| Paul Simon – The Lion Sleeps Tonight Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| This was written as an Apartheid protest song. Shaka Zulu was nicknamed 'The Lion', due to his military prowess. There was a legend when he died that he wasn't actually dead, he was only sleeping, and when his people needed him most he would rise up and destroy their oppressors. The Zulus were obviously oppressed during Apartheid, so the song is saying that even though times are dark (it's night time in the song), there's no need to fear as the lion (Shaka Zulu) is only sleeping. The implication is that when he wakes he will free his people from oppression. Apart from the poetry, the song had to be encoded like this otherwise the Apartheid government would never allow it to be recorded. | |
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