Aku kanohi kau

English lyrics

My eyes scan the hilltops
But I do not see them clearly because of
the tears in my eyes
A token of my affection for them who have
passed on
They who said,
'Friends, a person who has been well taught
at home
Upon assuming his position on the marae,
becomes it.'
Here I am standing on the marae,
But it will not become me, if you, the elders
Do not support me, and thereby realise these
words spoken by those who have passed on.
For only you can open those doors shut to
me and reveal to me the treasures within
That I might stand with confidence today.
However, it was Pōtatau who said to Tanirau
'My friend, the sun has set.'
To which Tanirau replied,
'It sets in the evening, but rises in the
morning'
Yes, indeed, my elders, the sun is setting
on the old world
And a new day is dawning
Hence my scanning the hilltops mentioned
in our lore
For there lies my motivation and my strength
No matter how difficult, or how heavy a burden,
it will be to maintain these cherished items
I shall succeed
For I am a descendant of them who said,
'A great mountain cannot be moved,
But a great ocean wave can be broken by the canoe's prow.'