Circle of Life

Song opening

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:

Which translates to English as:

Critical reception

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..."

Music video

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.

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 – piano, lead vocals
• Davey Johnstone – guitar
• Chuck Sabo – strings, drums
• Phil Spalding – bass
• Guy Babylon – keyboards

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 instead of an off-screen female narrator.

With the sun 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'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

Foreign adaptations

"Circle of Life" was adapted into other languages for the international versions of The Lion King. These adaptations include:

• "En verden af liv" in Danish, adapted by Jesper Kjær and performed by
• "De kringloop van het leven" in Dutch, adapted by Jan Derk Beck and performed by Barbara Dex
• "L'Histoire de la vie" in French, adapted by Luc Aulivier and Claude Rigal-Ansous and performed by
• "Der ewige Kreis" in German, adapted by Frank Lenart and performed by Jocelyn B. Smith
• "Il cerchio della vita" in Italian, adapted by and performed by Ivana Spagna
• "Sākuru obu Raifu" (サークル・オブ・ライフ) in Japanese, performed by Yukari Miyazono
• "Ciclo sem fim" in Portuguese, adapted by Alfredo Marco and Eliana Estevão and performed by Ana Paulino
• "Ciclo sin fin" or "El ciclo de la vida" in Spanish, adapted by Omar Canals, Javier Pontón and Miguel Ángel Poveda and performed by Táta Vega
• "En värld full av liv" in Swedish, adapted by Monica Forsberg and performed by .

Other versions

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 X Factor.

In 2017, American boyband 98° recorded a cover version of the song to help promote a re-release of The Lion King on Blu-ray 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 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, Hawaii. The opening chant was played from the film showing Simba being lifted to the skies.

In 2015, the song was including in a Lion King songs medley performed by YouTuber and singer Georgia Merry.

New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes started using the song as his walk-up music during the 2016 Major League Baseball season.

References

Bibliography

References

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