Topenga Ataata
Kupu Tūpato
My son is almost three
– Tata ki te toru taku tama
He used to look just like his dad
– I rite tonu ia ki tōna pāpā
But right now he looks just like me
– Engari i tēnei wā he rite tonu ia ki ahau
And as far as I can see, the fruit I bear is sweet
– A, i taku kitenga, he reka te hua e mau ana I ahau
But the apple’s rolling real far from the tree
– Ko te tino awhiowhio o te aporo i tawhiti atu i te rakau
And falling down the hill so full of love and so carefree
– Me te hinga ki raro i te pukepuke ki tonu i te aroha me te kore carangawanga
I wonder if the world will treat him any better than it treated me
– E whakaaro ana ahau mēnā ka pai ake te mahi a te ao ki a ia i tana mahi ki ahau
But papa, don’t you preach
– Ko papa, e kore koe e kauwhau
I tried to teach him every day that nothing good is free, but always should be
– I whakamatau ahau ki te whakaako I a ia i nga ra katoa, kaore he mea pai e wātea ana, engari me noho tonu
And with my roots above and all my branches down below
– Me oku pakiaka i runga me oku manga katoa i raro
Please tell my boy I love him so
– Tena, korerotia mai ki taku tamaiti e aroha ana ahau ki a ia
Please tell the world I have to grow before I go
– Tena, korerotia atu ki te ao me tupu ahau i mua I taku haerenga
I just wanted you to know
– I hiahia noa ahau kia mōhio koe
That I believe in magic and I believe in sin
– E whakapono ana ahau ki te makutu e whakapono ana hoki ahau ki te hara
I still believe in Heaven, if they’ll never let me in
– E whakapono tonu ana ahau ki te Rangi, ki te kore e tukua ahau e ratou ki roto
I started to believe in love the day I met my little twin
– I tīmata ahau ki te whakapono ki te aroha i te rā i tūtaki ai ahau ki taku māhanga iti
I think I might start tryin’ because I haven’t been
– Ki taku whakaaro ka tīmata pea ahau ki te whakamātau nā te mea kāore au i te
My Momma’s getting old
– Kei te koroheketia toku Mama
Well, it’s contagious and you’ll catch it like a cold
– Well, te reira contagious a ka hopu koe i te reira rite te matao
She won’t admit it, but it’s something that I know
– Kāore ia e whakaae, engari he mea e mōhio ana ahau
‘Cause every year that passes for me passes her a hundredfold
– ‘No te mea ia tau e haere ana ki ahau e haere ana ki a ia kotahi rau
Back in the day, my dad and I would share a laugh at all of her mistakes
– Hoki i roto i te ra, e faaite toku papa, me ahau i te kata i te katoa o ona hape
But that alliance didn’t save me from her fate
– Engari kāore taua hononga i whakaora i ahau i tōna tūponotanga
No, it didn’t, I’m still twenty-eight
– Kāore, kāore, e rua tekau mā waru tonu oku tau
Became a single mom, just crushed under a rake
– I noho hei whaea kotahi, i pakaru noa i raro i te rake
Of a child growing faster than I think that I can take
– O te tamaiti e tipu tere atu ana I taku whakaaro ka taea e au te tango
I love him anyway
– Aroha ana ahau ki a ia
And I remind myself a time will come when he sees me turn grey
– A ka whakamahara ahau ki ahau ano ka tae mai te wa ka kite ia i ahau e huri ana ki te hina
And realize it’s too late, like I did with my mother
– A ka mōhio kua roa rawa, pērā i taku mahi ki tōku whaea
So now I tell her to her face
– Na inaianei ka korerotia e ahau ki a ia ki tona mata
With my roots above and all my branches down below
– Ki oku pakiaka i runga, ki oku manga katoa i raro
Please tell my mom I love her so
– Tena, korerotia mai ki toku whaea e aroha ana ahau ki a ia na
Please tell the world I have to grow before I go
– Tena, korerotia atu ki te ao me tupu ahau i mua I taku haerenga
I just wanted you to know
– I hiahia noa ahau kia mōhio koe
That I believe in magic and I still believe in sin
– E whakapono ana ahau ki te makutu e whakapono tonu ana ahau ki te hara
I still believe in Heaven, if they’ll never let me in
– E whakapono tonu ana ahau ki te Rangi, ki te kore e tukua ahau e ratou ki roto
I started to believe in love the day I met my little twin
– I tīmata ahau ki te whakapono ki te aroha i te rā i tūtaki ai ahau ki taku māhanga iti
And I might start tryin’ because I haven’t been
– A ka tīmata pea ahau ki te whakamātau nā te mea kāore au i te
I haven’t been, da-da-da-da
– Kāore au i te noho, da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-la-la
– Ko te rā-da-da-da-la-la
Da-da-da-da-la-la
– Ko te rā-da-da-da-la-la
Da-da-da-da-la-la
– Ko te rā-da-da-da-la-la
I love him so
– Aroha ana ahau ki a ia
