Waiata
Songs
Engari te Tītī
Nā Mihi-ki-te-kapua
Engari te tītī e tangi haere ana, ē,
Whai tokorua rawa rāua.
Tēnā ko au nei, e manu,
Kei te hua kiwi
I mahue i te tawai.
Ka toro te rākau kei runga, ē,
Ka hoki mai ki te pao,
Ka whai uri ki ahau ī
Nōku koia ko te wareware ē,
Tē whai au te tira haere
Nō Te Hirau, whakangaro ana ē
Ngā hiwi maunga ki Huiarau.
Kia ringia ki te roimata
Ko te rere au ki Ngāuemutu rā.
Ko au anake rā i mahue nei ē,
Hai9 hēteri kiritai ki Te Mātuāhu,
Hai titiro noa atu ki waho rā ē.
He waka hēra e rere atu rā ē.
Whakatika rawa ake ki runga rā ē,
Ka momotu ki tawhiti.
Mā wai ia ra e whai atu?
I—a!
By Mihi-ki-te-kapua
Although the muttonbird is crying as it goes
it always has the company of its mate.
But this is me here, oh birds;
just like the kiwi egg
abandoned beneath the beech tree.
The wood spreads out above it
until the parents return for the hatching.
searching for offspring like me.
Indeed the oversight is mine:
I should have followed the travelling party
of Te Hirau, now disappearing
towards the mountain ridges of Huiarau.
May my tears be poured down
I'm the waterfall over there at Ngauemutu!
All alone I am left behind here
as a sentry just outside Te Matuahu
to gaze in vain into the distance.
A sail boat is speeding away;
belatedly I get up on high ground
but it disappears into the distance.
Who could catch up with it?
Ah me!
Taku Rākau
Nā Mihi-ki-te-kapua
Taku rākau e
Tau rawa k te whare
Ka ngaro a takahi ē
Te whare o te kahikātoa
Hei ngau whakapae e
Hei whakapae ururoa
E hau mai nei
Kei waho kei te moana
Kāore aku mihi e
Aku tangi mō koutou
Mau puku ko te iwi e
Ka mōwai tonu te whenua
E takoto nei
By Mihi-ki-te-kapua
My weaponry
Is finally stored indoors
Silent is the tramp of feet
The household of warriors hardwood Protect me from Pain
Shielding me against
these ill winds
That blow from the sea
No more are my fine words
or tears for you
But deep sorrow for the tribe
and a totally desolate land
before me here
