| G | C |
| Ka pīoioi e tohu aroha | hau kāinga |
| C | F |
| E hoki mai rā, kia kite atu i tō | iwi e |
| G | C |
| E rotarota ana, e katakata ana | mai rā |
| C | F |
| Pūkana whētero mai i te ihi ā ō | mātua |
| G | C |
| Kia kite atu anō i tō ātaahua e | panapana rā |
| C | F |
| Pupuhia e te hau kapohia āku | roimata |
| G | C |
| Ka pīoioi e tohu aroha | hau kāinga |
| This swaying dance shows the love of your hometown people | |
| You've come back home, to see your people. | |
| There is gesturing and laughing with joy at your return. | |
| Eyes popping and tongues thrusting from the energy of those performing | |
| I see again your beauty gleaming there | |
| Caressed by the wind and my tears are snatched away | |
| This fluttering dance shows your home-town people's love | |
See
Kereopa Ratapu (from Rongomaiwahine on the East Coast, and now with Ngati Kuia at Nelson) wrote this song while he was training at Palmerston North Teachers College in 1990, to express his feeling about coming back home to his family after serving with the NZ Army in Singapore in the 1980s.
When he first composed it, the first line was "E hoki mai ra." This told the audience what the song about - in this case, a homecoming - and he created a tune that caught the energy and excitement of a homecoming. But the best songs make the audience experience the event, and years later Charlie Nicholson in the Wairarapa achieved this by beginning the song with the highly evocative "Ka Pioioi" line that Kereopa had finished the song with.
APRA now lists Charles Tamai Nicholson as the composer of the song, a claim hotly contested by Ratapu family members who remember their dad composing the song after returning from his time in the army.
Created 2023 Jan 29 22:17
This is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the song.
You may only use this for private study, scholarship, or research.
