"He Lives in You" is a song written and performed by

Lebo M. Lebohang Morake (born 11 July 1964), known as Lebo M, is a South African Record producer, producer and composer, known for his songwriting and vocal work on the soundtracks to films such as ''The Lion King, The Power of One (film), The Power of O ...

and his South African Choir for '' Rhythm of the Pride Lands'', an album inspired by the film ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance ...

''. It is performed twice in the musical adaptation of the film, and a shorter version of the song was used for the opening of '' The Lion King II: Simba's Pride''. The song was co-written by

Mark Mancina Mark Mancina is an American film composer. A veteran of Hans Zimmer's Media Ventures, Mancina has scored over sixty films and television series including ''Speed'', '' Bad Boys'', ''Twister'', ''Tarzan'', ''Training Day'', ''Brother Bear'', ''Cr ...

and Jay Rifkin.

''The Lion King'' musical

The song initially appears in Act I as ''They Live in You'', which is sung by Mufasa to his young son Simba. Mufasa explains that the Great Kings of the Past are watching over them from the stars above. If Simba ever feels alone, he can trust that the Great Kings are there, as Mufasa will also be one day. Later, in Act II, Rafiki finds a lonely and forlorn Simba in the jungle and explains to the lion that his father Mufasa lives on through the song ''He Lives in You''. In the musical, this serves as a reprise of ''They Live in You''. Simba follows Rafiki to a pool of water, in which Simba sees only his own reflection at first and is sceptical. As the song becomes quieter, however, the face of Mufasa appears above the stage in the starry night sky. He tells Simba to ''"Remember who you are."'' before fading away. Simba, invigorated and realising what he now must do, leaps up from the pool as ensemble singers appear on the stage for the second part of the song. The ensemble, Rafiki, and Simba join together in a joyous celebration before Simba returns to the Pride Lands to challenge Scar.

''The Lion King II: Simba's Pride''

The song is used in the opening sequence of the 1998 film, sung by

Animals are shown traveling to Pride Rock to witness the presentation of

Simba Simba is a fictional character and the protagonist of Disney's ''The Lion King'' franchise. Introduced in the 1994 film ''The Lion King'', Walt Disney Animation's 32nd animated feature, the character subsequently appears in '' The Lion King II: ...

and

Nala Nala (Sanskrit: नल) is a character in the '' Vana Parva'' book of the ''Mahabharata''. He was the king of Nishadha Kingdom and the son of Veerasena. Nala was known for his skill with horses and for his culinary expertise. He married prin ...

‘s daughter, Kiara. The main theme of the song is that Mufasa’s legacy lives on, despite his death. Mufasa's spirit is also seen watching over the presentation.

''The Lion King'' (2019 film)

Lebo M. performs an Xhosa version of the song that plays over the credits of the 2019 version of

and is included on the film's

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrac ...

Cover versions

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...

's version was featured on the compilation album ''The Lion King Collection'' as well as the credits of the film .

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups ...

recorded the song for her 1999 album, '' Every Day Is a New Day'' and for the 1999 movie ''

Double Platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

'' where her character Olivia King sang it. TRF recorded the song for the Japanese version of ''Simba's Pride'', releasing their version as their 25th single in 1999.

Lonnie Gordon Lonnie Gordon (born November 8, 1965, Philadelphia) is an American female dance, pop and R&B singer and songwriter. She scored several chart hits during the 1990s, most notably for her 1990 UK top 10 single '' Happenin' All Over Again''. Earl ...

recorded a

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...

version for her album '' No Regret'' and released it as a single in 2001. The same year,

Michael Crawford Michael Patrick Smith, (born 19 January 1942), known professionally as Michael Crawford, is an English tenor, actor and comedian. Crawford is best known for playing both the hapless Frank Spencer in the sitcom '' Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'' a ...

sang this song as part of a medley on ''The Disney Album''. "They Live in You" was used by

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

for his 2000 album, ''Mathis on Broadway''. The song was covered by

Elijah Kelley Elijah Kelley (born August 1, 1986) is an American actor, singer, and dancer. He appeared in films such as '' 28 Days'' (2000), '' Take the Lead'' (2006), '' Hairspray'' (2007), '' Red Tails'' (2012), ''Lee Daniels' The Butler'' (2013), NBC's liv ...

for Disneymania 6.

Michael Ball Michael Ashley Ball (born 27 June 1962) is an English singer, presenter and actor. He made his West End debut in 1985 playing Marius Pontmercy in the original London production of ''Les Misérables'', and went on to star in 1987 as Raoul in ...

and

Alfie Boe Alfred Giovanni Roncalli Boe (born 29 September 1973) is an English tenor and actor, notably performing in musical theatre. He is best known for his performances as Jean Valjean in the musical ''Les Misérables'' at the Queen's Theatre in Lo ...

covered the song on their album '' Together Again'' in 2017.

Destiny Chukunyere Destiny Chukunyere M.Q.R. (born 29 August 2002) is a Maltese singer. She won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015, where she represented Malta with the song "Not My Soul". In 2017, she participated in the eleventh series of ''Britain's Go ...

covered it during Movie Week and her finale performance in the second season of ''

X Factor Malta ''X Factor Malta'' is the Maltese version of the British television music competition ''The X Factor'', created by Simon Cowell. The first season premiered on 7 October 2018 and has since been broadcast on Television Malta. The show was used to d ...

'' in 2020.

References

{{authority control 1995 songs Songs from The Lion King (franchise) Tina Turner songs Diana Ross songs Lonnie Gordon songs Johnny Mathis songs Michael Ball songs Mark Mancina songs Songs written by Lebo M. Songs written by Mark Mancina Songs written by Jay Rifkin Song recordings produced by Jay Rifkin