I cannot breathe please step off of my chest
Loosen the noose tightening round my neck
I wish for freedom and to sing my song
We're prisoners on the very land we're from
BALDHEAD! you're so well fed on my destruction fetishize our women, silence our children plunder my motherland, pollute the sea
But still i survive though you clip my wings
BALDHEAD! you tricked us with your treaty
BALDHEAD! your king sits high on his throne
He listens to his people, not to my own
Framed as a savage i'm burned at the stake
A woman's a witch yes it's her that you hate how dare you put shame upon my skin!
You are a cannibal you brought the plague
Curse us with churches and teach us your ways
BALDHEAD!, you made your bed
Ka whawhai tonu maatou, ake ake!
Ka whawhai tonu maatou, ake ake!
Loosen the noose tightening round my neck
I wish for freedom and to sing my song
We're prisoners on the very land we're from
BALDHEAD! you're so well fed on my destruction fetishize our women, silence our children plunder my motherland, pollute the sea
But still i survive though you clip my wings
BALDHEAD! you tricked us with your treaty
BALDHEAD! your king sits high on his throne
He listens to his people, not to my own
Framed as a savage i'm burned at the stake
A woman's a witch yes it's her that you hate how dare you put shame upon my skin!
You are a cannibal you brought the plague
Curse us with churches and teach us your ways
BALDHEAD!, you made your bed
Ka whawhai tonu maatou, ake ake!
Ka whawhai tonu maatou, ake ake!
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The latest single by the Māori musician is a scathing Indigenous rights protest tune. It features the potent lyrics “We’re prisoners on the very land we’re from. Plunder my motherland, pollute the sea, but still I survive, though you clip my wings, Baldhead, you tricked us with your treaty.”
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