Conclusion
“The Little Lion” balances royal power with affection through its diminutive characterization of the monarch. By employing the term “little” alongside one of the king’s official titles, “the lion,” the composition creates an intimate representation of authority that simultaneously acknowledges the ruler’s might while expressing endearment. Carrying themes of reverence and love, “The Little Lion” provides us with a set of multiple meanings. First, it is a song about the royal court, describing how King Muteesa I tamed and cared for a lion during his reign. Second, it is about the king, equating his greatness to the strength and nobility of a lion. Although he is dominant and powerful, he is also a friend to all, as he works to lead his people and give back to the community. Through this delicate balance, the kingdom thrives and sustains itself. Third, “The Little Lion” is about the court musicians, demonstrating how they influence the court by directing the king throughout his rule. These ideas show how one could view the lion as an allegory for the king, providing the reader the freedom to interpret what aspects of the lion one might adopt to align with those of the king. As in Ssempeke’s explanation, it could refer to the care with which one should handle both. However, there are many other possibilities one could extract from this parallel. One listener might understand the lion as ferocious and powerful and thus carry those tendencies over to the king, whereas another might understand the lion as wise and proud and interpret “little” to mean the empathy and humbleness of the king, seeing it as a reference to his tendency to not be overbearing toward his subjects.
However, the poetic and imprecise nature of the metaphor allows those who encounter this song to listen to it differently, emphasizing certain lines over others because specific traits are interesting and insightful to these individuals. The result is a process where listeners constantly remake the song’s meanings depending on their personal perspectives. The contributions of the performer of “The Little Lion” and those of the interpreters featured in this chapter all serve to rapidly transform it into an array of varying and sometimes conflicting narratives. Therefore, the song is not simply a commentary on the roles of a leader but also serves as a model of how people view their leaders. Applicable to many political and social contexts, “The Little Lion” eventually becomes about the greed of those leaders, the importance of love over material wealth, and the significance of skepticism in coping with perpetual precarity.