| “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” | ||||
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| Single by Elton John | ||||
| from the album The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | ||||
| Released | May 12, 1994 | |||
| Format | CD, vinyl record (7″), audio cassette | |||
| Recorded | 1993 | |||
| Length | 3:59 | |||
| Label | Walt Disney | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Elton John (music), Tim Rice(lyrics) | |||
| Producer(s) | Chris Thomas | |||
| Elton John singles chronology | ||||
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“Can You Feel the Love Tonight” is a song from Disney’s 1994 animated film The Lion King composed by Elton John with lyrics by Tim Rice. It was described by Don Hahn (the film’s producer), Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff (the film’s directors) as having “the most diverse history” in the film. It was a chart hit in the UK, peaking at #14 on the UK Singles Chart, and achieved even more success in the U.S., reaching a peak of #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was a number-one hit in France, and it sold 11 million copies worldwide.
In a story outline written in September 1992, back when the film was titled King of the Jungle, the song is played when Simba seeks to convince Nala to stay with him in the jungle. Prior to this, Simba had confessed his guilt regarding his father’s death to her.
This version was test-screened on January 26, 1993 before the directors removed it, having decided that it was an “unearned” moment between Simba and Nala. When John attended a screening of the film with the song removed, he angrily petitioned to then-Disney studio chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg on the phone to place the song back into the film. Additionally, Rice explained to the Los Angeles Times that it would have been “difficult to animate a slow ballad which doesn’t advance the plot in most of its forms”.
| Simba: |
| There’s a calm surrender |
| To the rush of day |
| When the heat of the rolling world |
| Can be turned away |
| Nala: |
| An enchanted moment |
| Any heart would fall |
| Paradise that I can’t help wondering |
| Should I be here at all |
| Chorus: |
| Can you feel the love tonight |
| Won’t you stay to see |
| Stealing through the night’s uncertainties |
| A truth for you and me |
| Nala: |
| Somewhere there’s a reason |
| Why I have to go |
| Keep away from this star-crossed voyager |
| That I don’t want to know |
| Simba: |
| Never trust the future |
| Never miss the past |
| If you live for the shining moment |
| The moment may just last |
| Chorus: |
| And can you feel the love tonight |
| It is where we are |
| It’s enough for this wide-eyed wanderer |
| That we got this far |
| Can you feel the love tonight |
| (Can you feel the love) |
| Won’t you stay to see |
| (Won’t you stay to see) |
| Stealing through the night’s uncertainties |
| A truth for you and me |
| Stealing through the night’s uncertainties |
| A love for you and me |
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