\u201cAnd here I thought it was some majestic phrase about life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Disney<\/a> movie The Lion King<\/a><\/em> was released in 1994, and it had a soundtrack<\/a> full of bangers. Produced by Hans Zimmer with assists from Elton John, there are so many songs that remain classics\u2014including \u201cCircle of Life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The song begins with the iconic Zulu chant by singer and composer Lebo M at the start of the Disney<\/a> film, as the sun rises and baby Simba is lifted into the sky by Rafiki: \u201cNants ingonyama bagithi Baba Sithi uhm ingonyama<\/a>\u201c<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n And more than 30 years later, people are finally learning what it translates to. On the One54 Africa<\/a> <\/em>podcast, Zimbabwean comedian Learnmore Jonasi shared with hosts Akbar Gbajabiamila and Godfrey Daneschmah (and the rest of the world) the meaning of the Disney<\/a> tune\u2019s chant\u2014and it\u2019s hilariously underwhelming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve seen The Lion King<\/em> 100 times,\u201d Gbajabiamila says, before giving his own soulful rendition of the chant. \u201cWhat did I say?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jonasi tells him he said \u201cnothing,\u201d adding that it\u2019s Zulu, a language from South Africa, and that it translates to: \u201cLook! There is a lion. Oh my God.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The three burst into guttural laughter. Gbajabiamila and Daneschmah react in disbelief, saying, \u201cYou are joking! That is not what that means!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jonasi assures him that\u2019s exactly<\/em> what it means, and they can\u2019t contain their laughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis whole time I thought it was like this beautiful, majestic [thing],\u201d Gbajabiamila howls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Reddit<\/a>, people did not hold back their shock and hilarious disappointment about the song\u2019s iconic opening:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd here I thought it was some majestic phrase about life .\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt does. It does mean that. I found this out and had the same reaction. I f**king howled. \u2018Oh look, here comes a lion, father a lion\u2019 or something was how I was told it was. I was amused and somehow disappointed. But like\u2026 it\u2019s accurate.<\/em>\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI mean it works in the song too since all the animals look at the lions at this part.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou know what\u2026 I\u2019m okay with this.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSee? This simpleton answer actually fits. Try and think about the sheer amount of people who\u2019ve run around shouting this phrase in public looking like idiots (myself included), and then match their idiocy with the simplicity of this answer!!!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOkay so quite mundane and hilariously so.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The film\u2019s composer, Hans Zimmer, \u201ctapped Lebo M, a then-exiled South African composer living in the U.S., to help with the music,\u201d according to Rotten Tomatoes<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Zimmer and Lebo M \u201criffed\u201d together to come up with the film\u2019s opener, along with Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice, but struggled to nail down an idea until inspiration came to Lebo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThen, suddenly, Lebo cried out \u2018Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba,\u2019 and all present agreed\u2014instantly\u2014that the chant would open the film,\u201d the publication noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPeople react to Zulu chant meaning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How \u201cThe Circle of Life\u201d was made<\/h2>\n\n\n\n