Hine E Hine facts for kids

Hine E Hine is a beautiful Māori lullaby. A lullaby is a soft song sung to help babies and young children fall asleep. Princess Te Rangi Pai, also known as Fanny Rose Howie, wrote this famous song in 1907. She was a well-known singer from New Zealand.

A Song for Sleepy Time

For many years, from 1979 to 1994, a special music-only version of Hine E Hine was played on New Zealand TV Channel 2. This was the channel's "closing-down song" at night. It played along with a fun cartoon called the Goodnight Kiwi, which showed a kiwi bird going to bed.

Famous Singers and Films

Many famous artists have sung Hine E Hine.

• It was the first song on Kiri Te Kanawa's album Maori Songs in 1999. Kiri Te Kanawa is a world-famous opera singer from New Zealand.
• Hayley Westenra, another talented New Zealand singer, included the song on her album Pure in 2003.
• The song also appears on The José Carreras Collection album by José Carreras, a famous opera singer.
• The New Zealand band The Phoenix Foundation performed the song in the 2010 movie Boy.

The Words of the Lullaby

The original words of Hine E Hine are in Māori, with an English translation. They are meant to comfort a child.

Other Versions of the Lyrics

Sometimes, songs have different versions of their words. In 1981, the composer Dorothy Buchanan was given slightly different words when she arranged the song. The Hutt Valley Singers choir used music copied from her original notes around that time. The English translation for this version came from John Archer.