The opening chant of “Circle of Life” is sung in Zulu.
South African composer and performer Lebo M delivers the opening vocal before the English-language sections performed by Carmen Twillie begin. The chant accompanies the sunrise over the Pride Lands and the gathering of animals for Simba’s presentation at Pride Rock.
The song was written for Disney’s 1994 animated film by Elton John, with lyrics by Tim Rice and additional music by Hans Zimmer. Lebo M’s contribution gives the opening an unmistakably South African musical identity and immediately establishes the film’s African setting.
Listeners sometimes identify the chant as Swahili because of the film’s African landscape, but the famous opening words are Zulu. Yoruba and Xhosa are also African languages, yet neither is the language used for this opening vocal in the original film.