The song that opens the first scene of The Lion King will probably push your nostalgia buttons. But while the tune before "The Circle of Life" starts will sound familiar to most millennials, very few of us have thought about the words. It is, after all, in Zulu. "Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba / Sithi uhm ingonyama," the lyrics go.
Still CANNOT watch The Lion King and not get choked up for the intro song. Kids of this generation would never understand the awesomeness.
— J.igga (@WanSta_R) July 27, 2016
But at long last, we have an English translation. A recent Tumblr thread uncovered the meaning — and according to Buzzfeed, Genius.com and Lionking.org confirm it.
The translation of that evocative song is — wait for it — "There comes a lion. Oh yes, it’s a lion."
The translation of that evocative song is — wait for it — "There comes a lion. Oh yes, it’s a lion."
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I love that the lion king theme song translated is just like "Here comes a lion. Yup it's a lion" lmao sounds deeper in Zulu
— Ⓥ✨ (@angel_gif) July 13, 2016
Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba
— Young Bo (@YoungBoATL) June 22, 2016
Sithi uhm ingonyama
(Here comes a lion, Father)
(Oh yes it's a lion)
I sing her the lion king song daily ??
It may not be as deep as the chorus from "The Circle of Life," but it is appropriate. In fact, it foreshadows pretty much every scene of the movie. Not a bad choice.
You will never hear this song the same way again.