[Verse 1] I seen you coming home before you saw me there Sun on Farrington Highway, salt inside the air You came back with your mainland shine, your stories and your name But the shoreline still remembers who you were before the fame I know the way you looking at the bay like it can all begin Like one good dream and open water gonna pull the future in And I don’t blame your hopeful heart for wanting something more But every wave that reaches out still answers to this shore [Pre-Chorus] So listen close, Ee-KAI-kah I not trying shut you down I just know what gets lost When big ideas hit this town [Chorus] I can stand beside you, I can look you in the eye I can love the way you dream and still not call your dream mine You can say development, I will say slow down first Not because I don’t believe in you Because I know this earth And I’ll meet you with respect, even when we disagree You get your voice, I get mine That’s how love stay clean If you really like come closer, then you got to understand I can open up my heart Without letting go this land [Verse 2] Pokai water held us both, the wind was soft and low You were flying over blue like you were born to chase and go And I could see the part of you that came back here for real Not the credits, not the spotlight, just the part that wants to heal But I heard the talk already, new hub, new crowds, new plans And I felt my tūtū’s caution moving steady through my hands We not just some empty coastline waiting for a better use We are memory, blood, and burden We are more than ocean views [Pre-Chorus] So when you talk of progress I get stronger in my tone Cause I have to guard the places That still make our people home [Chorus] I can stand beside you, I can look you in the eye I can love the way you dream and still not call your dream mine You can say development, I will say slow down first Not because I don’t believe in you Because I know this earth And I’ll meet you with respect, even when we disagree You get your voice, I get mine That’s how love stay clean If you really like come closer, then you got to understand I can open up my heart Without letting go this land [Bridge] No shame in your ambition No shame in where you’ve been No shame in wanting more for all your family and your friends But no shame in my resistance No shame in drawing lines No shame in saying this place sacred And still reaching for your hand If we going build tomorrow Let it start with how we speak Not who wins the whole argument But who stays when it gets deep [Final Chorus] I can stand beside you, I can look you in the eye I can hear your reasons out and still not lay my values down You can dream a different future, I can ask what it may cost And if we keep on telling truth Then maybe nothing’s lost You get your road to travel, I get mine beneath my feet And maybe love is not agreement Maybe love is staying sweet So if you really like come closer, then you got to understand I can make room here for you Without surrendering this land [Outro] Pokai in the evening Trade winds moving through I not turning from you, Ee-KAI-kah I just stayin’ true
