Our third collection of songs of ‘Lions’ brings together several pieces that use ‘Lion’ in the singular rather than the plural.
“The Lion Sleeps Tonight” is a song originally written and recorded by Solomon Linda under the title “Mbube” for the South African Gallo Record Company in 1939. Linda’s original was written in isiZulu, while the English version’s lyrics were written by George David Weiss. The song was adapted and covered internationally by many pop and folk revival artists in the 1950s and 1960s. It was recorded as “Wimoweh” by the Weavers in November 1951. In 1961, a version adapted into English with the title “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” by the doo-wop group the Tokens became a number-one hit in the United States. It went on to earn millions in royalties from cover versions and film licensing. The pop group Tight Fit had a No. 1 hit in the UK with the song in 1982.
“Mama Lion” is a song by Crosby and Nash taken from the album Wind on the Water (1975) and written by Graham Nash. This may be a song about Joni Mitchell, with whom Graham Nash had a relationship at one time. There are various clues in the lyrics. Some refer to Joni’s song, “I’d like to see you sometime,” and there’s a reference to her song Banquet from the album For The Roses. There are other clues in these lyrics, surely, and maybe some Joni fans might be able to spot them.The lyric, “hole in my destiny” may be that he and Joni were not meant to be as a couple. The live version of this song on an album called “Crosby-Nash Live” (1977) is really great and high energy!
Lion is a song by reggae star Peter Tosh from his 1997 album ‘Honorary Citizen’. This song tells of Peter Tosh’s view towards Bob Marley and what he believed were Marley’s hypocritical ways. At 3:33 into the song, Tosh makes this clear, saying, “Address this song to Bob Marley do I.” He then makes another reference to Marley in the closing 6 seconds of this song.
“Little Lion Man” is the debut single by English band Mumford & Sons. It was released as the lead single from their debut studio album, Sih No More, in August 2009 in the United Kingdom. “Little Lion Man” debuted on the UK Singles Chart in September at No. 72 rising to No.24 in its fourth week. The song had a positive commercial performance, also charting in several countries and peaking within the top twenty in Australia, Belgium (Flanders), Ireland, and New Zealand. It is not given the Parental Advisory warning even though it has explicit lyrics.
“Louder Than a LIon” In 2015, Eisley began writing and preparation for I’m Only Dreaming, their fifth studio album, with production to begin in 2016. Eisley released “Louder Than A Lion” featuring Anthony Green, the first song from I’m Only Dreaming in 2017. Vocalist/guitarist Sherri DuPree sings to her two daughters on this I’m Only Dreaming track. “I struggle with sleep anxiety and it’s been a dark spot in my life for years,” she explained. “I wrote it to them, wanting them to know they could always sleep tight because I’d always be awake, watching over them, keeping the darkness away.”
