Tim Rice Songs with music by Elton John Film and television opening sequences Film theme songs Animated series theme songs Walt Disney Records singles Hollywood Records singles Mercury Records singles The Rocket Record Company singles Macaronic songs Pop ballads 1990s ballads