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Purea Nei

Hirini Melbourne

Maori Songs - Kiwi Songs - Home

Hirini wrote this in remembrance for one of his students who died after going through a lot of adversity.

Purea nei e te hau
Horoia e te ua
Whitiwhitia e te ra
Mahea ake nga pōraruraru
Makere ana nga here.

Cleansed by the wind
washed by the rain
and warmed by the sun,
cleared away are all troubles
and all restraints got rid of.
E rere wairua, e rere
Ki nga ao o te rangi
Whitiwhitia e te ra
Mahea ake nga poraruraru
Makere ana nga here,
Makere ana nga here. 		Fly O free spirit, fly
to the clouds in the heavens,
warmed by the sun,
with all troubles cleared away
all restraints got rid of,
all restrictions cast aside.


G Pu-re-a nei e te hau
Ho-roi-a e te u-a-a-G7-a
C Whiti-whiti-a e te G ra
C Ma-he' a-ke nga po-G-raru-raru
C Ma-ke-re a-D7-na nga he-G-re.

E re-re wai-ru-a e rere
Ki nga ao o te ra-ngi-i-G7-i
C Whi-ti-whi-ti-a e te G ra
C Ma-he' a-ke nga po-G-raru-raru
C Ma-ke-re a-D7-na nga he-G-re
C Ma-ke-re a-D7-na nga he-G-re.


The first line has a phrase from the well-known proverb 'Hoki atu ki tou maunga kia purea ai e koe ki nga hau o Tawhirimatea.' Return to your mountain to be cleansed by the winds of Tāwhirimātea.

The second line is from another version of that proverb 'Hoki kia purea koe e nga hau o ou maunga, kia horoia koe e te ua', and the third line recalls the ancient phrase 'E whiti e te Ra!' 

Hirini developed them into a song of remembrance for one of his students who died after going through a lot of adversity.

Maori songs - Kiwi songs - Home


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October 2007, Published on web
April 2008, student comment and chords added.
Aug 2021 typo removed, modified for small screens.
June 2022, translation improved and comments corrected.