John Payne, 1822

 Apirana Ngata, 1912

English translation of Ngata

Mid pleasures and palaces
Though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble,
There's no place like home.

A charm from the skies
Seems to hallow us there,
Which seek thro' the world,
Is ne'er met with elsewhere.

Home, home, sweet home,
There's no place like home,
There's no place like home.

An exile from home,
Splendor dazzles in vain,
Oh, give me my lowly
Thatched cottage again;

The birds singing gaily,
That came at my call:
Give me them and that
Peace of mind, dearer than all.

Home, home, sweet home,
There's no place like home,
There's no place like home.

Me kimi i te ao nei
He wahi hei rite
Ki tou kainga tupu¹
E matea nuitia nei.

Hei aha nga kino
Hei aha ona¹ hē
Ka tawhai te ngakau
ko reira noho ai.

Te kainga tupu!
Te ai ona rite
E kore e rite

Ka haere ki mamao
kei wareware koe
Te wa ki nga matua
e tangi atu nei

Te wa ki te kainga
e okioki ai.
E tau ai te mauri
ko reira noho ai.

Te kainga tupu!
Te ai ona rite
E kore e rite  

You can search this whole world
for a place resembling
your home village
and find a deep emptiness there.

No matter how bad
or what your mistakes were
in the past, your heart leads you
back to that place where you lived.

The place where you grew up !
There is no comparison.
Nothing like it.

You can go far away
and forget
the time with your parents
and the sounds there

the time in your village
just relaxing.
But your life-force
is backwhere you lived.

The place where you grew up !
There is no comparison.
Nothing like it.

1 Tupu and Ona are East Coast variants of Tipu and Ana.

History

Hone Heke Ngapua (Ngapuhi) and later Apirana Ngata (Ngati Porou) were Members of the House of Representitives who amused themselves while in Parliament putting Maori words to popular English songs and singing them over together.

Concert singer Fanny Rose Howie ("Pricess Rangi te Pai") captivated audiences in the British Isles in 1903 with her rendition of Ngata's Home Sweet Home in Maori.

Ngata and Heke published "Te Kaianga Tupu" and other similar translations in 1908, (Souvenir of Maori Congress July 1908)

The songs were published again in 1914, along with modified versions of well-known haka, for the Maori soldiers departing for World War One. (I obtained a photocopy of this booklet from the Turnbull Library)

Apirana's 1900s songs are significant because his translated lyrics started off the trend among other Maori composers of putting Maori words to popular English language songs, and thus making the same uniquely New Zealand songs accessible to both Maori and Pakeha.

1914, Tipirere (Long Way to Tipperary) Apirana Ngata
1923, He Putiputi Koe (Flower from an Old Bouquet) Apirana Ngata
1939, Te Wai O Whanganui (You are My Sunshine) Ope Whanarere
1940, Maori Battalion (Washington & Lee Rag) Anaia Amohau
1940, Arohaina Mai (Love Walked In) Tuini Ngawai
1940, E Te Hokowhitu (In the Mood) Tuini Ngawai
1945, Hoki/Tomo Mai (Goldmine in the Sky) Henare Waitoa
1956, Te Piriti (Il Silencio ) GeorgeTait
1965, Moe Mai Ra (Brahams Lullaby) Kingi Tahiwi.
1974, Terina( Marina, Aqua Marina) Tommy Taurima

Other Maori Songs - Main Song List - Home

Published on the web Dec 2008, reformatter Jan2022