The Original African Song (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)
Who hasn’t heard of this one? Most likely, you heard it in The Lion King, but that still means you’ve heard it! Interestingly, this particular song has a lot of controversy behind it. Of South African origins, this song was essentially stolen from the person who’d first coined it, and he was only given credit after he and his direct family had all passed away.
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The English lyrics were actually commissioned to be added to a song that was originally in Zulu. The English version sings about peace and relaxation – in that, the lion is ‘sleeping,’ so the villagers can rest easy. But the original Zulu lyrics sing about good luck and praise and have some nonsensical Zulu words (‘wimaweh’) added for the sake of rhythm.