The Lion Sleeps Tonight

E615228

"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is a popular song, originally adapted from the South African song "Mbube," that became an international hit and is widely known for its distinctive high falsetto and use in films like Disney's The Lion King.

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
The Lion Sleeps Tonight (live performances) 1

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf single
song
adaptedFromWorkBy Solomon Linda NERFINISHED
alsoKnownAs Mbube (adapted version)
Wimoweh NERFINISHED
basedOn Mbube NERFINISHED
chartPositionUKSingles 1
chartPositionUSBillboardHot100 1
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
culturalOrigin Zulu music tradition
genre doo-wop
pop
world music
hasChorusLyric "In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight"
hasInfluenceOn global perception of South African music
hasLegalDisputes royalty claims related to Solomon Linda
hasNotableFeature high falsetto vocal
nonsense syllable chorus
repeating vocal chant "wimoweh"
hasNotableUse Disney film The Lion King NERFINISHED
The Lion King stage musical NERFINISHED
multiple film soundtracks
television commercials
television series episodes
hasNotableVocalist Jay Siegel NERFINISHED
isCoverVersionOf Mbube NERFINISHED
language English
originalSongCountryOfOrigin South Africa NERFINISHED
originalSongTitle Mbube NERFINISHED
originalSongWriter Solomon Linda NERFINISHED
performer Ladysmith Black Mambazo NERFINISHED
Miriam Makeba NERFINISHED
Robert John NERFINISHED
The Lion King film cast
The Tokens NERFINISHED
The Weavers NERFINISHED
Tight Fit NERFINISHED
popularizedBy The Tokens NERFINISHED
recordedBy The Tokens NERFINISHED
recordLabel RCA Victor NERFINISHED
releaseYear 1961
tempo moderate
theme jungle imagery
sleeping lion
timeSignature 4/4
title The Lion Sleeps Tonight NERFINISHED
usedInFranchise The Lion King NERFINISHED

Referenced by (5)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

George David Weiss coWrote The Lion Sleeps Tonight
Harold George Bellanfanti Jr. notableWork The Lion Sleeps Tonight
this entity surface form: The Lion Sleeps Tonight (live performances)
Hugo Peretti notableWork The Lion Sleeps Tonight
Luigi Creatore notableWork The Lion Sleeps Tonight
Pumbaa songPerformerInUniverse The Lion Sleeps Tonight