Lyrics

         E noho ana i te ranga māheuheu
         Ka titiro whakarunga ki ngā whetū o te rangi
         Āritarita noa , āritarita noa
         Engari tē riro mai ki te kapu o taku ringa e
5       Ko te rite ki ngā taonga a ōku tīpuna
         E kōrerotia nei i te ao, i te pō, i te ao, i te pō
         Āe rānei te mau i ahau 
         Āe rānei te ngaro
         ki te pō, oti atu
10    Whakapakari nei au, te rangatahi, ki te pupuri

         Me te maumahara anō hoki ki tā Apirana i kī ai
         'Me mātua whare whakairo ka kīia te marae he marae,
         Me mātua kōrero Māori te tangata e kīia ai he Māori'
         Anei taku whakahoki ki a koe, e koro e,
15    Ahakoa ko te ātārangi noa iho o te whenua kei ahau
         Ahakoa te reo kāore i ahau
         Kei te oho taku mauri, kei te oho taku wairua
         Kei te rongo tonu au i te wehi, kei te mau tonu taku mana,
         Me pēhea kē atu hoki?
20     Ko au nei rā te whakatinanatanga o aku
         tīpuna e moe mai rā i Paerau.

         Anei rā taku Māoritanga e mau nei i aku kanohi
         E mau nei i taku tinana, arā, ko taku kiri parauri
         Kia whakataukī ake ahau
25     'E kore e hekeheke, he kākano rangatira'
         Tihē mauri ora!

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Here, in a state of confusion, I sit
And look heavenwards at the stars
I reach out for them
But am unable to hold them in the palm of my hand
And so it is with the treasures of my ancestors
Being discussed day and night, day and night
Will I be able to retain them or will they be lost
in the world of night for all time?
I, the younger generation, am making a valiant
effort
Yet, bearing in mind what Apirana said
'For a marae to be a marae, the meeting house
must be carved,
For a person to be Māori, he must be Māori
speaking.'
Here, e koro, is my reply to those remarks,
Even though I possess but the shadow of the land
Even though I do not speak the language
My whole being is alert and my spirit is alive
I can still feel awe and respect, and I still
have my pride,
How could it be otherwise?
For I am the living embodiment of my ancestors,
sleeping yonder at Paerau
Here is my Māoritanga, showing in my face,
And in my body, in the colour of my skin,
So that I am able to state,
'I will never be lost, for I am the seed
of chiefs'
Let there be life!

Explanation

This ngeri was composed at the request of the students who wanted to have a ngeri especially composed for them.  It was performed by them at the New Zealand Polynesian Festival of 1981, held in Auckland.