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Lament for Sir Maui Pomare

As sung by a member of the Whanganui Maori Party, August, 1930.

(Translated by Hare Hongi)

Haere ra, Pomare.
Haere ki te Po;
Tenei te tangi nei,
I nuku o te whenua;
Moou kua wehe nei,
Ki tera wa mamao.
Tirotiro kau ana—
Keiwhea ra te hoa?
E ngaro nei, Pomare.

Kua mutt te mamae
O te tinana;
Waiho ki muri nei;
Te ngakau koingo,
Maringi a-roimata;
Me kite wairua,
Ki ou haerenga;
Ano te mihinga,
Kia hoki mai a koe;
Haere ra, Pomare.

Fare thee well, Pomare.
To death’s darkness pass away
Here we sadly mourn for thee,
From this, our native land;
We mourn, bereft of thee,
To yonder distant bourne;
And vainly seek thy form—
Ah, where is now our friend?
Thou’rt lost to us, Pomare!

From all thy pains relieved,
For those are left with us;
The anguish of the heart,
Bedewed with falling tears;
But to see thy spirit,
On thy earthly journeyings!
But to sigh and sigh again,
That thou may’st return again!
A long farewell, Pomare.