WimowehWimowehWimowehWimowehWimoweh

Hey, it's a song! Do you know it? It is called, Wimoweh, (or Mbube.) The song also goes by the title, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” You might recognize it better if you were to hear it.

The song was written by a man named Solomon Linda, a black-skinned South African composer who was inspired to write the song because as a child growing up in the African bush, it was his job to alert the family if a lion was on the prowl, and no doubt, a carnivorous lion sleeping instead of hunting you or your animals as it's prey, was something to sing about.

Linda sang and first recorded the song with his singing group called the Evening Birds in 1939 and it was a very popular tune then. It still is, in fact, the song has made millions of dollars over the years for recording companies, but not Solomon Linda. He died penniless from the profits, even though he was the one who wrote the Zulu sounding, a cappella, African “Lion” melody.

In Africa, when it was first produced, this song sold over 100,000 copies. At the time Linda was doing shows as an entertainer in nightclubs in Johannesburg. At the time, the political climate in South Africa was such that black people were “not allowed” to have royalties. That was in 1939, but since then, “Mbube” has been recorded all over the world. It has lined the pocketbooks of many, put millions into their bank accounts, but not Solomon Linda. Gallo Records secured the rights to the song by having Linda sign it over to them in exchange for a a measly sum of money and an offer of employment during Apartheid.

(Apartheid is an Afrikaans/Dutch word meaning separateness. The then-ruling social political policy discriminated between whites and blacks and they were segregated by force until the 1990’s.)

Racial issues exist in ever culture. Apartheid... it was a time when thousands of people were imprisoned, sentenced to death and even tortured for disobeying segregation (apartheid) laws. There were those who vocalized disagreement with policies and injustices by public demonstrations and speaking out against discrimination and party politics, much like we saw in America's history of segregation laws. In South Africa, apartheid was strictly enforced by the National Party government and for this reason it is contended by Linda's family, that Solomon Linda sold the rights to the song under duress. This history of Linda and his song has been called “songwritings worse case of exploitation in history.”

Solomon Linda died in 1962, but the Linda family filed a lawsuit in 2004 to receive monetary compensation for use of the tune over the years, and particularly it’s use in the 1994 Disney movie, The Lion King. The family contended that Solomon Linda was the rightful creator of the music and since the music was his creation, since it had been bargained out of him in exchange for next to nothing, and had been used to make a lot of money, he and his heirs deserved compensation.

They believed that what the record company did was thievery. The South African courts agreed and the family won a huge monetary settlement that applied to the song’s world-wide distribution over the years. Apparently, in a court of true law, when people take something of great value that is not theirs to lay claim on, and then use it for their own personal gain, giving no rightful due to the owner, there can be consequences, particularly when the rightful owner (or the heir) shows up and demands his due.

The process has taken a while, and Solomon Linda never saw the fortune himself, but his heirs have inherited a fair share from the sales and popularity of the song. all because justice prevailed.

Such will be the case when the Lord Jesus Christ returns.... justice.

The earth, like Solomon Linda's song, has been hijacked by people who think that somehow they own it. They think the real owner is dead and gone... and now it belongs to them, but one day Jesus Christ will return and rule and reign in righteousness. Things will be judged under the true law and justice will prevail. The rights to the earth will be given to those who are true heirs.
Mankind, thinking that the Son of God can be crucified and forgotten, and that the whole hearth is simply their's for the taking, theirs for the rule and distribution of goods and services, trademarks, copyrights and all, is simply deceived. Unfortunately such hijacking comes in many forms; look at the work of Satan who's whole point and purpose is deception purposed to dethrone Jesus Christ, the rightful heir, as Lord and King, King of kings, Lion of Judah even.

Did I mention that the song, The Lion Sleeps Tonight was used in the movie, The Lion King, a G rated, made for kids movie, the timeless tale of a father lion who ruled over all the other animals in the jungle kingdom of Africa? This film was alarming to Christians, especially for the parallels it drew between earth based religions and God's truth. The movie was full of occultism.

We saw several key biblical concepts played out, but with the reinforcement of occult teachings about reincarnation, shamanism, animal and ancestral spirit guides, and necromancy, not to mention, the pantheistic Hindu belief that “all is god.” Disney's King Lion, mimicking the real “Lion King”…God’s Lion of Judah.. Jesus Christ, gave tickling ear’s loads of spirituality, without Jesus, and parent's liked it because dispite the spirituality that it taught, it came with great moral lessons.

Christian Parenting, (Summer 2005) magazine published their writer Greg Asimakoupoulos recommending the movie. He said Lion King was one of his “favorite all-time movies, ” adding, “It just warms my heart every time I watch it.”

Tim Stoffel has a critique to share with Christian parents too, at lionking.org.

The August 1994 issue of Parental Guidance, (now renamed as Plugged In, and advertises that it is “dedicated to helping parents and youth leaders guide teens through the world of popular youth culture,”) reported that the Lion King, focuses on “positive themes that can be used to teach children valuable, even biblical lessons." They said, “Despite a few slight imperfections, The Lion King is a wholesome, brilliantly animated picture relating the importance of family and responsibility."

People are more selective when buy food to eat at the grocery store. They go out of their way, to avoid feeding their family food with blemishes or artificial ingredients. One has to wonder about these movie recommendations to Christians, I mean why should parents, Christian parents rush their children to see a movie with voodoo, necromancy and jokes about being dressed in "drag," as is portrayed in the film. God may forgive such deeds of darkness, but he is not amused at Christians thinking that dressing in drag is funny, nor does he think it is cute to teach children ways and means of contacting the dead. Parents, who really care about what goes into their child's mind should teach their children what God’s Word says about consulting the dead and that homosexuality is really not something funny, unless of course you simply laugh at sin.

It’s kinda ironic that the makers of Disney's The Lion King used Solomon Linda's song in the movie and they did so before they had to pay back a fortune for it's use. If they think the Lion of Judah they imitate in the script thinks drag is funny, or that there is nothing wrong with occulting the truth of God for even the smallest of children in film, they would do well to think again. Justice and truth does prevail, and God, never sleeps.

He is watching closely over man, and as the rightful author of this world, (John 1:1-5) He is also the true and rightful King. (Rev. 5:5)