We are "Pakeha" boys of the "Kahu" tribe, who dwell on a
fertile plain,
Where the Moa once trod on the tussock sod, but never will tread
there again.
The Moa stood high as a tall Giraffe, and rattled his gizzard
stones
But since he omitted to learn to fly, there only remain his
bones.
Chorus:- The Red, White and Blue has a meaning new, The Army,
the Navy, the Air.
The thin Red Line, and the White Ensign, and the Blue overhead,
so fair.
We may not be tall as a big Giraffe but more than a Moa are
we,
For we can rise in the pearly skies till we view the distant
sea.
Then spear in hand, a merry band, we course the wild black
swan.
(The death-song of this bird, as you've no doubt heard, is a bit
of all right très bon.)
Chorus :-
We'll learn from the Bee and the Humming Bird, and copy their
"Stand Still" stunt,
Yes, we'll make things hum in the days to come, when we join in
the great Hun hunt.
Well, it's au revoir, for we're off to the war, to help keep
“Watch on the Rhine,"
Or to take our chance of a scrap in France, flying free o’er
the far-flung line.
Chorus:-
* Kahu - The Hawk
Park Terrace, Christchurch, 12 October 1918
. . . I