Te Hokinga

Tangi a te ruru,
kei te hokihoki mai e.
E whaka-whero-whero
i te putahitanga.
Nāku nei ra koe i tuku kia haere.
Tēra puritia iho
nui rawa te aroha e.

Verse, sung twice
Te Hokinga Mai,
tēna koutou
Tangi ana te ngākau
i te aroha
Tū tonu ra te mana
te ihi o nga tipuna
kua wehea atu rā
Mauria mai te mauri tangata
hei oranga o te mōrehu
tangi mōkai nei
E rapu ana i te ara tika
mo tātou katoa. 

Te Hokinga Mai,
Te Hokinga Mai

Tū tangata tonu!

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, How my heart weeps with joy. Still standing tall is the prestige and the enchantment of the ancestors who have passed on. Bring back the true spirit of the people to help heal the survivor crying like a slave (i.e. with loneliness) and searching for the true path for us all. Te Hokinga Mai! Te Hokinga Mai! Stand tall!