We’re probably all familiar with “The Circle of Life”, the hit song from the Disney film The Lion King. It was composed by Elton John with lyrics by Tim Rice and was performed by Carmen Twillie (female vocals) and Lebo M (opening Zulu vocals) the South African composer who also penned the first verse in Zulu. (See the full lyrics at the bottom of the page.)
The song takes place at the very beginning of the film, the dawn of Simba's presentation. As the song progresses, various African animals travel together through the Pride Lands to gather at Pride Rock. There, Rafiki meets up with the current King of the Pride Lands, Mufasa and his mate Sarabi. After blessing their newborn cub, Simba, Rafiki lifts him up high for all the animals to see, the animals rejoiced and bowed before their future king.
As Mufasa himself explains later in the movie, the "Circle of Life" that the song refers to is the delicate cycle, the natural world (wildlife, ecosystem, environment, biodiversity etc.) and balance of nature (predators eat prey, predators become grass when they die, prey eat the grass
When Scar kills Mufasa and lets the hyenas run rampant on Pride Lands, the Circle of Life is broken, and the Pride Lands become decimated with droughts, famine, and overhunting from the hyenas. These combined factors cause the remaining animals to leave the kingdom, therefore leaving the lions and hyenas with no food and water.
The song reprises at the end of the film after Simba has taken the throne, following the death of Scar, restoring the Circle of Life to its natural order.
The song takes place at the very beginning of the film, the dawn of Simba's presentation. As the song progresses, various African animals travel together through the Pride Lands to gather at Pride Rock. There, Rafiki meets up with the current King of the Pride Lands, Mufasa and his mate Sarabi. After blessing their newborn cub, Simba, Rafiki lifts him up high for all the animals to see, the animals rejoiced and bowed before their future king.
As Mufasa himself explains later in the movie, the "Circle of Life" that the song refers to is the delicate cycle, the natural world (wildlife, ecosystem, environment, biodiversity etc.) and balance of nature (predators eat prey, predators become grass when they die, prey eat the grass
When Scar kills Mufasa and lets the hyenas run rampant on Pride Lands, the Circle of Life is broken, and the Pride Lands become decimated with droughts, famine, and overhunting from the hyenas. These combined factors cause the remaining animals to leave the kingdom, therefore leaving the lions and hyenas with no food and water.
The song reprises at the end of the film after Simba has taken the throne, following the death of Scar, restoring the Circle of Life to its natural order.
Every living thing is part of this circle or cycle of life . Plants and animals are born, they grow, they consume or produce, and they eventually die, making way for new life in their place. Without this cycle of life, ecosystems and the biosphere would not be able to survive.
The life cycle of plants can be completed in a matter of days or take many hundreds of years depending on the type of plant and the location in which it grows. Some plants complete their whole life cycle within a year, these are called ‘annuals’. Others take more than one season to grow, often over two or three years, these are called ‘perennials’. Large woody plants like trees and shrubs can take many years to mature and can live for centuries.
Many plants start their life as seeds, tiny pods of DNA encased in a protective shell. However, not all plants start their life like this. Some grow from spores, cells that have thick walls and can withstand harsh environments, while other plants grow from tubers (e.g., potatoes, taro, sweet potato), bulbs (e.g. tulips, daffodils, iris) or rhizomes (e.g. ginger, turmeric, bamboo).
When plants die, their trunks and branches provide shelter and food for animals and insects. Depending on the environment, fallen trees will provide an opportunity for moss, fungi, and other plants to sprout. Eventually, the plant will be broken down by decomposers, returning nutrients and minerals to the soil so that future plants can have food and energy as they grow.
The life cycle of plants can be completed in a matter of days or take many hundreds of years depending on the type of plant and the location in which it grows. Some plants complete their whole life cycle within a year, these are called ‘annuals’. Others take more than one season to grow, often over two or three years, these are called ‘perennials’. Large woody plants like trees and shrubs can take many years to mature and can live for centuries.
Many plants start their life as seeds, tiny pods of DNA encased in a protective shell. However, not all plants start their life like this. Some grow from spores, cells that have thick walls and can withstand harsh environments, while other plants grow from tubers (e.g., potatoes, taro, sweet potato), bulbs (e.g. tulips, daffodils, iris) or rhizomes (e.g. ginger, turmeric, bamboo).
When plants die, their trunks and branches provide shelter and food for animals and insects. Depending on the environment, fallen trees will provide an opportunity for moss, fungi, and other plants to sprout. Eventually, the plant will be broken down by decomposers, returning nutrients and minerals to the soil so that future plants can have food and energy as they grow.
The life cycle of animals is like that of plants in that the span of time it takes to complete a cycle varies greatly. Insects have some of the shortest life spans of any creature. Certain species of Mayfly are born, lay eggs and die all within the space of an hour. Some others live only for a few days or weeks.
In most cases, the longer an animal takes to mature the longer it will live. Among the longest living land animals are reptiles. Typically slow to grow and mature, large reptiles can take up to 20 years to reach a stage of their life where they can lay eggs and produce young. There are tortoises who are recorded as being more than 200 years old when they died. Harriet, a tortoise thought to have been collected by Charles Darwin on a visit to the Galapagos Islands in 1835, died in Australia in 2006 and was estimated to be between 150-255 years old.
Animals, like plants, play a key role in the ecosystems in which they live. Throughout their life they provide food for other animals, feed on other animals which balances populations, clean the environment by scavenging plants and animals that have died and can help plants grow by transporting and burying seeds while digging for food and by fertilising the ground with their droppings. When they are mature, most animals produce and nurture their young ensuring they have the best chance to grow into adults. However, some animals never meet their young. When an animal dies, their bodies provide food and nutrients for the plants and animals around them.
As the lyrics of the song say:
It's the Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life
In most cases, the longer an animal takes to mature the longer it will live. Among the longest living land animals are reptiles. Typically slow to grow and mature, large reptiles can take up to 20 years to reach a stage of their life where they can lay eggs and produce young. There are tortoises who are recorded as being more than 200 years old when they died. Harriet, a tortoise thought to have been collected by Charles Darwin on a visit to the Galapagos Islands in 1835, died in Australia in 2006 and was estimated to be between 150-255 years old.
Animals, like plants, play a key role in the ecosystems in which they live. Throughout their life they provide food for other animals, feed on other animals which balances populations, clean the environment by scavenging plants and animals that have died and can help plants grow by transporting and burying seeds while digging for food and by fertilising the ground with their droppings. When they are mature, most animals produce and nurture their young ensuring they have the best chance to grow into adults. However, some animals never meet their young. When an animal dies, their bodies provide food and nutrients for the plants and animals around them.
As the lyrics of the song say:
It's the Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life
THE CIRCLE OF LIFE
Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba
Sithi uhm ingonyama eyi yewu
Ingonyama
Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba
Sithi uhhmm ingonyama
Hayibaba (Ingonyama)
Siyonqoba (Ingonyama)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Se to kwa)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Asana)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Se to kwa)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Asana)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (repeats throughout verse)
From the day we arrive on the planet
And blinking, step into the sun
There's more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
There's far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found
But the sun rolling high
Through the sapphire sky
Keeps great and small on the endless round
It's the Circle of Life (Balek' ingonyam'i ya gale'!)
And it moves us all (Ingonyama nengwe wema!)
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Se to kwa)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Asana)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Se to kwa)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Asana)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Se to kwa)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Asana)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Se to kwa)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Asana)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Se to kwa)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Asana)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Se to kwa)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Asana)
It's the Circle of Life (Balek' ingonyam'i ya gale'!)
And it moves us all (Ingonyama nengwe wema!)
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life!
Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba
Sithi uhm ingonyama eyi yewu
Ingonyama
Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba
Sithi uhhmm ingonyama
Hayibaba (Ingonyama)
Siyonqoba (Ingonyama)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Se to kwa)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Asana)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Se to kwa)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Asana)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (repeats throughout verse)
From the day we arrive on the planet
And blinking, step into the sun
There's more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
There's far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found
But the sun rolling high
Through the sapphire sky
Keeps great and small on the endless round
It's the Circle of Life (Balek' ingonyam'i ya gale'!)
And it moves us all (Ingonyama nengwe wema!)
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Se to kwa)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Asana)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Se to kwa)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Asana)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Se to kwa)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Asana)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Se to kwa)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Asana)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Se to kwa)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Asana)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Se to kwa)
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Asana)
It's the Circle of Life (Balek' ingonyam'i ya gale'!)
And it moves us all (Ingonyama nengwe wema!)
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life!