Stan Walker just released a new "healing" waiata written in te reo Māori.
Stan chose to 'KI TAKU AWA’ release the track today, not only in celebration of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, but to mark the 15th anniversary of his music-making career.
“This waiata is all about healing. Kei ā koutou te wā ❤️❤️❤️,” Stan said to fans in an Instagram post this morning.
The lyrics express the relief of returning home and the soul of being true to one's Māoritanga.
In a teaser video yesterday, he explained: “This is probably my most personal song, that I’ve written.”
“This is actually the second version of the song, because I originally wrote it in English,” Stan added. “But it’s taken on a whole different meaning coming to the end of my season and this part of my journey.”
He explained: “It’s a reflection of the relationship of me and my pāpā and losing my pāpā”.
“Even though I wrote this before my dad had died, it was written, back then, for the beginning of my journey of healing…”
Stan’s latest track continues the theme of connecting to his roots - something that's been reflected in many of his recent releases. His songs ‘I AM’ and ‘Māori Ki Te Ao’ also explore his journey to understanding his Māoritanga.
He says it was important to him to release the song in Te Reo first.
Every time the English language music comes first, followed by the Māori language. However, I have to say that te reo Māori is my first language.
In the past, English language versions have always been first released before translating into Māori, but Stan has flipped that on its head for 'KI TAKU AWA’.
His English language version ‘BACK TO THE RIVER’ will be released on October 3rd.
