Topenga Ataata
Kupu Tūpato
I’ve been watching him for my entire life
– Kua mātakitaki ahau i a ia mō toku oranga katoa
I hate the air he breathes, his foolish decrees
– E kino ana ahau ki te hau e manawapa ana ia, ki ana ture poauau
His words so contrived
– Ko ana kupu i hangaia
And I hate the way the townspeople gather outside
– A e kino ana ahau ki te huarahi e huihui ai nga tangata o te taone ki waho
They hang on every breath, cling to his chest
– Ka whakairi ratou ki nga manawa katoa, ka piri ki tona uma
Home to his heart full of pride
– Te whare ki tona ngakau ki tonu i te whakapehapeha
The oracle told him to beware the Ides
– I ki atu te tohunga ki a ia kia tupato ki nga Ides
And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t wishing
– A ka teka ahau ki te mea ahau e kore ahau e hiahia
For untimely death or demise
– Mo te mate o mua, mo te matenga rānei
Or am I just wishing I could be like you?
– Ranei e hiahia ana ahau kia rite ahau ki a koe?
That the people would see me too as a poet
– Kia kite hoki te iwi i ahau hei kaitoi
And not just the muse
– Ehara i te mea ko te muse anake
Oh, it’s not true, I don’t wish harm upon you
– Aue, ehara I te mea pono, kaore au e hiahia ki te kino ki a koe
From birth we’ve been like brothers of different mothers
– Mai i te whanautanga kua rite matou ki nga tuakana o nga whaea rereke
Within the spirit of the same womb
– I roto i te wairua o te kopu kotahi
May the gods strike me down if I forsake you
– Kia patua ahau e nga atua ki te whakarere ahau i a koe
Frater meus, you’re beautifully made
– Frater meus, he ataahua te hanga
And to you I’m forever grateful
– A ki a koe e mauruuru tonu ana ahau
I’ll never forget that you showed me to make art
– Kāore au e wareware i whakaaturia mai e koe ki ahau te mahi toi
And I know the love you showed me came
– A e mohio ana ahau i haere mai te aroha i whakaaturia e koe ki ahau
From a pure and noble heart
– Mai i te ngakau ma me te rangatira
I love you, and if you want, I’ll call you King
– Aroha ana ahau Ki A Koutou, a ki te hiahia koe, ka karanga Ahau Ki A Koutou Kingi
But why do I lie awake each night thinking
– Engari he aha ahau i takoto ai i ia pō e whakaaro ana
“Instead of you, it should be me”?
– “Hei utu mo koe, me waiho ahau”?
Something wicked this way comes
– Ka puta mai tētahi mea kino i tēnei ara
And as I set to face it, I’m unsure
– A, i taku whakatakoto ki te aro atu ki a ia, kaore au i te tino mohio
Should I embrace it, should I run?
– Me awhi ahau, me rere ahau?
What motivates me? Hatred? Is it love?
– He aha te mea e akiaki ana i ahau? Te mauahara? He aroha rānei?
What’s more wrong; that I too wish to be great
– He aha atu te he; e hiahia ana hoki ahau ki te kia nui
Or my mother wished she’d had a son?
– Ranei i hiahia toku whaea kia whai tama ia?
And even if I can’t be the one
– A ahakoa e kore e taea e ahau te kotahi
Maybe I could at least help make way for him
– Tērā pea ka taea e au te āwhina ki te whai wāhi atu ki a ia
Until the day that he comes
– Tae noa ki te rā e haere mai ai ia
Maybe my name could also be known
– Tērā pea ka mōhiotia hoki toku ingoa
That I helped return good to the people
– I āwhina ahau ki te whakahoki mai i te pai ki te iwi
And restored greatness to Rome
– A whakahokia ana te nui ki Roma
Brutus, Brutus, Brutus, Brutus!
– Ko Brutus, Ko Brutus, Ko Brutus, Ko Brutus!
Brutus, Brutus, Brutus, Brutus!
– Ko Brutus, Ko Brutus, Ko Brutus, Ko Brutus!
Brutus, Brutus, Brutus, Brutus!
– Ko Brutus, Ko Brutus, Ko Brutus, Ko Brutus!
Brutus, Brutus, Brutus, Brutus!
– Ko Brutus, Ko Brutus, Ko Brutus, Ko Brutus!
My name is Brutus and my name means heavy
– Ko Brutus tōku ingoa ko heavy tōku ingoa
So with a heavy heart
– Na ki te ngakau taimaha
I’ll guide this dagger into the heart of my enemy
– Ka ārahi ahau i tēnei maripi ki te ngākau o taku hoariri
My whole life, you were a teacher and friend to me
– Toku ora katoa, ko koe he kaiako, me te hoa ki ahau
Please know my actions are not motivated only by envy
– Tena koa kia mohio ko aku mahi ehara i te mea e akiakihia ana e te hae anake
I, too, have a destiny
– He tūponotanga anō hoki taku
This death will be art
– Ko tenei mate ka toi
The people will speak of this day from near and afar
– Ka kōrero te iwi mō tēnei rā mai i tawhiti
This event will be history, and I’ll be great too
– He hītori tēnei kaupapa, ā, ka tino pai hoki ahau
I don’t want what you have, I want to be you
– Kāore au e hiahia ana ki tāu, e hiahia ana ahau kia noho koe
I always knew I could be the one
– I mohio tonu ahau ka taea e au te mea kotahi
Though I feel the endless pain of being
– Ahakoa eel ana ahau i te mamae mutunga kore o te noho
And I am scorched by the Sun
– A kua tahuna ahau e te Ra
Of humble origins and born of the cursed sex
– He iti noa iho te takenga mai o te ira tangata i whanau mai i te ira tangata i kanga
My name is Brutus, but the people will call me Rex
– Ko Brutus tōku ingoa, engari ka karanga te iwi Ki ahau Ko Rex
