NEW  ZEALAND
FOLK * SONG
Manu Rere
Me He Manu Rere,     Me He Manurere,     Mehe (sic) Manu Rere

Arnold Reedy ?
c. 1925

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This passionate dream-song of one man's unrequited love was performed for tourists at Whakarewarewa in the 1920s, and it is still very popular today.

 

Me he manu rere ahau e,
Kua rere ki tō moenga,
Ki te awhi tō tinana,
Aue, aue!
E te tau, tahuri mai.

Kei te moe te tinana,
Kei te oho te wairua,
Kei te hotu te manawa,
Aue, aue!
E te tau, tahuri mai.

       

If I was a bird on the wing
I would fly to your bed
to embrace your body.
Oh, oh!
My darling, turn to me.

Although my body is sleeping
my spirit is aroused
and my heart throbs with desire.
Oh, oh!
My darling, turn to me.



Three verses from Whakarewarewa in 1935

The three verses below comprise the original version of an action song collected and recorded by Ernest McKinlay at Whakarewarewa in the early 1930s.

For the singable English verses, he acknowledges the assistance he had from his friends -- guide Maggie Papakura, Sir Peter Buck and Wiremu H. Rangi.

He collected and recorded ten other songs as well, and these collected verses, translations and music scores were published as "Maori Songs," (W H Paling Sydney, 1936)


Action song at Whakarewarewa


Me he manu rere ahau e,
Kua rere ki to moenga,
Ki te awhi to tinana,
E te tau tahuri mai.

Kei te moe te tinana,
Kei te wāke1 te wairua,
Kei te hotu te manawa,
E te tau tahuri mai.

Haere, haere ra e hine
Whakangaro i konei
Waiho ahau i muri nei
Tangi hotu hotu ai.

        Sweetheart, were I e'er so small a bird,
Swiftly to your loving arms I'd fly,
There to hold you and caress you,
My beloved, turn to me.

Tho' my body still is sleeping,
Yet my spirit hovers near thee,
Still for you my heart is beating
Oh my darling come to me.

Now a long farewell e hine
Must you go away and leave me
Here alone in grief I'm pining
Sobbing for you tenderly
.

Note 1

       Wāke
. A word borrowed from English. Literally Walking.
        Compare this with
        I te unga o ng
ā waka ka wāke mai ki konei.
        When the canoes landed they walked here.
Tai Tokerau Online Maori Dictionary.
       

A 1950s Maori cowboy's song

In the mid 1950s, the song was popularised by the Maori cowboy, Johnny Cooper (and His Range Riders), and by Hawaiian-style musician Bill Sevesi (and His Island Rhythm).


A 1960 women's action song

Alan Anderson and Reupena Ngata printed these words, plus actions, in "Maori Action Songs" (A H Reed, 1960).
The song is about a man having a passionate dream while he is asleep, so when women sang it as an action song,
the Maori words in the second verse were altered from te to become , with Tho' my body is sleeping becoming Tho' your body is sleeping.

Me he manu rere ahau e,
Kua rere ki to moenga,
Ki te awhi to tinana,
E te tau tahuri mai.

Kei te moe tinana,
Kei te oho2 te wairua,
Kei te hotu te manawa,
E te tau tahuri mai.

       

Had I the wings of a bird,
To your side I would surely fly,
To hold you there and caress you,
My beloved turn to me.

Though your body in sleep is enchained,
Yet my spirit is free to roam,
My heart yearns only for you,
My beloved turn to me.


Note 2

       The borrowed English Wāke has been replaced by the ancient word Oho.
       It means to be suddenly awoken, to have one's feelings aroused.
       Oho (Hawaii) cry out. Ofo (Tonga) surprised. Ovo (Fiji) wail.
Tregear.
       Of course Oh! Oh! is a startled person's cry in any language.

       

Misprinted as Mehe in 1975

Inia Te Wiata's Maori Songbook (A H Reed 1975), printed the song as Mehe (sic) Manu Rere.
A few other people have copied this misprint, although Mehe is not a Maori word.
Me
(like, if) and He (a, some) are two distinct words.
And as well as keeping the change "You may be sleeping," Te Wiata's translation has also gone further to "your spirit" and "your heart."

Kei te moe tō tinana,
Kei te wake te wairua,
Kei te hotu te manawa,
E te tau tahuri mai.

        Though you may be deep in slumber,
still your spirit hovers near me,
let your heart for me keep beating.
Oh beloved tum to me.

Tune


Verse two is sung with some interesting harmonies.

Trivia

Me He Manu Rere, sung by St Joseph's Maori Girls choir, was used in the closing sequence of the 1986 Jodie Foster movie, My Letter to George, a.k.a. Mesmerized. The film was rated as a badly written and produced story of an orphaned 18-year-old New Zealand girl who marries a much older businessman, is sexually abused by him and uses hypnotism to kill him.

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This web page was prepared in June 2005 for the Glastonbury Town Women's Guild Choir who are
singing Me He Manu Rere at a concert marking the 300th Anniversary of their town's charter.