NOW IS THE HOUR (MAORI FAREWELL SONG)
(Based on the songs "Po Atarau" - "Haere Ra" - "Swiss Cradle Song") 
(Maewa Kaihan / Dorothy Stewart / Clement Scott)

Ana Hato - 1927
Ernest McKinlay - 1928
George Nepia - 1935
Gracie Fields - 1947
Bing Crosby with The Ken Darby Choir - 1948
Margaret Whiting - 1948
Buddy Clark with The Charioteers - 1948
Eddy Howard & His Orch. - 1948
Kate Smith - 1948
Connie Francis - 1959
Frank Sinatra - 1962
Marty Robbins - 1963
Charlie Spivak & His Orch.(vocal: Tommy Mercer) - 1948
Also recorded by: Perry Como; Gene Vincent; Lennon Sisters; Burl Ives; Slim Whitman; Hank Snow; 
Wayne King; Bob Ralston; Vera Lynn; Eddy Howard; Pat Boone; Phil Coulter; Gale Storm; Lawrence Welk; 
Horace Heidt; Frank Patterson; Kiri Te Kanawa.


SUNSET GLOW FADES IN THE WEST, 
NIGHT O'ER THE VALLEY IS CREEPING! 
BIRDS CUDDLE DOWN IN THEIR NEST, 
SOON ALL THE WORLD WILL BE SLEEPING, 

AND NOW IS THE HOUR WHEN WE MUST SAY GOODBYE, 
SOON YOU'LL BE SAILING FAR ACROSS THE SEA, 
WHILE YOU'RE AWAY, O, THEN REMEMBER ME, 
WHEN YOU RETURN, YOU'LL FIND ME WAITING HERE, 

TRUE LOVERS OFTEN MUST PART, 
KISS ME, THEN LEAVE ME TO SORROW! 
HERE LOVE, I GIVE YOU MY HEART, 
YOU WILL RETURN SOME GLAD MORROW, 

BUT NOW IS THE HOUR WHEN WE MUST SAY GOODBYE, 
SOON YOU'LL BE SAILING FAR ACROSS THE SEA, 
WHILE YOU'RE AWAY, O, THEN REMEMBER ME, 
WHEN YOU RETURN, YOU'LL FIND ME WAITING HERE. 


*****

as rec by Vera Lynn  1964


Now is the hour when we must say goodbye;
Soon you'll be sailing far across the sea.
While you're away, oh please remember me,
When you return, you'll find me waiting here.

I'll dream of you if you will dream of me,
Each hour I'll miss you, here across the sea.
It's not goodbye, it's just a sweet adieu,
Some day I'll sail across the sea to you.

While you're away, oh please remember me,
When you return, you'll find me waiting here.



(Transcribed by Peter Akers - November 2011)


*****



"PO ATARAU" (Original Maori Lyrics)


Pö atarau 
E moea iho nei 
E haere ana 
Koe ki pämamao 

Haere rä 
Ka hoki mai anö 
Ki i te tau 
E tangi atu nei


*****


"PO ATARAU" (English Translation)


On a moonlit night 
I see in a dream 
You going 
To a distant land 

Farewell, 
But return again 
To your loved one, 
Weeping here


*****


HAERE RA (Original Maori Lyrics)


Te i-wi te, I-wi e te i-wi e 
Ta hu-ri mai ra, Te nga-ka-u e 
Ki nga ku-pu, O te ro-ngo pai 
He o-ra-nga O te i-wi e 

Ha-e-re ra, Te ma-nu ta-ngi pai 
E hae-re a-na, Koe ki pa-ma-mao. 
Haere ra, Ka ho-ki mai a-no, 
Ki-te tau, E ta-ngi a-tu nei