'Boy' sends classic Māori tune into charts
12 May 2010
A catchy classic tune is back in the charts - and Kiwis up and down the country are singing along - after a boost from film-maker Taika Waititi’s latest film and his own video remake of the eighties hit.
Patea Māori Club’s original version of Poi E - which blitzed the New Zealand charts for 22 weeks in 1984 - has been revived in Waititi’s 2010 coming-of-age film Boy.
Since then musical movie fans have harnessed the power of social media to ask Waititi to put the song back in the No 1 spot on New Zealand’s music charts by Christmas.
Waititi picked up the challenge, and the result is a loving tongue-in-cheek clip of Poi E that splices shots from the original Patea Māori Club video with scenes from Boy, and the now-older band. The video was put together in just one day.
"It’s hard to do something with limited material but I think it captures the soul of the film and it’s pretty fun to watch. It’s great to see a NZ classic get another chance in the charts," says Waititi.
Story of Poi E
Poi E was written by Māori linguist Ngoi Pewhairangi and musician Dalvanius Prime as a means of instilling cultural pride in young Māori.
They wrote the song in 1982, but it wasn’t until 1983 that Prime decided to record Poi E on his own label, Maui Records. The Patea Māori Club sang the vocals to a funky rhythmic background - chosen because Prime and Pewhairangi thought young people would relate to it. The original Poi E video is a fusion of kapa haka, hip-hop, electro and pop.
The song motivated the people of Patea to work together to help raise money for Prime to record the song.
The video director Paul Carvell gave his services for the one-day video shoot and, although the Patea Māori Club was the main focus, other townspeople also had cameos in the video.
Poi E became a huge sleeper hit both locally and internationally. The Patea Māori Club toured the UK in 1984 to play at festivals, while at home young Māori were break-dancing to Poi E on the streets.
A musical based on the song and telling the story of the small rural town was also made.
Background: Patea
Patea is the second-largest town in the Taranaki region, in New Zealand’s western North Island, and has a rich and interesting history.
Originally named Carlyle by European settlers, Patea was founded in the late 1850s, and was an important military settlement during the New Zealand Land Wars.
During the 1920s, Patea was the world’s biggest cheese exporting port in the world. The port was closed in 1959.
The closure of the Patea Freezing Works in the early 1980s had a huge effect on the small town’s economy, and the musical based on Poi E goes into the story in more detail.
Top Kiwi golfer Michael Campbell learned to play golf at the Patea Golf Club, which is on cliffs overlooking the Tasman Sea.
Poi E song lyrics
E rere ra e taku poi porotiti
Titahataha ra, whakararuraru e
Porotakataka ra, poro hurihuri mai
Rite tonu ki te tiwaiwaka e
Ka parepare ra, pioioi a
Whakahekeheke, e kia korikori e
Piki whakarunga ra, ma muinga mai a
Taku poi porotiti, taku poi e
Poi E, whakatata mai
Poi E, kaua he rereke
Poi E, kia piri mai ki au
Poi E, e awhi mai ra
Poi E, tapekatia mai.
Poi E, o taua aroha
Poi E, paiheretia ra.
Poi ... taku poi e.
Poi E - English translation
Swing out rhythmically, my feelings
lean out beside me, so deceptively.
Swing round and down, spin towards me
just like a fantail.
Swing to the side: swing to and fro
zoom down, wriggle,
climb up above, swarm around me
my whirling emotions, my poi, Yeah.
Oh my feelings, draw near,
Oh my poi, don't go astray
Oh my affections, stick to me
Oh my instincts, take care of me
Oh my emotions, be entwined around me.
Oh poi, our love...
Oh poi ...binds.
Poi.... my poi, yeah.
More information:
'Boy' shines at Sundance Festival
Taika Waititi's 'Poi E'
video on YouTube
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