David Zippel (born May 17, 1954) is an American musical theatre and film lyricist. He wrote the lyrics for the soundtracks of Hercules (with Alan Menken composing), Mulan (with Matthew Wilder composing) and Tarzan (with Phil Collins composing). He received two Academy Award nominations for his work in Disney. One for Best Original Song for "Go the Distance" and another for Best Score - Musical or Comedy for his work in Mulan.