Pokarekare Ana

Pokarekare Ana is a Maori folk song written down during the early years of World War I by Maori soldiers longing for home. Again, I ran across this song while playing as the Maori in Sid Meier's Civilization VI. The song kept playing over and over in the background along with a haka, and eventually I looked it up to find out more about it.

Wikipedia says:

Eastern Maori politicians Paraire Tomoana and Āpirana Ngata published the song in 1919, but neither of them claimed to have composed it. They explained that it had "emanated North of Auckland" and was popularised by Māori soldiers who were training near Auckland before embarking for the war in Europe.

The lyrics are especially poignant, being a love song of a soldier writing back home to his girl and obviously worrying that he will never see her again.

Māori

English

Pōkarekare ana, ngā wai o Waiapu Whiti atu koe hine, marino ana e. Refrain   E hine e,   hoki mai ra.   Ka mate ahau   I te aroha e. Tuhituhi taku reta, tuku atu taku rīngi, Kia kite tō iwi raru raru ana e. Refrain Whati whati taku pene ka pau aku pepa Ko taku aroha mau tonu ana e. Refrain E kore te aroha e maroke i te rā Mākūkū tonu i aku roimata e. Refrain

They are agitated, the waters of Waiapu, But when you cross over girl, they will be calm. Oh girl, return to me, I could die of love for you. I have written my letter, I have sent my ring, so that your people can see that I am troubled. Refrain My poor pen is shattered, I have no more paper, But my love is still steadfast. Refrain My love will never be dried by the sun, it will be forever moistened by my tears. Refrain

The melody is very pretty and it can change feelings depending on how quickly it is played.  It's a very popular song, especially in New Zealand, and has been covered by numerous artists.  I like the version by Hayley Westenra because she has such a clear, pure voice with little vibrato. She recorded it in 2003 for her first album, Pure.

A contingent of soldiers from New Zealand served in the Korean War in the early 1950s and Koreans heard them sing the song.  It became very popular there and was translated into Korean, with minor changes in the lyrics.  In Korean it is called, Yeonga (연가), which means "love song."

비바람이 치던 바다  When the stormy beach

잔잔해져 오면  becomes calm today,

오늘 그대 오시려나  Then I wonder if you will come

저 바다 건너서  across the sea.

저 하늘에 반짝이는  Glittering in the sky

별빛도 아름답지만  the stars are also beautiful;

사랑스런 그대 눈은  But your lovely eyes

더욱 아름다워라  are more beautiful.
 

Refrain

그대만을  Only for you

기다리리  will I wait:

내사랑 영원히  My darling

기다리리  I will wait.

The video below has slightly different lyrics than those above.

For a deeper dive, watch this set of videos.

Finally, on a personal note.  My beloved cat, Midna, passed away in September 2024 and the refrain is encapsulates some of the grief I've dealt with.

Oh girl,

return to me,

I could die

of love for you.