Topenga Ataata
Kupu Tūpato
Schoolbag in hand, she leaves home in the early morning
– He putea kura kei te ringa, ka wehe atu ia i te kāinga i te ata tonu
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile
– Kia ora, kia ora, kia ora, kia ora, kia ora, kia ora, kia ora, kia ora, kia ora, kia ora, kia ora
I watch her go with a surge of that well-known sadness
– Ka kite ahau i a ia e haere ana me te nui o taua pouri rongonui
And I have to sit down for a while
– A me noho au ki raro mō tētahi wā
The feeling that I’m losing her forever
– Ko te whakaaro kei te ngaro tonu ahau i a ia
And without really entering her world
– Me te kore e tino tomo ki tona ao
I’m glad whenever I can share her laughter
– He harikoa ahau i nga wa katoa ka taea e au te kata
That funny little girl
– Ko taua kotiro iti ngahau
Slipping through my fingers all the time
– E rere ana i roto i oku maihao i nga wa katoa
I try to capture every minute
– Ka ngana ahau ki te hopu i ia meneti
The feeling in it
– Ko te whakaaro i roto
Slipping through my fingers all the time
– E rere ana i roto i oku maihao i nga wa katoa
Do I really see what’s in her mind?
– Kei te tino kite ahau he aha kei roto i tona hinengaro?
Each time I think I’m close to knowing
– I nga wa katoa e whakaaro ana ahau kei te tata ahau ki te mohio
She keeps on growing
– Ka tipu haere tonu ia
Slipping through my fingers all the time
– E rere ana i roto i oku maihao i nga wa katoa
Sleep in our eyes, her and me at the breakfast table
– Moe i roto i to tatou kanohi, ia me ahau i te tepu parakuihi
Barely awake, I let precious time go by
– I te mea e mataara ana ahau, ka tukua e ahau te wā utu nui kia haere
Then when she’s gone, there’s that odd melancholy feeling
– A, no te haere ia, i reira te taua mana’o pouri rerekē
And a sense of guilt I can’t deny
– Me te whakaaro o te hara e kore e taea e ahau te whakakahore
What happened to the wonderful adventures
– He aha te mea i tupu ki nga mahi whakamiharo
The places I had planned for us to go?
– Ko ngā wāhi i whakamaherehia e au kia haere tātou?
(Slipping through my fingers all the time)
– (I roto i aku maihao i nga wa katoa)
Well, some of that we did, but most we didn’t
– Na, ko ētahi o aua mea i mahia e mātou, engari ko te nuinga kāore i mahia e mātou
And why, I just don’t know
– A he aha, kaore au i te mohio
Slipping through my fingers all the time
– E rere ana i roto i oku maihao i nga wa katoa
I try to capture every minute
– Ka ngana ahau ki te hopu i ia meneti
The feeling in it
– Ko te whakaaro i roto
Slipping through my fingers all the time
– E rere ana i roto i oku maihao i nga wa katoa
Do I really see what’s in her mind?
– Kei te tino kite ahau he aha kei roto i tona hinengaro?
Each time I think I’m close to knowing
– I nga wa katoa e whakaaro ana ahau kei te tata ahau ki te mohio
She keeps on growing
– Ka tipu haere tonu ia
Slipping through my fingers all the time
– E rere ana i roto i oku maihao i nga wa katoa
Sometimes I wish that I could freeze the picture
– I ētahi wā e hiahia ana ahau kia taea e au te whakarewa i te pikitia
And save it from the funny tricks of time
– Me te whakaora i te reira i te tinihanga ngahau o te wā
Slipping through my fingers
– E rere ana i roto i oku maihao
Slipping through my fingers all the time
– E rere ana i roto i oku maihao i nga wa katoa
Schoolbag in hand, she leaves home in the early morning
– He putea kura kei te ringa, ka wehe atu ia i te kāinga i te ata tonu
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile
– Kia ora, kia ora, kia ora, kia ora, kia ora, kia ora, kia ora, kia ora, kia ora, kia ora, kia ora
