John Payne, 1822

 Apirana Ngata, 1912

English translation of Ngata's verses

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 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 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 tōu kāinga tupu¹
E matea nuitia nei.

Hei aha nga kino
Hei aha ōna¹ hē
Ka tāwhai te ngākau
ko reira noho ai.

Te kāinga tupu!
Te ai ōna rite
E kore e rite

Ka haere ki mamao
kei wareware koe
Te wā ki nga mātua
e tangi atu nei

Te wā ki te kāinga
e okioki ai.
E tau ai te mauri
ko reira noho ai.

Te kāinga tupu!
Te ai ōna rite
E kore e rite  

You can search this whole world
for a place resembling
your home village
and find a profound 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 back at that place where you lived.

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