Lyrics – Māori
(Maori folk song)
Pōkarekare ana,
ngā wai o Waiapu
Whiti atu koe hine,
marino ana e.
Refrain
E hine e,
hoki mai ra.
Ka mate ahau
I te aroha e.
Tuhituhi taku reta,
tuku atu taku rīngi,
Kia kite tō iwi
raru raru ana e. Refrain
Whati whati taku pene
ka pau aku pepa
Ko taku aroha
mau tonu ana e. Refrain
E kore te aroha
e maroke i te rā
Mākūkū tonu i
aku roimata e. Refrain
English Translation – They are agitated
They are agitated,
the waters of Waiapu,
But when you cross over girl,
they will be calm.
Refrain
Oh girl,
return to me,
I could die
of love for you.
I have written my letter,
I have sent my ring,
so that your people can see
that I am troubled. Refrain
My poor pen is shattered,
I have no more paper,
But my love
is still steadfast. Refrain
My love will never
be dried by the sun,
it will be forever moistened
by my tears. Refrain (source)
See also
- Country: Maori (New Zealand)
- Subject: love
- Form: AB
- Melody: D,E,F#,G,A,B,C
- Meter: 4
- Rhythm:
/ 
- Scale: major
- info about the song
YouTube
- Song with chords (PDF)
- MIDI file
- Listen to the song
2 thoughts on “Pokarekare Ana”
I sung this in high school choir. Lovely
I learned this in the 1960’s at primary school – hever forgot the refrain 🙂