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Circle of Life
"Circle of Life" is a song from Disney's 1994 animated feature film The Lion King. Composed by British musician Elton John and composer Hans Zimmer, 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 in 1994, along with two other songs from The Lion King: "Hakuna Matata" 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 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 sang it as part of a medley for The Disney Album in 2001.
The song is well known for its opening line, sung by South African composer Lebo M in Zulu. While no official transcription of the movie version exists, the Zulu version of the lyrics from the musical/stage production (by Hal Leonard, 1997) is known as follows:
Nants'ingonyama, bakithi, baba
Sithi hu 'ngonyama.
Nants'ingonyama, bakithi baba
Sithi hu 'ngonyama.
Sizo ngcoba 'ngonyama.
Ingonyama nengw'enamabala.
Which translates to English as:
Here comes the lion, father,
Oh yes it's a lion.
Here comes the lion, father,
Oh yes it's a lion.
A lion we're going to conquer.
A lion and a leopard come to this open place.
Upon the release, Larry Flick from Billboard magazine named the song "a second sugar-coated confection from the soundtrack to The Lion King. 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's fate as a swift and sizable hit is assured." Troy J. Augusto from Cash Box 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 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 Smash Hits 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..."
The accompanying music video for "Circle of Life" was directed by US film composer, producer and film director Richard Baskin, 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 YouTube in November 2017, and had generated more than 22 million views as of May 2025.
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Circle of Life
"Circle of Life" is a song from Disney's 1994 animated feature film The Lion King. Composed by British musician Elton John and composer Hans Zimmer, 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 in 1994, along with two other songs from The Lion King: "Hakuna Matata" 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 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 sang it as part of a medley for The Disney Album in 2001.
The song is well known for its opening line, sung by South African composer Lebo M in Zulu. While no official transcription of the movie version exists, the Zulu version of the lyrics from the musical/stage production (by Hal Leonard, 1997) is known as follows:
Nants'ingonyama, bakithi, baba
Sithi hu 'ngonyama.
Nants'ingonyama, bakithi baba
Sithi hu 'ngonyama.
Sizo ngcoba 'ngonyama.
Ingonyama nengw'enamabala.
Which translates to English as:
Here comes the lion, father,
Oh yes it's a lion.
Here comes the lion, father,
Oh yes it's a lion.
A lion we're going to conquer.
A lion and a leopard come to this open place.
Upon the release, Larry Flick from Billboard magazine named the song "a second sugar-coated confection from the soundtrack to The Lion King. 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's fate as a swift and sizable hit is assured." Troy J. Augusto from Cash Box 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 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 Smash Hits 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..."
The accompanying music video for "Circle of Life" was directed by US film composer, producer and film director Richard Baskin, 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 YouTube in November 2017, and had generated more than 22 million views as of May 2025.