Grasslands Chant Lyrics – Lion King

Song Overview

Personal Review

“Grasslands Chant” hits fast - a choral surge that moves like wind over veld. The lyrics anchor the scene, the lyrics carry the ritual: a community calling a cub into purpose. One line and you feel the sun snap open over Pride Rock.

Song Meaning and Annotations

This piece is placement and blessing. Early in Act I, it scores the shift from newborn to lively cub, sketching a map of belonging. The groove is straight pulse - hand-percussion and voices in call-and-response - while the harmonies stack like hills.

“Come - Oh, come - Come, boys - Oh, come”

That repeated invitation - “Woza mfana” - is less instruction than initiation. You hear elders standing shoulder to shoulder, making room for a child to take the first step. The language choice matters: Zulu carries the weight, sound first, then sense.

“Rule this land - Rule this land - Rule this land - Rule this soil”

“Busa le lizwe bo” turns the chant from motion to mandate. Kingship here reads as stewardship - land before self. It’s a leadership ethic sung aloud, not whispered in palaces.

“Rule with love - Rule with love - Rule with love - Rule this soil”

The refrain pivots to “Busa ngo thando bo,” a corrective few coronations offer. Love sits beside authority, which tracks with the show’s wider circle-of-life philosophy - balance instead of brute force.

“Come - Oh, come - Come, boys - Oh, come”

Musically, the chant rides a South African choral lineage - mbube/isicathamiya colors, tight inner parts, interlocking rhythms. You can almost see the breath pass line to line like a relay baton.

“Rule this land - Rule with love”

On stage, the number functions as world-building. The ensemble’s bodies become reeds and grasses, Simba’s path woven through them. It’s not a character solo; it’s a civic voice shaping him in public view.

Message

“Busa le lizwe bo… Busa ngo thando bo”

The message is simple and firm: lead, but lead with care. The chant binds duty to tenderness, framing rule as service. That pairing sets the moral compass for everything that follows.

Emotional tone

It starts ceremonial, bright with welcome; by the time “busa” lands, the color deepens - still warm, now weight-bearing. It feels like a small coronation you can dance to.

Historical context

Premiering with the Broadway production in 1997, the piece is one of several new stage songs by Lebo M, expanding the film’s palette with South African choral idioms and onstage percussion stations that wrap the audience in sound.

Production

On record, producers Mark Mancina and Lebo M keep it lean: layered voices forward, percussion as breath. The cast album sequencing places it right after “Circle of Life,” letting momentum carry straight into community life.

Instrumentation

Chorus first. Optional stage and choral arrangements point to marimba, bass drum, shaker, and even a synth-kalimba color for the piano line - all in service of that steady, sunlit cadence.

Analysis of key phrases and idioms

“Woza mfana” reads like a door swung open - come in, be seen. “Busa le lizwe” is not abstract patriotism; it’s place-specific care. The idiom “ngo thando” - with love - welds ethics to action.

About metaphors and symbols

Grass as chorus is the core symbol - voices moving like blades in wind. The chant turns landscape into family, and family into law.

Creation history

Composed by Lebo M for the stage musical and performed by the ensemble, “Grasslands Chant” debuted with the Minneapolis tryout and Broadway opening run in 1997, then landed on the Original Broadway Cast Recording that summer.

Verse Highlights

Verse 1

The opening “Zum zum zum” is atmosphere - the sound of tall grass hushing itself, a stage whisper before the welcome. Then the doorstep flings wide with “Woza mfana.”

Chorus

“Busa le lizwe” anchors the hook. It’s memorable because the rhythm of the language fits the step of a procession - downbeat leadership you can march behind.

Bridge / Call-and-response

The trade between lead voices and ensemble isn’t ornamental; it models governance - a leader answers a people, and the people answer back.

Key Facts

• Featured: Ensemble voices
• Producer: Mark Mancina, Lebo M
• Composer: Lebo M
• Lyricist/Language: Zulu - traditional call-and-response phrases
• Release Date: July 8, 1997
• Album: The Lion King (Original 1997 Broadway Cast Recording) - Track 2
• Genre: Broadway, Choral, World
• Instruments: voices, marimba, bass drum, shaker, synth-kalimba (arr. option)
• Label/Publisher: Walt Disney Records / Disney
• Mood: ceremonial, welcoming, resolute
• Length: 2:22
• Music style: South African choral energy with onstage percussion immersion
• Poetic meter: predominantly trochaic feet in “Woza mfana” and “Busa le lizwe”
• © Copyrights: (C) 1997 Walt Disney Records - Phonographic copyright (P) 1997 Walt Disney Records

Questions and Answers

Is “Grasslands Chant” a standalone single?

No - it’s part of the stage score and appears on the Original Broadway Cast Recording rather than as a separate single.

Where in the story does it appear?

Act I, as time passes and Simba grows into a young cub - a quick, vivid tableau of community and duty.

Who wrote and produced it?

Composed by Lebo M; produced on the album by Mark Mancina and Lebo M.

What does “Woza mfana” mean?

“Come, boys” or “Come, son” - an open-armed summons.

What’s the core idea behind the chant?

Leadership bound to love - “rule this land” paired with “rule with love,” which frames rulership as care.

Awards and Chart Positions

While the track itself wasn’t a chart single, the Original Broadway Cast Recording won the Grammy for Best Musical Show Album and later achieved RIAA platinum status. In other words, the album carrying “Grasslands Chant” didn’t just travel - it stuck.

How to Sing?

Range and forces: written for choir with divisi - think SSAATTB textures. Keep vowels broad, consonants crisp, and let the pulse sit slightly ahead of the heel to keep the procession moving.

Pronunciation anchors: “Woza” is WO-zah; “mfana” clips the m against the lips before the f; “Busa le lizwe bo” rides clean z’s; “lomhlaba” contains the Zulu “hl” - a light, voiceless lateral hiss. Aim for unity on long open vowels, then snap the consonants like drumheads.

Tempo and breath: moderate and marching. Stagger-breathe in inner parts; let the ends of “-bo” close together so the next entrance blooms as one. If you add percussion, keep marimba and shaker steady while bass drum outlines the downbeat - vocals should still lead.