The English translation of the opening lyrics to the theme song of The Lion King has gone viral, as fans are only just working out what it means.
The hit story of The Lion King first came to screens as an animated Disney film in 1994, and was then brought to the live stage on Broadway in 1997 – becoming the eighth longest running show and being seen by over 50 million people live.
The songs were written by Sir Elton John and English lyricist Tim Rice, and the film also featured a score composed by Hans Zimmer. The classic 1994 Disney film was given a live action remake in 2019, directed by Jon Favreau and starring Beyoncé, Donald Glover, John Oliver, Seth Rogen, Eric André, Billy Eichner, and James Earl Jones.
One of the most memorable moments of The Lion King is of course the opening sequence, which introduces the story and plays one of the most iconic theme songs of all time. The song is sung in Zulu, and a video has recently gone viral of someone translating the opening line into English.
As highlighted by Classic.fm, the original song is sung by the great South African composer Lebo M., with the lyrics being: ‘Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba Sithi uhm ingonyama.”
In a recent episode of the One54 Africa podcast, the hosts looked back at the iconic opening scene, and provided a translation for the line, which roughly means: “Look! There is a lion! Oh my God!”
Since the episode was shared, countless Lion King fans have come forward to share their response to the real meaning behind the lyrics, with many thinking that the song was saying something more than someone simply shouting that they see a lion.
“This has won. I don’t know what, but it won everything! Well played Disney. Well… played,” one person commented, while another added: “Welp…..there goes my childhood”.
“Some songs just sound better in their native language we don’t have to translate everything in English,” a third person chimed in on Instagram, while someone else wrote: “Some things are better left unsaid”.
Check out more responses below.
Here I was thinking it was something profound all these years🤣
— Theresa Woods (@WoodsT77) February 27, 2026
While technically correct, his translation is too literal. In the song’s context it means “behold! the King, everyone”
— Vibe rater (@zorthon_) February 27, 2026
“Look! There’s a lion! Oh My God!” LOL
It reminds of when they used to have old black and white films with the “natives” from wherever, (1950s?) and the director would want them to say something authentically foreign sounding… so, he’d tell the translator, “Have them say…
— logicallamb (a PureBlood unrulyewe) (@unrulyewe) February 27, 2026
my life was just fine without knowing the meaning of that 😭 pic.twitter.com/fibOah0mbm
— JezebelReborn🧙♀️ (@JezebelReborn) February 27, 2026
The way it was explained to me is that while yes the word is technically Lion when translated but the meaning is essentially more like King or someone with authority and grace
So, more like “look at this powerful person over there who just entered” vs “OH ITS A LION”
— Daxson Jart (@1312Jadaskiss) February 27, 2026
I will never hear this the same way again
— EK 🐊 (@EK_2C4M) February 27, 2026
Back in 2018, Elton John confirmed that he was working on the soundtrack for the 2019 remake film alongside collaborator Tim Rice. He confirmed that he and Rice were working on a new song for the film’s end credits and that they were both hoping to work with Beyoncé on the song. John and Rice earned a Best Song Oscar for their work on the original.
