Beyoncé's vocals on "Can You Feel The Love Tonight?" were heard for the first time in The Lion King's official trailer, which debuted on June 23.

The song, which was originally composed by Elton John and written by Tim Rice for the , has a surprising backstory.

The original plan was for the song to be sung by the comedic duo Timon and Pumbaa, which would have made for a very different tone.

June 23 was a truly blessed Sunday, marking the release of the first official trailer for The Lion King–and the first opportunity to hear Beyoncé's angelic vocals. Bey, who plays Nala in the movie, sings alongside Donald Glover's Simba on the iconic track "Can You Feel The Love Tonight?" and it's already pretty clear that this rendition is going to be an incredibly worthy successor to the original 1994 version.

As every Disney fan worth their salt knows, the song was composed by Elton John, with lyrics by Tim Rice, and was sung by the off-screen voice of Kristle Edwards in the original movie. But there's a surprising backstory to the song's creation that you may not know. Initially, the song was envisioned as a duet by Timon and Pumbaa, everybody's favorite comedic meerkat-warthog duo, who do appear on the final version but in a smaller capacity.

Yup. It's fair to say this would have made for a... very different kind of song than the sweeping romantic ballad between Nala and Simba we know and love! Actor Ernie Sabella, who voiced Pumbaa, confirmed to CinemaBlend that this was the original plan, until Elton John himself intervened. "We recorded the whole song," he confirmed. "It didn't show up [in the movie] because Elton John said... 'I don't want a big, stinky warthog singing my love song!'"

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While this may be unfair discrimination against warthogs, it's hard not to feel grateful that the song was reworked, because otherwise we might never have been treated to Bey and Donald Glover harmonizing together. While you rewatch the trailer yet again, you can take a deep-dive into the full lyrics below.

IMDB

A note: these are the lyrics from the version of the song that plays over the end credits of the 1994 movie, rather than the version that's in the movie, because the former is the version that was released as a single. The full lyrics of Beyonce and Glover's updated version are, of course, TBD.

There's a calm surrender to the rush of day

When the heat of the rolling world can be turned away

An enchanted moment, and it sees me through

It's enough for this restless warrior just to be with you



And can you feel the love tonight?

It is where we are

It's enough for this wide-eyed wanderer

That we got this far



And can you feel the love tonight?

How it's laid to rest?

It's enough to make kings and vagabonds

Believe the very best



There's a time for everyone if they only learn

That the twisting kaleidoscope moves us all in turn

There's a rhyme and reason to the wild outdoors

When the heart of this star-crossed voyager beats in time with yours



And can you feel the love tonight?

It is where we are

It's enough for this wide-eyed wanderer

That we got this far



And can you feel the love tonight?

How it's laid to rest?

It's enough to make kings and vagabonds

Believe the very best



It's enough to make kings and vagabonds

Believe the very best

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