NZ FOLK SONG * Purea Nei

Hirini wrote this in remembrance for one of his students who died after going through a lot of adversity.

Purea nei e te hau Horoia e te ua Whitiwhitia e te ra Mahea ake nga p?raruraru Makere ana nga here.	Cleansed by the wind washed by the rain and warmed by the sun, all troubles are cleared away and all restraints got rid of.
E rere wairua, e rere Ki nga ao o te rangi Whitiwhitia e te ra Mahea ake nga poraruraru Makere ana nga here, Makere ana nga here.	Fly O free spirit, fly to the clouds in the heavens, warmed by the sun, with all troubles cleared away all restraints got rid of, all restrictions cast aside.

G Pu-re-a nei e te hau
Ho-roi-a e te u-a-a-G7-a
C Whiti-whiti-a e te G ra
C Ma-he' a-ke nga po-G-raru-raru
C Ma-ke-re a-D7-na nga he-G-re.

E re-re wai-ru-a e rere
Ki nga ao o te ra-ngi-i-G7-i
C Whi-ti-whi-ti-a e te G ra
C Ma-he' a-ke nga po-G-raru-raru
C Ma-ke-re a-D7-na nga he-G-re
C Ma-ke-re a-D7-na nga he-G-re.

The first line has a phrase from the well-known proverb 'Hoki atu ki t?u maunga kia purea ai e koe ki ng? hau o T?whirim?tea.'

The second line is from another version of that proverb 'Hoki kia purea koe e nga hau o ou maunga, kia horoia koe e te ua', and the third line recalls the ancient phrase 'E whiti e te Ra!'

Hirini developed them into a song of remembrance for one of his students who died after going through a lot of adversity.

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October 2007, Published on web
April 2008, student comment and chords added.
Aug 2021 typo removed, modified for small screens.
June 2022, translation improved and comments corrected.