"Stampede" is an instrumental score composed by Hans Zimmer heard on The Lion King: The Legacy Collection. It is heard after Simba roars at a harmless chameleon after Scar teaches him how to work on his roar; this, however, causes a wildebeest stampede occurring across the gorge as the hyenas Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed attempt to catch one of them, but fail to.
Background
The Lion King
This version of "Stampede" does not include the entire composition heard in the finalized version of the score. Instead, the score picks up at the start of the stampede scene and concludes with the musical flourish heard as Mufasa dies. The music played as Simba mourns the death of his father appears in a different score, "Mufasa Dies".
The Stage Musical
In the musical, this score is titled "Stampede" as well.[1] Like this version of "Stampede", it does not include the score heard as Simba mourns his father but rather the music played during the stampede scene.
The score is later heard in Act II where Timon is in the mercy of falling off a waterfall with a pair of crocodiles preparing to eat him. Just as Timon falls off a waterfall before being eaten by the pair of crocodiles, the score ends when Pumbaa and Simba find out that Timon is still alive after falling off a waterfall as Timon coughs up a fish he swallowed and flipping it into Pumbaa causing him to eat it. Afterwards, the scene then loops to the scene where Simba looks at the stars to remind him of Mufasa.
The 2019 Remake
The reimagined score is heard during the part where Simba roars at a harmless chameleon as the herd of wildebeest begins stampeding across the gorge. The score's tone changes from normal to intense when Mufasa is planning to rescue Simba from the stampede. The score then loops into a reimagined version of "Mufasa Dies" after Mufasa falls to his death.
During the climax of the film, a reimagined portion is heard during the "Battle for Pride Rock" score where Simba discovers Scar's true actions of what he did to Mufasa before he returned to Pride Rock. The melody becomes more intense when Scar summons the hyenas to kill everyone in Pride Rock after the Pridelanders discover Scar's true identity knowing that he has killed Mufasa, just as the hyenas and lionesses fight against each other as a massive fire rages across the Pride Lands.
Lyrics
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Iyo, iyo, iyo, iyo
Iyo-oh
Iyo-oh
Ooh-wah
(pause where Scar warns Mufasa about the stampede on the gorge)
Oh ngwana ke...
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Iyo, iyo, iyo, iyo
Iyo-oh...
(verse where Simba hangs from a dead tree)
Yona
Oh yona
Yona
Oh yona
Yona yona
Oh yona
Yona yona
Oh yona
Yona yona
Yona iyo
Oh yona
Oh yona
Oh yona
Yona
Oh yona
Yoweh...
(instrumental then intense verse)
Aaah!
Yoweh yona (Yona iyo)
Yoweh, yoweh...
Yoweh yona
Yoweh yona
Baba wa mi oh
Yona iyo
Yona iyo
Baba wa mi oh
(verse where Mufasa keeps getting hit by multiple wildebeests)
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Baba wa mi oh
Baba
Mi baba wam
(verse where Mufasa tries to ask Scar for help)
Iyoooh-oh
(fades after Mufasa dies)
Aaah!
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Iyo, iyo, iyo, iyo
Iyo-oh
Iyo-oh
Ooh-wah
Iyo
Iyo
Yo yona
Oh ngwana ke
Yona iyo
Yona iyo-oh...
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Iyo, iyo, iyo, iyo
Iyo-oh
(part where Simba asks help from Zazu)
Yona
Oh yona
Yona
Oh yona
Yona yona
Oh yona
Yona yona
Yona iyo
Oh yona
Oh yona
Oh yona
(intenser verse)
Yoweh yona (Yona iyo)
Yoweh yona
Yoweh yona
Yona iyo
Yona iyo
Baba wa mi oh!
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Baba wa mi oh
Baba
Mi baba wam
(pause)
Iyoooh-oh
(fades after Mufasa dies)
Chorus: Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Iyo, iyo, iyo, iyo
Iyo, iyo, iyo, iyo
Iyo-oh
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
Yona yona yona
(instrumental)
Yona
Oh yona
Yona
Oh yona
Yona yona
Yo yona
Yona yona
Yo yona
Yona yona
Yo yona
Oh yona
Oh yona
Oh yona
Yona
Oh yona
Yona
Oh yona
Baba wa mi oh...
Uzo libusa le lizwe...
Busa le...
(long instrumental, intense verse)
Ooohh!!
(intenser verse)
Yoweh yona (Yona iyo)
Yoweh yona
Yoweh yona
Yoweh yona
Baba wa mi oh
Yona iyo
Baba wa mi oh
Uzo libusa lelizwe
Busa ngwana ke
Uzo libusa lelizwe
Baba wa
Mi baba wam
(instrumental verse)
Iyoooh-oh
(fades after Mufasa dies)
Trivia
- The Legacy Collection includes both the final cue and a demo version of the cue.
- This version of the cue contains a substantially different mix when compared to the older version. The strings are boosted and the chorus is panned differently. As well as this, brass that had originally come from the demo version has been left out in favor of live-recorded brass.
- In Zulu language, "Yona" translates as "Here it comes" while "Baba, wa mi baba" translates as "Father, oh my father".