While in on vacation in Hawaii a few weeks ago, I was killing some time at a shopping plaza when I heard this great (and frustratingly familiar) song. I had been checking out the promotional display for one of the many helicopter tour outfits in the area (can't remember the name, sadly), which had a looping video showing footage of their birds swooping over the gorgeous scenery. Playing over this footage were a few epic-sounding musical scores -- the Indiana Jones theme, the Jurassic Park theme, etc.
One of these songs was a great, joyous African (?) choral piece, and definitely something I'd heard before. I figured at the time that it was something from the Lion King, but when I searched later on iTunes I couldn't find it. I've looked for it off-and-on since then, but no luck so far.
So I turn to you, MeFi! Here's the best I can do to help you all out. I found a "virtual piano" online, and recorded
my plunking rendition of the melody via Audacity. I also recorded a snippet of
very similar music from the Lion King soundtrack.
The facts:
The song in question was not in English. I can't recall if the singing was in another language, or just meaningless intonations. The style was very tribal and traditional, most likely African, though it's possible it could be something from New Zealand or Thailand or the Pacific islands or some other similar musical tradition. It was sung by a large chorus, which sounded mostly like women and children. It had a very dramatic, yet optimistic feel to it. It has connotations of triumph and liberation to it. It is also very common -- I've heard it before, and you probably have, too. Could be a famous native song, or something from a movie soundtrack.
Thanks in advance!
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posted by kidsleepy at 2:14 PM on January 15, 2008