NZ Folk Song * Te Piriti

Deane Waretini of Rotorua and his cousin Ana Hato were perhaps the most famous Maori singers of the mid-20th century. Their 1930s-40s recordings of European-influenced songs in Maori had a traditional quality, with a distinctive note of lament.

Adrian Waretini was the youngest son of Deane, and he had moved from Rotorua to Christchurch in his late teens as a labourer. He was 21 when his dad died in 1967, and suddenly realized what he had lost. So he started singing his dad's songs to try and get close to his dad in spirit. He became one of the big names in the Maori showbands of the 1970s.

"You sound just like your dad," people said, and started calling him Deane also (or Dean Waretini).

George Tait was a cousin of Adrian/Deane Jr, on the farm next to the Waretini's at Rotorua. He wrote the lyrics of Te Piriti for him to sing, using the tune of Nino Rosso's trumpet tune "Il Silenzio."

Maori Songs - Kiwi Songs - Home
This was written when the new bridge was being built in Auckland over the Manakau Harbour between the middle class white suburb of Onehunga and the brown working class one of Mangere, and it alludes to the social bridge that needed to be made to join the brown and white cultures. Te Arawa elder George Tait wrote it for his neighbour Deane Waretini Jr to sing, and in 1981 it became the first Maori language song to become Number One on the NZ charts. Here is the original version, recorded in Deane's garage in Henderson. Kevin Furey was the trumpeter.
Taku aroha - i aue, i aue - Ki nga pou¹ o te piriti Äki, pakia mai rau E nga tai² kaha ra e Pukepuke, i aue Nga roimata e aku kamo I rite ki te ngaru Whati³ mai, whati mai I waho e, whati mai.	My concern -truly, truly - is for the pillars of the bridge. pounded, beaten, a hundred times by the strong tides there rising and falling, oh. The tears in my eyes are like the waves, welling up, and spilling over here, while outside, the waves are also breaking.
Spoken "My concern is for the piles⁴ of the bridge, constantly pounded by the strong tides. The tears well up in my eyes They are like the waves that break without."
...e nga tai kaha ra e Pukepuke, i aue Nga roimata e aku kamo I rite ki te ngaru Whati mai, whati mai I waho e, whati mai.	... by the strong tides there rising and falling, oh. The tears in my eyes are like the waves, welling up, and spilling over here, while outside, the waves are also breaking.
Footnotes Pou = supporting posts, poles, piles, pillars. This word is most commonly heard in reference to the main supports holding up the roof in a Maori meeting house. Tai = tides. This is a bridge in coastal waters, across Manakau harbour, at Auckland. Whati = waves breaking = rising up and splashing all about. Piles. When Deane Jr recorded this, he spoke it with a slurred L, which sounds like he is speaking about the *powers* of the bridge. This has confused some people. Here are the guitar chords. F Taku aroha - i aue, i aue - Ki nga B pou o C7 te piriti Äki, pakia mai F rau E nga taikaha ra C7 e Pukepuke, i au-F-e Nga roimata e a-C7-ku kamo I rite ki te nga-F-ru Whati mai, whati mai I waho C7 e, whati F mai. Silenzio Fuori Ordinanza "Te Piriti" uses the tune of this Italian Army bugle call, used to honour dead soldiers. Deane Waretini, Senior and Junior Deane Waretini of Rotorua and his cousin Ana Hato were perhaps the most famous Maori singers of the mid-20th century. Their 1930s-40s recordings of European-influenced songs in Maori had a traditional quality, with a distinctive note of lament. Adrian Waretini was the youngest son of Deane, and he had moved from Rotorua to Christchurch in his late teens as a labourer. He was 21 when his dad died in 1967, and suddenly realized what he had lost. So he started singing his dad's songs to try and get close to his dad in spirit. He became one of the big names in the Maori showbands of the 1970s. "You sound just like your dad," people said, and started calling him Deane also (or Dean Waretini). George Tait was a cousin of Adrian/Deane Jr, on the farm next to the Waretini's at Rotorua. He wrote the lyrics of Te Piriti for him to sing, using the tune of Nino Rosso's trumpet tune "Il Silenzio." A Metaphorical Bridge The bridge George Tait wrote about is a metaphorical one, connecting different cultures. The maori word Pou is usually used for the posts or poles which are the main supports holding up the roof in a Maori meeting house. And the meeting house is also a symbolic building representing the crouching protective body of the iwi. So the message of the song is that the social structures which keep different cultures in any country joined together must have strong foundations. My thanks to Mr Waretini for providing this information. Maori Songs - Kiwi Songs - Home Published on the web 15 October 2004, Revised March 2011, Oct 2019, Jan 2022

Footnotes

Silenzio Fuori Ordinanza

Deane Waretini, Senior and Junior

A Metaphorical Bridge