Now Is the Hour (Maori Farewell Song)   Original Lyrics: Maewae Kaihau, Music: Clement Scott,
English lyrics: Dorothy Stewart, Goodbye

Now is the hour when we must say goodbye.
Soon you'll be sailing far across the sea.
 
While you're away, Oh, then, remember me.
When you return
You'll find me waiting here.
 
Sunset glow fades in the west.
Night o'er the valley is creeping.
Birds cuddle down in their nest
Soon all the world will be sleeping.







Most of the popular songs that grew out of World War II came from the European side of the battle.  One of the very few that reached us from the Pacific was "Now Is the Hour," a song of the Maoris of New Zealand, originally known as "Maori Farewell Song."  It was given English lyrics and it's English title, and Gracie Fields, the great British music-hall entertainer, popularized it during the last stages of the war.  This was a period when the conflict in Europe was drawing to an end and attention was being rived on the Pacific.  When the war ended with the surrender of the Japanese in August of 1945, there were hundreds of thousands of servicement for whom the plaintive strains of "Now Is the Hour" had a very emotional tug.