Hakuna Matata Lyrics – Lion King

Song Overview

Personal Review

On stage, the lyrics do the heavy lifting - comedy beats, patter, and a catchy credo - but what sticks is the bounce between Timon’s needling and Pumbaa’s open-hearted shrug. The lyrics sell the joke while the groove sells the cure. One-sentence snapshot: a carefree creed offered to a wounded kid, funny enough to land, warm enough to stick.

• Comedy duet that flips to trio, then quartet when adult Simba enters.
• Call-and-response stitched to a bright shuffle, easy to stage and to sing.
• A Swahili hook that the world now knows by heart.
• Placed late in Act I, the number resets the mood before the cliff edge.

Song Meaning and Annotations

The phrase is the thesis. It frames the scene, disarms the audience, and gives Simba a usable tool for the next hour of story.

“‘Hakuna matata’ is a Swahili phrase that roughly translates to ‘no worries.’”

Plain talk, bright vowels, friendly cadence - that’s the point. A life hack set to melody, and the crowd gets it in two bars.

The song is also a character sketch in motion. Two drifters fold a stranger into their tiny tribe, using humor as a bridge.

“Timon and Pumbaa… free-willed… teach him to let go of his troubles.”

Under the laughs, you can hear kindness - the kind that feeds someone first and asks questions later.

Commitment matters. The joke wouldn’t land if the singers weren’t all-in on the lifestyle.

“‘Hakuna matata’ is the life motto of Timon and Pumbaa, so it’s here to stay.”

In performance, that becomes buoyant body language and a chorus that refuses to dim.

The lyric also nudges a bigger text in the background - the story everyone quietly recognizes.

“The Lion King is loosely based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet.”

This carefree antidote makes sense only if the wound is deep. The music turns a coping mechanism into a shared dance.

Beneath the grin sits a whisper of doubt, and the song lets that peek through.

“One can’t help but wonder if Timon and Pumbaa are hiding some dark secret.”

Not to overdiagnose two comic heroes, but that line makes the laughter feel lived-in, not cheap.

There’s a dad-joke baked into the script - and it still lands with kids.

“Nothin’! What’s-a-motto with you?!”

The quip buys time for the groove to reload, then the chant returns at full tilt.

Performance colors matter too. Pumbaa’s mock-operatic entrance is a mini send-up.

“Pumbaa sings this line in an overwrought, operatic tone.”

The tone change is a wink - a quick detour before the hook locks in again.

The bit keeps looping back to names and what they signal.

“‘What’s in a name?’ - a reference to Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’.”

Onstage, it’s a tossed-off gag, but it also hints at how identity is a story you can revise.

Message

“It means no worries… it’s our problem-free philosophy.”

A temporary shelter, not a permanent address. The lesson isn’t denial - it’s recovery time, breath, and the strength to return.

Emotional tone

“What a wonderful phrase.”

Jokey, then sincere - built to unclench a jaw. You feel shoulders drop across the house.

Historical context

“Nominated for Best Original Song at the 67th Academy Awards.”

The tune arrived in 1994, rode radio and playgrounds, and picked up an Oscar nod alongside two other songs from the same film.

Production

“Vocal Arrangements by Lebo M.”

For the Broadway cast recording, Mark Mancina produces and the ensemble slims the film’s texture into a tight stage-ready bounce.

Instrumentation

“Large proportion of the orchestra… elaborate drum kit.”

On stage, it reads as rhythm section plus chorus - quick attacks, clean cutoffs, space for the gag lines to breathe.

Creation history

Elton John and Tim Rice wrote the song for the 1994 film, where it serves as the post-trauma reset and a time-lapse device for Simba’s growth. Broadway’s 1997 cast album reframes it inside Julie Taymor’s visual world, with Lebo M’s choral sensibility connecting the show’s languages and rhythms. The remake in 2019 kept the song in the spine, with Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen, JD McCrary, and Donald Glover carrying the vocals.

Verse Highlights

Verse 1

Timon leads with patter, Pumbaa tags with color - a vaudeville handoff set to a sunny shuffle. The vowels are wide, the consonants crisp, so the jokes pop without trampling the beat.

Chorus

That hook is a trampoline. The chant’s simple lift lets the cast play - stomps, hops, a shoulder roll or two - while the harmony keeps the center of gravity light.

Bridge

Pumbaa’s mini-aria and the quick scold - “not in front of the kids” - give the number its best whiplash laugh. Then back to the creed, louder, looser, and a touch faster.

Key Facts

• Featured: Max Casella, Tom Alan Robbins, Scott Irby-Ranniar, Jason Raize, and The Lion King Ensemble.
• Producer: Mark Mancina.
• Composer: Elton John.
• Lyricist: Tim Rice.
• Release Date: July 8, 1997.
• Genre: Musical theatre, showtune, worldbeat-choral.
• Instruments: Rhythm section with percussion, orchestra as color, ensemble voices in call-and-response.
• Label: Walt Disney Records.
• Mood: Buoyant, cheeky, restorative.
• Length: 3:13.
• Track #: 11.
• Language: English with a Swahili refrain.
• Album: The Lion King - Original 1997 Broadway Cast Recording.
• Music style: Comedy patter over a light shuffle, tight cutoffs, responsive chorus.
• Poetic meter: Irregular patter lines over duple pulse - short stress units for comic timing.
• © Copyrights: 1997 Walt Disney Records.
• Phonographic Copyright: 1997 Walt Disney Records.

Questions and Answers

Was “Hakuna Matata” a single in its own right?

Yes - a Jimmy Cliff and Lebo M version was released in 1995 tied to Rhythm of the Pride Lands, with “He Lives in You” and “Warthog Rhapsody” on its variants.

Did the song earn awards attention?

It was nominated for the 67th Academy Awards’ Best Original Song, while “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” won and “Circle of Life” was also nominated.

How did it chart?

The Cliff-Lebo single reached no. 5 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 and no. 26 on Adult Contemporary, with Euro peaks including no. 39 on the Eurochart and no. 2 in Iceland.

Where else did the song appear?

A shortened form became the theme for the Timon & Pumbaa TV series and later showed up in The Lion Guard. In 2019, Eichner, Rogen, McCrary, and Glover recorded a remake version for the film.

Who shaped the Broadway sound?

Lebo M’s vocal arrangements and Mark Mancina’s production translate the film’s bounce into stage-ready clarity, with the Broadway cast locking the comedy to movement.

Awards and Chart Positions

Highlights and milestones worth knowing:

• Academy Awards - Best Original Song nominee at the 67th Oscars.
• AFI 100 Years…100 Songs - ranked no. 99 among American movie songs.
• 1995 single version (Jimmy Cliff with Lebo M) - Eurochart Hot 100 peak no. 39; Iceland peak no. 2; Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 peak no. 5; Adult Contemporary peak no. 26.
• Original Broadway Cast Recording - RIAA Platinum certification on January 17, 2007.

How to Sing Hakuna Matata?

Vocal map and quick tips for a clean, fun cut:

• Ranges - typical stage keys place Timon around baritenor territory (approx C3–E4 with optional pops), Pumbaa a touch lower and rounder (approx A2–D4), Young Simba in treble range, Adult Simba easing into mid-tenor. Adjust to your ensemble.
• Key and tempo - Broadway cast sits in C major at an easy-going 70s BPM feel. Keep the pulse steady but buoyant.
• Diction - clip the consonants in patter sections so the jokes land; open the vowels on the hook so the audience can sing with you.
• Breath - phrase in four-bar smiles. Reset on the pickup into “Hakuna Matata” so you don’t run dry before the tag.
• Color - let Pumbaa’s “mini-aria” bloom, then snap back to speechy tone for the banter. Timon drives pace; Simba rides the glide.
• Staging - travel the stage on the refrain, then anchor center for the last statement to frame the laugh-to-heart turn.