Fio Tovola - Urge to Ask Featured
Fatu `e Siosaia Mataele (1930)
Liliu `e Palōfesa Hūfanga Dr `Okusitino Māhina
Composed by Siosaia Mataele (1930)
Translated by Professor Hūfanga Dr `Okusitino Māhina
Fio tovola pē `e tolona nai `afē?
Uisa he naua e moana vavalé
Lōmekina kita `e he `ofa mamaé
Ko si`ete taufonua nai `afē?
Urge to ask, will it ever come to pass?
Crashing waves of the bottomless ocean
Drowned am I by unselfish love
When will I ever reach the land?
Lose si`i ngoue takafia `e he laioné
Manule`o pulusila `o e ngaahi hōsitē
`E toki ngofua toli `e he ma`u paasi pē
Tuli ki he fā te u `uli tapu tafoé
A rose in the garden roamed by lions
Guarding-animals as weapons of hosts
Allowed for plucking only by pass holders
Keep to the mark, never to retreat
To`e loto hikilā si`ete fiehuá
Siu e manusiu fanga `ena he houfonuá
Hoholo e lā fietuku si`oto taulá
Ka e tala `e hai `e ngofua ha tu`u ki `utá
Heart-strickened, my sails are set to sail
Sea-birds hovering over land-caused swells
Sails are put down, ready to anchor
Yet, there’s no permit to set foot on land
Tau:
`Amanaki tala `e he fua mailé
Sio fatungaloa `ene lauiafé
Folaua tonu `e he fua ki he losé
Ko si`ete taufonua nai `afē?
Chorus:
Hope measured in nautical miles
Seeing storm-clouds by the thousands
Sailing head-on towards the rose
When will I ever reach the land?
