This is a very upbeat song with a global feel, pertinent to missing our loved ones far away throughout lockdown. I wrote it with great excitement when I was looking forward to visiting my son in New Zealand! It includes Maori words, translated on the lyric sheet. It is performed by Raven, the band I am part of, based here in Scarborough.
Sarah Dew
lyrics
It’s been a long while since I held your hand,
And there are many miles between us.
Distances narrow with each new day
And I just can’t wait to see you!
Half a world away, South Pacific isle,
Ki’ora, morina, we meet again,
Tika, ar noa por noa.
(A-oh-tee-a-row-a...)
Leaving my heartland so far away, leaving my fears behind me (oh),
Follow a path through the starlit sky, beautiful planet before me.
Landing as dawn brings a cool new morn, setting our feet on the dear earth,
Ev’rything’s different but just the same, A-oh-tee-a-row-a home.
Ehara ee te ti, your moanga waits for you.
Walking the steps of the ancestors,
Tika my beloved farno.
It’s been a long while since I held your hand,
And there are many miles between us.
Distances narrow with each new day
And I just can’t wait to see you!
And I just can’t wait to see you/ land of the long white cloud ...(to fade)
The words in the song are written phonetically, so:
Ki’ora =Kia ora = hello/goodbye/thank you.
Morina = morena = good morning.
Tika = doing things right the Maori way.
Ar noa por noa = ar noa pō noa = 24/7
Ehara ee te ti = ehara it e ti = you only live once; don’t be like a cabbage tree that grows super straight.
Moanga = maunga = mountain.
Farno = whanau = family/to be born.
A-oh-tee-a-row-a = Aotearoa = land of the long white cloud (New Zealand).
credits
from Survive,
released December 19, 2020
Written by Sarah Dew
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