Taku wairua ora e
tupu taku kino nei e?

Aue, te mataku e
Karekare, ka ma-tau e
Karekare, ka ma-tau e

Ka rū, Ka rū,
Ka te hī au e
Ka rū, Ka rū,
Ka te hī au e
Ka rū, Ka rū,
Ka te hī au e
Ka .. hae - re .. ki .. te .. o - ra .. mōu ..

Ka haere, ka haere
Kau-mā-tu-a e
Ka haere, ka haere
Kau-mā-tu-a e

Ka rū, Ka rū,
Ka te hī au e
Ka rū, Ka rū,
Ka te hī au e
Ka rū, Ka rū,
Ka te hī au e
Ka haere ki te ora mōu......

Wairua ana rei
te mataku nei e

Will my spirit stay with me
or will my bad luck now begin?

Aye, I'm a bit scared.
Ripples, so drop the hook
Ripples, so drop the hook

It's quivering, trembling,
I'm pulling up the line
It's quivering, trembling,
I'm pulling up the line
It's quivering, trembling,
I'm pulling up the line.
Here .. comes .. something .. good for .. you ....

They're coming, coming
the old people
They're coming, coming
the old people

It's quivering, trembling,
I'm pulling up the line
It's quivering, trembling,
I'm pulling up the line
It's quivering, trembling,
I'm pulling up the line.
Here comes a treat for you.

The spirits indeed have overcome
the fear I had here.

Origins

This song is widely known and sung in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

It is often referred to as "an ancient Maori fishing chant," but the tune dates from the period after European missionaries arrived in the South Pacific in the 19th century and has its origin in a Cook Islands himene, Taku Vaerua (My spirit).

Maybe an old chant was modified by Western harmony and rhythm, as Te Tarakihi and Uia Mai Koia were.

Karu or Ka Ru?

The song makes word-play with "karu" and "ka rū." In NZ Maori Karu means "eye" or "look at it." Ka rū means "It is quivering."

The song's title is usually written "Karu, karu" Look, look.

But the accent in the song is on the -ru. So maybe it could be loosely translated as "Look at it quivering!

Karu meant loosening?

Te Rangi Hiroa (Sir Peter Buck) states

"The people of Tongareva (Southern Cooks) gathered to bid farewell to the old year. They danced to the following song:

Tekiteki karu, Karu ai na po.

Dance to the loosening, The loosening of the nights.

The word karu means the loosening of a rope. The passing of the nights of the old year is thus figuratively referred to as the loosening of the rope that bound them together." Ethnology of Tongareva

So maybe in Cook Island Maori, Ka rū, karu, ka te hī au e, referred to the fisherman's anxiety as he pulls up the line - "It quivers, then goes loose, quivers, then goes loose - will I be lucky or not?"

In NZ Maori the loosening of a rope is kaewa.

Himene

Note that a himene is not a church hymn, but a style of singing in the Tahitian and Cook Islands based on hymn tunes.

Arrangements often use a combination of the original Polynesian drone harmonies with western-influenced third harmonies, combining the old and new.