"Hakuna Matata" (meaning "no worries" in Swahili) is the theme song and personal anthem of Timon (Nathan Lane), Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella), and Simba (Jason Weaver) from Disney's 32nd animated feature film The Lion King. It was composed by Elton John, who also composed other songs from the film, and with the lyrics by Tim Rice. It is Timon and Pumbaa's signature song.
Plot[]
In the movie, the song was sung after the wildebeest stampede and Mufasa's death. Timon and Pumbaa tried to cheer up the depressed Simba (after saving him from dying in the desert), who feels guilty for his father's death according to his uncle Scar. The song is to teach Simba to slack off and relax and enjoy the life with no worries, while he grows older as time passes. At one part, Pumbaa almost said, "Every time that I farted," but Timon cuts him off, warning Pumbaa, "Not in front of the kids!" (referencing the audience and Simba).
In Timon & Pumbaa, the song was used as the theme song of the TV series. In the episode "Swiss Missed", Timon is about to perform the song to Fronk Fegnugen, only for Fronk to interrupt him, telling him that he doesn't have time for an entire musical number. In the episode "To Be Bee or Not to Be Bee", Timon and Pumbaa sing the song alongside Buzz and the other bees, as they teach the bees to relax and enjoy life with no worries. Both of these instances are much like to what they did with Simba.
The song is mentioned in the sequel The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride during the fight between the pride landers and the outsiders, Timon tells Pumbaa, "When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going" is their new motto.
In the midquel The Lion King 1½, the song was used as a sing-along version when Timon and Pumbaa find a quiet home where they perform after Timon is thinking of a correct catchphrase. The song suddenly pauses when Pumbaa (in the audience) starts chewing the bug following the lyrics on the screen in which Timon prompts him to bring the bug back to the big screen so they can finish the song. The song suddenly continues when Timon and Pumbaa spend time together in their new home.
In The Lion Guard, the song is sung twice in the episode "Bunga and the King". It is first sung by Bunga and Simba while lost in underground tunnels, and later at the end of the episode by the whole cast.
In the 2019 version, Pumbaa sings the full lyric "Every time that I farted", instead of getting cut off.
In Bunk'd, it was said to be Winnie’s favorite song so the whole camp sang it in the episode "Hot Couture".
Lyrics[]
Timon: Hakuna Matata, what a wonderful phrase!
Pumbaa: Hakuna Matata, ain't no passing craze
Timon: It means no worries for the rest of your days
Timon and Pumbaa: It's our problem-free philosophy
Timon: Hakuna Matata!
Simba: "Hakuna Matata?"
Pumbaa: "Yeah! It's our motto!"
Simba: "What's a motto?"
Timon: "Nothin'! What's a motto with you?!"
[they laugh]
Pumbaa: "You know, kid, these two words will solve all your problems."
Timon: "That's right. Take Pumbaa for example."
Why, when he was a young warthog...
Pumbaa: When I was a young warthog!
Timon: (rubbing his ear) "Very nice."
Pumbaa: "Thanks."
Timon: He found his aroma lacked a certain appeal
He could clear the Savannah after every meal
Pumbaa: I am a sensitive soul
Though I seem thick-skinned
And it hurt that my friends never stood downwind
And oh, the shame!
Timon: He was ashamed!
Pumbaa: Thought of changing my name!
Timon: Oh, what's in a name!
Pumbaa: And I got downhearted!
Timon: How did you feel?
Pumbaa: Every time that I-
Timon: "Pumbaa! Not in front of the kids!"
Pumbaa: "Oh, sorry."
Timon and Pumbaa: Hakuna Matata! What a wonderful phrase!
Hakuna Matata, ain't no passing craze
Simba: It means no worries for the rest of your days
Timon: Yeah, sing, kid!
Timon and Simba: It's our problem-free...
Pumbaa: philosophy!
All: Hakuna Matata!
Timon: "Welcome to our humble home."
Simba: "You live here?"
Timon: "We live wherever we want."
Pumbaa: "Yup! Home is where your rump rests."
Simba: "It's beatutiful."
Pumbaa: [belches] "I'm starved!"
Simba: "I'm so hungry, I could eat a whole zebra."
Timon: [uneased] "We're fresh outta zebra."
Simba: "Any antelope?"
Timon: "Nuh-Uh."
Simba: "Hippo?"
Timon: "Nope. Listen, kid, if you live with us, you have to eat like us. Hey, this looks like a good spot to rustle up some grub."
Simba: [upon seeing a whole bunch of insects] "Ew! What's that?"
Timon: [holding up one bug] "A grub. What's it look like?"
Simba: "Eww, gross!"
Timon: [after eating the bug] "Tastes like chicken."
Pumbaa: [eats another bug] "Slimy, yet satisfying!"
Timon: "These are rare delicacies." [munches on another bug] "Piquant with a very pleasant crunch."
Pumbaa: [with his mouth full of bugs] "You'll learn to love 'em!"
Timon: [gathering grubs] "I'm telling you, kid, this is the great life. No rules. No responsibilities." [finding another bug before eating it] "Ooh! The little cream-filled kind." [goes over to Simba with the tray of grubs] "And best of all, no worries. Well, kid?"
Simba: [picks up one bug] "Oh, well. Hakuna Matata." [slurps up the bug and swallows it and suddenly thinks it was good] "Slimy... Yet satisfying."
Timon: "That's it."
Timon and Pumbaa: Hakuna! Matata! (3x)
Hakuna...
Simba: It means no worries for the rest of your days
All: It's our problem-free philosophy
Timon: Hakuna Matata
Pumbaa: Hakuna Matata
Simba: Hakuna Matata...
Timon: When I was a young meerkat
Pumbaa: When he was a young meerkat
Timon: Very nice.
Pumbaa: Thanks.
Timon: I worked in the colony, paying my dues
Accepting without question the prevailing views
That a meerkat's life was one long grind
Pumbaa: Sounds rough.
Timon: Diggin' holes, standin' guard till it crossed my mind
I was wrong
Pumbaa: He was wrong!
Timon: And all alone
Pumbaa: All alone!
Timon: All that I needed
Pumbaa: What did you need?
Timon: Was to have heeded
Pumbaa: Sing, Timon!
Timon: Hakuna Matata, what a wonderful phrase
Hakuna Matata, ain't no passing craze
It means no worries for the rest of your days
It's our problem-free philosophy
Hakuna Matata
Timon: Hakuna Matata, what a wonderful phrase!
Pumbaa: Hakuna Matata, ain't no passing craze!
Timon: It means no worries, for the rest of your days
Both: It's our problem-free philosophy
Hakuna Matata!
Pumbaa: Yeah!
(Instrumental bridge)
Both:
Hakuna! Matata!
Timon! And Pumbaa!
Hakuna! Matata!
Timon: It means no worries, for the rest of your days
Both: It's our problem-free philosophy
Hakuna Matata!
Timon and Pumbaa!
Timon: Hakuna Matata, what a wonderful phrase!
Pumbaa: Hakuna Matata, ain't no passing craze
Timon: It means no worries for the rest of your days
Timon and Pumbaa: It's our problem-free philosophy
Timon: Hakuna Matata!
(Instrumental Bridge)
Timon: Why, when he was a young warthog...
Pumbaa: When I was a young warthog!
Timon: Very nice.
Pumbaa: Thanks.
Timon: He found his aroma lacked a certain appeal
He could clear the Savannah after every meal
Pumbaa: I am a sensitive soul
Though I seem thick-skinned
And it hurt that my friends never stood downwind
And oh, the shame!
Timon: He was ashamed!
Pumbaa: Thought of changing my name!
Timon: Oh, what's in a name!
Pumbaa: And I got downhearted!
Timon: How did you feel?
Pumbaa: Every time that I.
Timon: Pumbaa! Not in front of the kids!
Pumbaa: Oh, sorry.
Timon and Pumbaa: Hakuna Matata! What a wonderful phrase!
Hakuna Matata, ain't no passing craze
Simba: It means no worries for the rest of your days
Timon: Sing it, kid!
All: It's our problem-free...
Philosophy!
Hakuna Matata!
(Instrumental Bridge)
Timon and Pumbaa: Hakuna! Matata! (7x)
Simba: It means no worries for the rest of your days
All: It's our problem-free philosophy
Hakuna Matata
Hakuna Matata
Hakuna Matata...
Pumbaa: I say, "Hakuna"
Timon: I say, "Matata"
Pumbaa: Hakuna Matata
Timon: Hakuna Matata
Ta-ta!
Timon and Pumbaa: Hakuna Matata, what a wonderful phrase!
Hakuna Matata, ain't no passing craze
Timon: It means no worries, for the rest of your day-- (spoken): Wait a second!
(Timon pauses the movie)
Timon: Pumbaa, where's the grub?
(Pumbaa spits out the bug)
Timon: (sighs) You can't just help yourself, can ya?
Pumbaa: Sorry!
Timon: Okay, but this time, show a little self-control.
(Timon plays the movie again)
Timon: Hakuna Matata! Ha-haah!
(both scream as they bungee-jump)
Timon and Pumbaa: It means no worries for the rest of your days
It's our problem-free philosophy
Hakuna Matata
Hakuna Matata
Hakuna Matata
Hakuna Matata
Hakuna Matata
Hakuna Matata
Hakuna Matata
Hakuna Matata...
Hakuna Matata!
Hem hollolo iyo
Hakuna Matata!
Hem hollolo iyo
Hakuna Matata!
Hakuna Matata!
Hakuna Matata!
When I was a cool young one
(When he was a cool young one)
I worked in the colony, paying my dues
Accepting without question the prevailing views
That a young man's life was one long grind
Diggin' holes, standin' guard till it crossed my mind
I was wrong
All along
All that I needed
Was to have heeded
Chorus:
Hakuna Matata!
What a wonderful phrase
Hakuna Matata!
Ain't no passing craze
It means no worries
For the rest of your days
It's a problem-free philosophy
Hakuna Matata!
When I was a shallow youth
(When he was a shallow youth)
Cool calm reflection
I was never that good
I was a pawn in the game, I saw no trees for the wood
My future stretched behind me
I was over the hill
I put my best foot forward
But the other one stood still
Take my word
I have heard
All that I needed
Was to have heeded
Repeat Chorus
Hem hollolo iyo
Hakuna Matata!
Hem may'babo
Hakuna Matata!
I hope we have conveyed
You don't have to bust a gut in the sun
It's much cooler in the shade
Some say it's just a waste of time
But they don't realize
That view is nothing but a crime
We are creatures worldly wise
Repeat Chorus
Simba: Hakuna Matata…
Timon: What a wonderful phrase!
Bunga: Hakuna Matata…
Pumbaa: Ain't no passin’ craze!
Kion: It means no worries
Kiara: For the rest of your days
Simba/Bunga/Nala/Kion/Kiara/Timon/Pumbaa/Lion Guard: It's our problem-free philosophy
Simba and Bunga: Hakuna Matata!
Timon: Hakuna Matata, what a wonderful phrase
Pumbaa: Hakuna Matata, it ain't no passing craze!
Timon: It means no worries for the rest of your days!
Timon and Pumbaa: It's our problem-free philosophy, Hakuna Matata!
Young Simba: (spoken) Hakuna Matata?
Pumbaa: Yeah, it's our motto!
Young Simba: What's a motto?
Timon: Nothin'! What's a motto with you?
Pumbaa: Nice!
Timon: Boom!
Pumbaa: Those two words will solve all your problems!
Timon: (spoken) Yeah, take Pumbaa here.
(sung) Why, when he was a young warthog.
Pumbaa: When I was a young warthog!
Timon: (spoken) How you feeling?
Pumbaa: It's an emotional story.
Timon: (sung) He found his aroma lacked a certain appeal, he could clear the savannah after every meal!
Pumbaa: I'm a sensitive soul, although I seem thick-skinned, and it hurt that my friends never stood downwind!
Timon: (spoken) I was always here for you and I resent that.
Pumbaa: And oh the shame!
Timon: Yes, he was ashamed!
Pumbaa: I thought of changing my name!
Timon: I mean to what, Brad?
Pumbaa: And I got downhearted every time that I farted! Are you gonna stop me?
Timon: No I'm not. You disgust me!
Timon and Pumbaa: (sung) Hakuna matata, what a wonderful phrase! Hakuna Matata, ain't no passing craze!
Young Simba: It means no worries, for the rest of your days!
Pumbaa: Yeah, sing it kid!
All: It's our problem free philosophy, Hakuna Matata.
Timon: (spoken) Welcome to our humble home.
Young Simba: (spoken) You live here?
Timon: (spoken) Well, we live wherever we want.
Pumbaa: (spoken) We do as we please.
Young Simba: (spoken) It's beautiful.
Pumbaa: (spoken) Yeah, it's really nice, huh?
[Timon and Pumbaa then show Simba to their friends]
Timon: (spoken) Everyone, this is Simba.
Guineafowl: (spoken) That, my friend, is a lion!
Bushbaby: (spoken) What about food? Have you thought about feeding that thing?
Young Simba: (spoken) Yeah, I'm starved. I could eat a whole zebra.
Bat-Eared Fox: (spoken) Oh, here we go.
Timon: (spoken) Uh, no, no, no. Kid, uh, we're fresh out of zebra.
Young Simba: (spoken) Any antelope?
Topi: (spoken) Uh-Oh.
Timon: (spoken) No. Listen, kid, if you wanna live with us, you have to eat like us.
Elephant Shrew: (spoken) And most importantly, not eat us!
[they come to an old log']
Timon: (spoken) This looks like a good spot to rustle up some grub.
[Pumbaa bashes the log apart and the animals chow down on a lot of insects]
Elephant Shrew: (spoken) Yeah!
Bushbaby: (spoken) Perfect!
Coyote: (spoken) Step aside, fellas!
Young Simba: (spoken) UGH!! What's that?
Guineafowl: (spoken) Ooh, crunchy.
Elephant Shew: (spoken) This one's got some nuttiness.
Timon: (spoken) Mmm! Now that's what I call umami.
Pumbaa: (spoken) Slimy, yet satisfying.
Timon: (spoken) Mmm, extra crunchy.
Pumbaa: (spoken) They're local.
Timon: (spoken) Y- Oh, are they?
Pumbaa: (spoken) They're from right there.
Timon: (spoken) I'm telling you, kid, this is the great life. No rules. No responsibilities. [comes across a caterpillar] Ooh. The little cream-filled kind. I love these.
Pumbaa: (spoken) Those are good.
Timon: (spoken) I love these.
Pumbaa: Those are the best.
Timon: (spoken) Well, kid?
Young Simba: (spoken) Oh, well. Hakuna Matata. [he eats the caterpillar and somehow likes it] Slimy... Yet... Satisfying!
Timon: (spoken) That's it!
Pumbaa: (spoken) We didn't lie.
Guineafowl: (spoken) Egg sack! I got an egg sack!
Timon and Pumbaa: Hakuna matata, hakuna matata, hakuna matata, hakuna matata, hakuna matata, hakuna matata, hakuna matata, hakuna matata!
Simba: It means no worries for the rest of your days!
All: It's our problem free philosophy.
Simba: Hakuna Matata, Hakuna matata, yeah. It means no worries for the rest of your days!
It's our problem free philosophy. Hakuna Matata!
Parker: Hakuna Matata what a wonderful phrase
Lou: Hakuna Matata, an’t no passing phrase
Winnie: it means no worries for the rest of you’re days it’s our problem, free, philosophy Hakuna, Matata
Camperz and counselors: Hakuna Matata, Hakuna Matata Hakuna, Matata, Hakuna Matata Hakuna, Matata Hakuna, Matata, Hakuna Matata.
It means no worries for the rest of your days. It’s our problem, free philosophy hakuna Matata.
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- "Hakuna Matata" is a Swahili phrase that is literally translated as "There are no worries." It is sometimes translated as "no worries". The production team learned the phrase during their research trip in Kenya.[1]
- "Hakuna Matata" is based on a song called "Warthog Rhapsody", which was written early in the production stage of The Lion King. Although the two songs shared the same message and position in the film, when Elton and Tim began working on the music, the song was completely rewritten and eventually evolved into "Hakuna Matata". "Warthog Rhapsody" was eventually re-produced and released on the Rhythm of the Pride Lands CD, as well as rewritten as "That's All I Need," which was used in The Lion King 1½.
- There is a lost verse of "Hakuna Matata" which explained Timon's past situation, like Pumbaa's. It was later cut, but used in The Lion King 1½.
- It was nominated for the 67th Academy Award for Best Original Song, but lost to another song in the film, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?".
- The song is ranked #99 on the list AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs,[2] along with "When You Wish Upon a Star" (#7), "Someday My Prince Will Come" (#19), "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" (#36), "Wind Beneath My Wings" (#44), "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" (#47), "Beauty and the Beast" (#62), and "The Rainbow Connection" (#74). It is one of only seven songs from Disney that made the cut.
- One of the bugs that Timon pulls out of a knothole during the song is wearing Mickey Mouse ears.
- Part of the song was heard in Toy Story when Molly is in the car and sees Woody, Buzz, RC, and Slinky in the mirror trying to get into the moving van.
- In Aladdin and the King of Thieves, Genie turns into Pumbaa and says, "Hakuna Matata!"
- In The Mighty Ducks episode "Take Me to Your Leader", Nosedive said "Hakuna Matata-ta!" to Tanya and Grin.
- In the 1994 animated film and the musical, Timon breaks the fourth wall when he says, "Hey, Pumbaa! Not in front of the kids!" He doesn't do this in the 2019 live-action film.
- In The Lion King: The Legacy Collection, the song is longer than previous releases.
- Tim Rice was inspired to write the lyrics to "Hakuna Matata" when watching the British sitcom Bottom. Rice was also pulling for the show's stars, Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson, to voice Timon and Pumbaa.
- Jimmy Cliff and Lebo M covered "Hakuna Matata" on the 1995 album Rhythm of the Pride Lands. Jimmy Cliff continues to sing "Hakuna Matata" at his concerts.
- Pumbaa's voice actor Ernie Sabella performed a solo version of the song during the Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parades in 1996 and 1997.
- In the Disney on Ice version, Simba as an adult sings his line by actually speaking "It means no worries, for the rest of your days".
- When Timon says, "Not in front of the kids!" he stops Pumbaa from saying "farted," but in the Broadway production and 2019 remake of The Lion King Timon does not stop Pumbaa from saying, "Every time that I farted."
- This verse of the song was "written" by Jim Cummings, according to remarks he made at Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo 2012[3].
- At the 1995 Academy Awards, Ernie Sabella and David Alan Grier sang this song, both dressed in leopard-patterned clothing, while dancers dressed as lions danced around them.
- In the 2019 remake of The Lion King, after Pumbaa says, "Every time that I farted", he references the 1994 film by asking Timon, "Are you gonna stop me?" Timon then answers, "No, I'm not. You disgust me!"
- After Pumbaa yells "When I was a young wart hog", Timon says "very nice", then he says "thanks", but in the remake, those lines are replaced by "how are you feeling?", "it's an emotional story".
- Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella sang the song as a duet in the Nathan Lane hosted episode of Saturday Night Live.
- In the 1997 film MouseHunt, Ernie Smuntz (played by Nathan Lane) greets a guest at the auction by saying “Hakuna Matata”.
- The song is featured in a 2023 commercial for a car brand where the song was playing in the car. Additionally, a cat, a pig, and an otter were seen crossing the street.
- Thematically speaking, this song seems similar to "The Bare Necessities" from The Jungle Book, as both involve animals who do not worry about how much life passes, so long as they have enough relaxation. Coincidentally, The Jungle Book itself is wildlife-themed, much like The Lion King.
References[]
- ↑ Schrager, Noah. "10 things you probably didn't know about The Lion King". The Christian Science Moniter.
- ↑ "AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs".
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wmrdn9eFTK8
External links[]
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