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Papa E by Hapa
Papa E
F Bb F C (F C)
Hihiki mai i faifaiga o te fenua
E he puli au ite olaga masani
He mafai fakapuli ite loto
Ite loto o papa e
Aue ite nuku o papa e
Chorus
Aue aue papa e / Aue papa e
Aue aue papa e / I te nuku o papa e
Oku mokomokoga ke toe fanatu
I mea na e masani ai
Ko kata lava e mua mai
Te kata o papa e
Aue i te nuku o papa e
A song for my father
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In search of a better way of life, Ope's father left the small island of Fakaofo in Tokelau.
This song is about the feelings, emotions and sadness he experienced as he watched the
palms and shoreline disappear as he sailed away from Tokelau for the first time.
The Language
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All the songs on the first album, with the exception of the first and third verse of
Mai', and all the songs on the second album are sung in the language of Tokelau.
There are two dialects in Polynesia, an old one using 'h' and 'wh', and a later one
's' and 'f'. Both dialects were brought to Tokelau but the new dialect never took hold and
islands retained the old one.
This has a rounded and more rhythmic sound making the language of Tokelau very musical.
How this affects the language is in the pronunciation of 's' and 'f' which are
'h' and 'wh' (as in 'where').
Examples of this are 'Siva' which is pronounced 'Hiva', and 'fenua' which is pronounced 'whenua'.
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