The Circle of Life." The song is now widely used, especially within the academic community. "It brings me joy to the extent that I know it is heard and felt by others, not only in my words but by other teachers and learners as well." He noted that when he first worked on the tune, he was not yet aware of its global significance. He also recognized that his song had a musical, rather than strictly linguistic meaning. He says he knows that his song reaches out to the ear of the listener: "And they listen, not just with their ears but their hearts as well." In response to a query about the meaning of his song, he replied: The word circle is a metaphor for both the continuous nature of life and the four elements that sustain life. The word life is also used in this song in a manner similar to a greeting or prayer, in the second stanza: The word "Hakuna Matata" in the song is an onomatopoeia that means "no worries" in Swahili. Other versions Since its premiere, the song has been adapted many times and with many different lyrics. The song is one of two that Lin-Manuel Miranda used as a theme in his Broadway show, Hamilton. The other song, "Wait for It", is the theme from another Broadway show, Smokey Joe's Cafe. Lin-Manuel Miranda worked with director Thomas Kail and Hamilton creator and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda on a new melody for "The Circle of Life." Lin-Manuel Miranda received a 2016 Tony Award for Best Original Score for Hamilton and Thomas Kail received a 2017 Tony Award for Best Choreography for Hamilton. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote a new introduction and the refrain was sung by the character Eliza Hamilton, written by Kail. In a 2017 episode of Game of Thrones entitled "The Long Night", Daenerys Targaryen sang a variant of the song to Khal Drogo and his sons, with the lyrics being from their perspective. In a 2018 episode of The Simpsons entitled "Halloween of Horror", Homer becomes stuck in a purgatory-like limbo, and sings the opening theme as he passes through its concentric portals. References External links A blog post about the creation of this song Lyrics to the song Lyrics to the song (different version) Category:The Lion King songs Category:Songs from The Lion King Category:Songs with music by Elton John Category:Songs with lyrics by Tim Rice Category:Songs written for films Category:Jungle book songs Category:1990 songs Category:Multilingual songs Category:Words and phrases introduced in 1990