Te Hokinga Mai
E rapu ana te ara tika mō tātou katoa
Tangi a te ruru
Kei te hokihoki mai e
E whakawherowhero i te pūtahitanga
Nāku nei rā koe i tuku kia haere
Tē puritia iho
Nui rawa te aroha e
Te hokinga mai tēnā koutou
Tangi ana te ngākau i te aroha
Tū tonu rā te mana te ihi
O ngā tīpuna kua wehe atu rā
Mauria mai te mauri tangata
Hei oranga mō te mōrehu
Tangi mōkai nei
E rapu ana i te ara tika mō tātou katoa
Te hokinga mai
Te hokinga mai
Tū tangata tonu
English translation
The cry of the morepork
keeps coming back to me.
It is hooting out there where the paths meet.
I was the one who allowed you to go.
It was curbed,
my deep love for you
But now the formal return home. Greetings to you all,
How my heart weeps with affection.
Still standing tall is the prestige,
and power of the ancestors
who have passed on,
bringing back the true spirit of the people
to help heal the remnant
crying like lost souls,
searching for the true path for us all.
The Return Here
The Return Here
We people can stand tall again!
keeps coming back to me.
It is hooting out there where the paths meet.
I was the one who allowed you to go.
It was curbed,
my deep love for you
But now the formal return home. Greetings to you all,
How my heart weeps with affection.
Still standing tall is the prestige,
and power of the ancestors
who have passed on,
bringing back the true spirit of the people
to help heal the remnant
crying like lost souls,
searching for the true path for us all.
The Return Here
The Return Here
We people can stand tall again!