Can You Feel the Love Tonight

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"Can You Feel the Love Tonight"

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 1993-1994

Length 3:59

Label Walt Disney

Songwriter(s) Elton John (music), Tim Rice(lyrics)[1]

Producer(s) Chris Thomas

 Elton John singles chronology

"Ain't Nothing "Can You Feel "Circle of Life"

Like the Real the Love (1994)
Thing" Tonight"
(1994) (1994)

The Lion King track listing

"I Just Can't "Can You Feel

Wait to Be the Love
King" Tonight"
(11) (12)

"Can You Feel the Love Tonight" is a song from Disney's 1994 animated film The Lion
King[2] composed by Elton John with lyrics by Tim Rice.[1] 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.[3] It was a chart hit in the UK, peaking at #14 on the UK Singles Chart,[1] 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.

Contents
[hide]

 1History
 2Reception
 3Early production
 4Other languages
 5Festival of the Lion King
 6Cover versions
o 6.1We Love Disney
 7Personnel
 8Charts
o 8.1Weekly charts
o 8.2Year-end charts
o 8.3Certifications
 9See also
  10References
 11External links

History[edit]
The song was performed in the film by Kristle Edwards, Joseph Williams, Sally Dworsky, Nathan
Lane, and Ernie Sabella, while another version used in the film's closing credits was performed
by Elton John. It won the 1994 Academy Award for Best Original Song,[1] and the Golden Globe
Award for Best Original Song. It also earned Elton John the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal
Performance.
Within around one and a half months before the film was released in June 1994, John's recording
was released throughout radio stations and as a commercial single and entered the Billboard Hot
100.[4] It became the bestselling single.[5] The music video of John's recording contains montages of
John performing the song and scenes from the film.[4]
In 2003, a remixed version of the song was included in the Special Edition soundtrack of The Lion
King, again sung by Elton John.
In the followup The Lion King 1½, the romantic scene where the song was originally featured also
had the song playing, but with a difference: interspersed with the romantic scenes were short
comedic shots of Timon and Pumbaa trying to disrupt Simba and Nala's night out with the "Peter
Gunn Theme" playing while they try.

Reception[edit]
The single release of John's recording (the closing credits version) peaked at number one on
the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart for eight weeks.[6] It also sold 500,000+ units in France.[7] In
2016, David Ehrlich of the Rolling Stone magazine ranked John's performance of the song at
the 67th Academy Awards (1995) number 12.[8]

Early production[edit]
The song was planned to be sung only by Simba and Nala but in the end the idea was scrapped
because the directors decided it was an "unearned" moment between Simba and Nala.[citation needed]
The song was then planned to be sung this time only by Timon and Pumbaa, but Elton John disliked
the comical nature of the concept. John declared that "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" was meant to
follow "Disney's tradition of great love songs", and that it could "express the lions' feelings for each
other far better than dialogue could". The final result was the song mainly sung by an off-screen
voice (Kristle Edwards) with short lines from Simba (Joseph Williams) and Nala (Sally Dworsky), and
the beginning and end parts by Timon (Nathan Lane) and Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella).[3] It also included
Zulu vocals that, while mostly muted in the on-screen version, were much more prominently featured
in the audio-only releases.[9]

Other languages[edit]
With the usual number of dubs normally released by Disney, for The Lion King a special Zulu dub
was made in South Africa. This is not just the only Zulu dub ever made by Disney, but also the only
dub made in any African language, other than Arabic.[10]
Beside the official dubs, several local TV stations made their own dub of the movie, or re-dubbed an
existing version, in local languages. Namely: Arabic, Armenian, Austrian German, Crimean
Tatar, Kabardian, Nogai[11] and Tamil.[12]
 [show]"Can You Feel the Love Tonight" in other languages

Festival of the Lion King[edit]

In Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom's Festival of the Lion King, the song is sung by Nakawa and
Kibibi. As they sing, two ballet dancers (one male, one female) dressed as birds dance on the stage.
After the main chorus is sung, the male bird dancer attaches his partner to a harness that allows her
to fly through the air.

Cover versions[edit]
English pop group S Club, Sara Paxton and Elliott Yamin all covered the song
for Disneymania, Disneymania 4 and Disneymania 6, respectively. Filipino soprano Vell Baria
covered the song in a classical version as a dedication song for the APEC Philippines 2015 was
released in her YouTube channel.[13] Jackie Evancho covered the song for her album Songs from the
Silver Screen. Harajuku, a Eurodance band covered a dance version of the song in a 1995 release
with singer Stephanie O'Hara, also known as Stefanie Obst, performing vocals.[14][15][16] Italian trio Il
Volo covered the song releasing it in the special edition of their album We Are Love.[17] In 2017 D-
Metal Stars created a Heavy Metal cover of the song on the album "Metal Disney" featuring Mike
Vescera and Rudy Sarzo
We Love Disney[edit]
The song was covered in different languages for the series We Love Disney by:

 Christophe Willem for We Love Disney, France in 2013[18]

 Jason Derulo for We Love Disney, United States in 2015[19]
 Cakra Khan for We Love Disney, Indonesia (id) in 2015[20]
 Luis Fonsi for We Love Disney, Latin America in 2016[21]

Personnel[edit]
 Elton John: Piano, lead vocals
 Davey Johnstone: Guitar, backing vocals
 Chuck Sabo: Strings, drums
 Phil Spalding: Bass, backing vocals
 Guy Babylon: Keyboards
 Rick Astley: Backing vocals
 Gary Barlow: Backing vocals
 Kiki Dee: Backing vocals
 Robert Englund: Backing vocals
 Gary 'Spike' Murphy: Backing vocals

References[edit]
1. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles &
Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited.
p. 137. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
2. Jump up^ King, Alex P. (2004). Hit-parade — 20 ans de tubes (in
French). Paris: Pascal. p. 339. ISBN 2-35019-009-9.
3. ^ Jump up to:a b Roger Allers (director), Rob Minkoff (director) (October
7, 2003). The Lion King: Platinum Edition, Disc 1, Director's
Commentary (DVD). Los Angeles, California: Disney.
4. ^ Jump up to:a b DeLuca, Dan (26 June 1994). "Disney Is Lord of the
Pop Charts". The Philadelphia Inquirer. pp. H1+ – via ProQuest.
5. Jump up^ Hischak, Thomas S.; Robinson, Mark A. (2009). "Can You
Feel the Love Tonight". The Disney Song Encyclopedia. Rowman &
Littlefield. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-8108-6937-0. Retrieved 27
November 2017.
6. Jump up^ Bronson, Fred. "Charting History". Billboard.
7. Jump up^ Sexton, Paul. "Around the World". Billboard. p. EJ-34.
8. Jump up^ Jerry Portwood, David Ehrlich, David Fear (17 February
2015). "20 Greatest Best Song Oscar Performances". Rolling Stone.
Retrieved 22 March 2017.
9. Jump up^ Finch, Christopher (1994). "Afterword". The art of The Lion
King. Hyperion. p. 143. ISBN 978-0-7868-6028-9.
10. Jump up^ "The Lion King / Zulu cast". Charguigou. Retrieved 2016-
08-24.
11. Jump up^ Pedro_1912 (2015-08-16), The Lion King - Can You Feel
The Love Tonight (Nogai), retrieved 2016-10-30
12. Jump up^ "TLK Soloists". Charguigou. Retrieved 2016-08-24.[permanent
dead link]

13. Jump up^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zse9FFWIqrg Vell Baria

- Can You Feel The Love Tonight (for APEC Philippine Summit 2015)
14. Jump up^ "Harajuku". Discogs.
15. Jump up^ "Stephanie O'Hara". Discogs.
16. Jump up^ "Harajuku – Can You Feel The Love Tonight (Dance
Version)". Discogs.
17. Jump up^ "We Are Love (Special Edition) by Il Volo on Apple
Music". iTunes. Retrieved 2016-08-25.
18. Jump up^ "We Love Disney di Multi-interprètes su Apple
Music". iTunes. Retrieved 2016-08-25.
19. Jump up^ "We Love Disney (Deluxe) by Various Artists on Apple
Music". iTunes. Retrieved 2016-08-25.
20. Jump up^ "Cakra Khan". 2015-11-18. Retrieved 2016-08-25.
21. Jump up^ "We Love Disney (Latino) di Various Artists su Apple
Music". iTunes. Retrieved 2016-08-25.
22. Jump up^ "australian-charts.com". Retrieved November 19, 2008.
23. Jump up^ "austriancharts.at". Retrieved November 19, 2008.
24. Jump up^ "lescharts.com". Retrieved November 19, 2008.
25. Jump up^ "Elton John singles, German Singles Chart" (in German).
musicline. Retrieved April 19,2010.
26. Jump up^ "irishcharts.ie". Archived from the original on June 3, 2009.
Retrieved January 12,2009.
27. Jump up^ "charts.org.nz". Retrieved November 19, 2008.
28. Jump up^ "swedishcharts.com". Retrieved November 19, 2008.
29. Jump up^ "everyhit.com search results". Archived from the original on
July 18, 2007. Retrieved November 19, 2008.
30. Jump up^ "Billboard.com Hot 100 Chart Listing For The Week Of 12
Nov 1994". Retrieved November 19, 2008.
31. Jump up^ "Billboard.com Hot Adult Contemporary Chart Listing For
The Week Of 26 Nov 1994". Retrieved November 19, 2008.
 32. Jump up^ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 11, 1995". Archived
from the original on December 11, 2008. Retrieved November
19, 2008.
33. Jump up^ "norwegiancharts.com". Retrieved November 19, 2008.
34. Jump up^ "hitparade.ch". Retrieved November 19, 2008.
35. Jump up^ "RPM 100 Hit Tracks of 1994". RPM. Retrieved November
23, 2017.
36. Jump up^ 1994 French Singles
Chart Disqueenfrance.com Archived August 20, 2011, at the Wayback
Machine. (Retrieved January 30, 2009)
37. Jump up^ "End of Year Charts 1994". Recorded Music NZ.
Retrieved December 3, 2017.
38. Jump up^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1994". Archived from the original on
March 1, 2009. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
39. Jump up^ 1995 French Singles
Chart Disqueenfrance.com Archived March 7, 2012, at the Wayback
Machine. (Retrieved January 30, 2009)
40. Jump up^ Kent, David (2006). Australian Chart Book 1993-2005. St
Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-45889-2.
41. Jump up^ "Austrian single certifications – Elton John – Can You Feel
the Love Tonight" (in German). IFPI Austria. Enter Elton John in the
field Interpret. Enter Can You Feel the Love Tonight in the field Titel.
Select single in the field Format. Click Suchen
42. Jump up^ "French single certifications – Elton John – Can You Feel
the Love" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
43. Jump up^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in
Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
44. Jump up^ "American single certifications – John, Elton – Can You
Feel the Love Tonight". Recording Industry Association of America. If
necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then
click SEARCH
45. Jump up^ "Best-Selling Records of 1994". Billboard. BPI
Communications. 107 (3): 57. January 21, 1995. ISSN 0006-2510.
Retrieved May 5, 2015.
General

 Elton John; Bernie Taupin (4 October 1997). "Elton John: 30 Years

of Music with Bernie Taupin". Billboard (Interview). Interview with
Timothy White; Craig Rosen. Retrieved 27 November 2017.

External links[edit]
 The Lion King - Can You Feel The Love
Tonight on YouTube (official upload by DisneyMusicVEVO)
The Lion King (OST) - L'amour brille sous les étoiles [Can You
Feel the Love Tonight] (English translation)

 Artist: The Lion King (OST)

 Featuring artist: Mimi Félixine, Jean-Philippe Puymartin, Michel Elias, Emmanuel Curtil, Maïdi Roth
 Album: The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (French) (1994)
 Song: L'amour brille sous les étoiles [Can You Feel the Love Tonight]
 Translations: Danish, English #1, #2, Italian, Russian
Proofreading requested
French

L'amour brille sous les étoiles [Can You Feel the Love Tonight]

- C'est terrible, c'est affreux

- Quoi ?
- Et ils se moquent de tout
- Qui ?
- L'amour s'amène et nous, pauvres pouilleux
Ils nous jettent tous les deux
- Oh...
- Sous les diamants des étoiles
Quel magique univers
Mais, dans cette romantique atmosphère
Ça sent mauvais dans l'air

L'amour brille sous les étoiles

D'une étrange lumière
La terre entière en parfaite harmonie
Vit un moment royal

Je voudrais lui dire "je t'aime"

Mais comment lui avouer
Mon secret, mes problèmes? Impossible
Elle serait trop blessée

Quel lourd secret cache-t-il

Derrière tant de rancœur ?
Moi je sais qu'il est ce roi en exil
Qui règne dans mon cœur

L'amour brille sous les étoiles

D'une étrange lumière
La terre entière en parfaite harmonie
Vit sa plus belle histoire
L'amour brille sous les étoiles
Illuminant leurs cœurs
Sa lumière éclaire à l'infini
Un sublime espoir

- S'ils s'enfuient vers leur rêve ce soir

Dans leur folle ronde
- Si notre ami nous dit au revoir
Nous serons seuls au monde

English translation

Love shines under the stars

Versions: #1#2

[Timon]
It's horrific, it's awful

[Pumba]
What?

[Timon]
And they don't care

[Pumba]
Who?

[Timon]
Love comes and us, dirt poors,
They send us away!

[Pumba]
Oh...

[Timon]
Under the diamonds of the stars
What a magical world
But !
In this romantic ambiance
It smells bad

[Refrain]
Love shines under the stars
From a strange light
The whole Earth
In a perfect harmony
Lives a royal moment

[Simba]
I'd like to tell her "I love you"
But how confess?
My secret, my problems, impossible...
She would be too upset

[Nala]
Which secret he hides
Behind so much bitterness?
I know he's this king in exile

[Refrain]
Love shines under the stars
From a strange light
The whole Earth
In a perfect harmony
Lives a royal moment

Love shines under the stars

Floodlighting their hearts
The whole Earth
In a perfect harmony
Lives its most wonderful story
[Timon]
If they take flight to their dreams
In their crazy round dance...

[Pumba]
If our friend tell us "goodbye"

[Together]
We will be all alone in the world
Song Analysis 2: "Can You Feel the Love
Tonight" by Elton John

"The Lion King" is a classic Disney movie that portrays themes of honor, loyalty, bravery, but
most of all, love. One of the many ways love is displayed in the film is through the song "Can You
Feel the Love Tonight," written by Tim Rice and performed by Elton John. The song fits easily
into the storyline of the two main characters and their unconditional love for one another. Its
lyrics and melody significantly help to enforce the movie's main theme of this universal emotion.
In Elton John's rendition of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight," Tim Rice's lyrics display striking
metaphors that give rise to an overall message of love's unstoppable power and ubiquity despite
the tribulations and hardships often presented in life.

The song's metaphorical lyrics work to emphasize the strength of love. In the beginning of the
song, Rice describes "An enchanted moment" where there is "a calm surrender/To the rush of
day." These lines explain the peaceful refuge that love represents to the speaker; his lover offers
an escape from the battles that he, a "restless warrior," has to fight in his life. He says that love is
"where we are"; it surrounds and encompasses the couple, also contributing to the idea that
their relationship is able to shelter them, if only momentarily, from the problems they face in the
outside world. Later in the song, the speaker says that "There's a time for everyone,/If they only
learn/That the twisting kaleidoscope/Moves us all in turn." Here, the song shifts from a
personal explanation of love to a universal explanation, claiming that all people will eventually
get to experience this kind of unconditional and omnipresent love in their lives. Fate, "the
twisting kaleidoscope," gives everyone in the world "a time" to truly feel love the way the
narrator does. These metaphors praise love and its ability to affect people in such a positive way.

With the help of various metaphors, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" presents an optimistic
outlook because of love's presence in life. The way love is expressed in the song, it has the power
to mitigate pain and shelter from life's many obstacles. It has a profound effect on the narrator,
who believes it will one day have a profound effect on all people. Through the song, listeners are
shown that with love, anything is possible.