Lo' fuou ko te' la futia,

You kneel and are about to pull [the rope],

Hanua ta gou joni kalu'akia.

I have run around the place.

Kauvaka asi ma vah'ia,

The sailors have explored it [the land],

Gou sa vahi ma la soloas.

I have planned, let us sail in.

Fu se' tautei Merika,

An American fisherman stood up,

Ko ma tau se 'on filo' heta,

Threw the spear and struck the head [of the whale],

Sal'aki ma tapu te'ofien.

[It] pulled away quickly, uncoiling all the rope.

Sava te Ramu'a ke noanoa,

The Ramu'a passage might be difficult,

Ma la soloas 'e sava Kinoa.

Let us enter by Kinoa passage.

Maka te 'Upu ma fanfan ho'aho'a,

The 'Upu tidal flat has sand that moves,

'Ut'a kiof se faviga roa.

Shifted to the long anchorage.

'Ufa ma moa valvaluen,

The rooster and hen [petrified rocks] are splashed with waves,

Hafu Feriga auau se',

The current flows over the Feriga stone,

Hafu Kamea ma favia 'os vaka.

Let us anchor our canoe at the Kamea stone.

Pu se ufa ka 'isa mamasa,

Go to land for we are dry,

Kava ta re 'e hafu Kamea,

Kava is mixed on the stone Kamea,

Mama ka ha' 'e fäefäega.

While chewing it is forbidden to talk.

Kop ma 'is re 'iat'akia,

Lest we do it hurriedly,

Au'akia 'is ma kaha,

Let us wade [to the island] and laugh,

'Ofa 'ia 'e 'os ora.

So happy we are alive.

Mia'mia' ke 'e li' gasava.

A brownish spot in the middle of a blue sea.

Koromakia ru ne huga,

I swallowed my grief,

'Otara noho väeväe roa.

of our long parting.

Mauri roa 'äe fa ne Saho'a,

Live long you, a man of Saho'a [a chief],

Jihova ta'ag 'ou mano'a.

Jehovah will be your guardian.

Fahfahepa Rupagpagoa,

Yearning for my dove Rupagpagoa,

Sala 'e tei, Sala 'e aoga,

Where did he go, in the clouds,

Ne'ne'ia 'äe la fakanonoa,

Keep strong and well nourished,

'Ou huga fe'eni 'e sala roa.

For the long trip ahead.

Väe ma la'ana se Lusaka,

Appointed to go to Lusaka,

Fanau vakai se aoga,

Your daughter looked up to you in the clouds,

Sala 'e mere se Setnee,

Went like lightning to Sydney,

'Otou 'ipe puen la mose.

My dove, landed there to sleep.

Roua Setne se Mauritius,

Left Sydney to Mauritius,

Gagaja hanis ma malu sio,

May the Lord Protect You,

Se Nairobi täe 'e Kenya,

To Nairobi in Kenya,

Ma leu sio se Zambia.

Then down to Zambia.

Gasav rua tauna'i la re,

For two weeks they'll meet,

Ka rere tapen Palimene?

To discuss about Parliament?

Ma naame poto ne rante',

To get all the wisdom of the world,

'On Commonwealth se Palimen te'.

The Commonwealth, for the Parliament here.

Puri la ho'i se hanue,

Time to return home,

Rou Lusaka se Johannesburg.

Left Lusaka for Johannesburg.

Fer te'isi noh roa 'e rere,

This is a long flight,

Rou Africa fer roa se Perth.

From Africa to Perth.

Sei la 'atua java ne foro?

Who is going to massage the stiffness from your body?

He'a se 'äe lei Muravao.

Longing for your dove Muravao [wife].

He'o ne Fiti gou a'soko,

I have fulfilled my duty to Fiji,

Te'is saghulu ne fau gou po.

This is the 10th year I am a Parliamentarian.

Saghul, Saghul, Ta, Siav Valaghul,

10.10.1980

Princess Anne te'isi ha'um,

Princess Anne's arrival,

Kato'aga re la kel 'os te,

We all went to the celebration to see her,

Te' teranit 'ipe ta puen.

That is the day the dove alit.

Turo' Kalog!

Hotiena 'e Kapitane Torres,

Gone on board Capitane Torres,

Ka sei 'inea 'itara la väe.

Who knows we are to part forever.

Takafua se nuju ne Santa Lorense,

Lying at the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River,

Pogi ma rani ao kate räe.

Night and day they searched in vain.

'Otou fanau ou ma katukatu,

My daughter-in-law wailed in grief [for her husband],

Tinirau täe 'e laga tanu.

Alas! My handsome prince is in the water.

'On fugaroto kalu 'e kakapu,

He is entombed surrounded by the mist,

Tanu matiti siri ne safu.

Of the cold water of the river.

Lagi mamaru hulia 'ahai,

A terrible storm capsized the ship,

Ruag ma folu he'a la sai.

I wish that the 23 could be saved.

Leum 'e Vanuatu ma Fiti,

[The ship] called at Vanuatu and Fiji.

Filipin, Holani, Forahanisi,

In the Philippines, Holland, France,

Kalua 'e 'aisi matiti.

Endangered by icebergs.

Foro helava täe firisi,

His lovely body is frozen,

He'a 'äe la manum se Fiti,

I wish you could float over to Fiji,

La jema sio 'otou hanisi.

To lessen my grief.

Hulihuli 'e kokono,

Turning over and over upon my sorrow,

Ka gou ma sei la oro.

I have no one for company.

Mauri täe la unuaki,

Life will never be the same again,

'Ou fuifui 'e la ne lagi.

For your children far on the horizon.

Hua'it 'e Solmaja pumea,

The inhabitant of Solmaja has come down,

Fa tani mea 'e nu'sure.

Sniffing the door.

Furi ma he'oag se 'otou mete,

I turned and called my mate,

Fu se' fa leav fuafue,

A man with long flowing hair stood up,

A'häe ke lefea mi'e.

I thought his blond hair had specks of silver.

Ko sema se 'ona 'efe,

He speared it in the abdomen,

Lu ta takai 'e tapläe,

The rope was wound around a shark's dorsal fin,

A'mou sio se lak het.

Fastened by a lock.

Tekamea 'ona sere pof het,

He took out his pen knife,

Fune'imea ara 'ona 'efe.

And cut open the abdomen to take out the internal organs.

Puaka, kavaitet,

Pork for the chiefly kava,

Kava ta vah, ma rue la la',

When the kava is finished, it is time to leave,

'E a'paat, 'e a'paat.

Zigzag all the way.

Hül!

Turn over!

Vakaea ma Sol 'Alele,

Vakaea and Sol 'Alele,

Te anuanu ka te la kele,

Heaps and heaps of food to see,

Poro maho'a 'itake keu muri, ne keu fu se rere,

Big round yams, like young keu, pushed out to the surface,

Mumu'ia ma la 'a tapene?

All has matured; how can we eat it?

Teranit 'e 'i la a'ues,

Today we dig (the yams),

Teranit 'e ka la manea'es.

Tomorrow we celebrate as a holiday (because of the big yams from the gardens).

Tima ta ha'u mea 'e favige,

The steamer has come to the anchorage,

Taurani haihaisirige,

Punts are moving to and fro,

Mal hefau hoi'ia 'e kese,

The shade under the hefau trees is full of cargo in boxes,

Putini re ka soli'e panikeke.

[We can eat] puddings and pancakes.

Kana se Savlei hanua 'on Irao,

Approaching Savlei, home of Irao,

Kona', Kavfoniak, Kavre-moan.

Kona', Kavfoniak, Kavre-moan.

Tue het 'e 'Ana se Nama,

From 'Ana hill to Nama,

Ta' hanua ne 'otom temamfua.

Is the land of our ancestors.

La'o 'e sala ka 'io vakvaka,

Walking on the road and looking sideways,

Helav sirien 'on ma'ma'a.

It is so lovely and clean.

Po'oa, mofa, fakput ma jala,

Coconut shells and rubbish are burned,

Famua jou kaokao, ma piol pota.

Broken bottles and empty cans are buried.

Aga se sasi ka mere puiaki,

Look toward the sea, where the lightning flashes

Tata 'e Savfapu se Savlei.

From Savfapu toward Savlei.[1]

Leume momomo 'e Savtolo,

Fish are coming through Savtolo,

Kiki, 'umorei, ia' kele ma polo.

Kiki, 'umorei, ia' kele ma polo [fish names].[2]

Ho'i 'e sasi ma la hül af'aki,

When removing stones from ho'i [heaps of stones] arrange them carefully,

Ta'ag 'os haghag ia' 'e sasi.

Those are our fish traps in the sea.

Se fu'e la mofu la mane'aki,

Do not neglect the stones for a long time [or coral polyps will attach to them],

Ne valu la hül reap'aki.

Or leave them after they have been scattered by waves.

Tutu'u hua'i ne 'os mori,

Tutu'u [small black fish] are always there in the coral along the beach,

Rotuma katukatu 'e pa mifi.

Rotumans crave to eat them.

Sua läje, tata se vaka,

Stir the corals with a stick [to drive the fish to the net], lift the net, empty [the catch] into canoes,

Poa ne tutu'u a'öf masala.

The smell of tutu'u satisfies the appetite.

Aga se ufa räea Solmaja,

Facing the bush you can see Solmaja,

'On aro hoi 'e vek 'a'ana,

The slopes are full of taro plantations,

'Uhi, fo'u, pari ma kava.

Yams, sugar-cane, bananas, and kava plants.

Ofiena papai 'on temamfua.

The papai of our fathers are no longer there.

La' 'e Haijala, sal 'on Senator Inia,

Let us go by Haijala, Senator Inia's road,

Joro 'e Risusu se Solmaja.

Then up Risusu way to Solmaja.

Haipoag 'e Hau ma sal ne roa,

You meet the old road at Hau,

Puag 'e Motusa se Ra'esea.

Then going down to Motusa[3] you come to Ra'esea.

Ha' 'e Fakoko ka a'häe okoko,

Reaching Fakoko, you cannot decide whether

Pu se ufaga ne leuag 'e ar solo.

To go down this way and go home or to continue on the road in front of the mountain

'If hu täe la päe ma oro,

Further on there is an 'ifi [Tahitian chestnut] tree where you can sit and talk,

'Ol'ol va' ka ag se Ofofo.

Passing the time chopping the roots [of the 'ifi tree] while facing Ofofo.

La pues se ufaga, tapen tela'a?

Let us go back; what about dinner?

Kapeje, pini, tomata, paigana,

Cabbages, beans, tomatoes, eggplants,

'A ko lä'riri' ma kat kapkapa,

Feed them to the children and they will have no scabies,

Ka o'o'i 'oaf ke se 'i'in häe pota.

But their parents prefer tinned meats and fish.