The Mud and the Wood (Te Tōnga O Tainui)

The Mud and the Wood (Te Tōnga O Tainui)

Style: Dark Nordic Folk / Heavy Work Chant Instrumentation: The sickening squelch of thick mud, the terrifying groan of a massive wooden hull dragging over logs, thick ropes stretching to the breaking point, and a slow, booming war drum. Vocal Style: Exhausted, gritty male gang chants heaving on the beat, led by a single, powerful, echoing priest chanting the incantations.

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Lyrics

(Intro) (The heavy, wet sound of boots sinking deep into thick mud: Squelch... Squelch...) (The deafening, sustained groan of a massive wooden hull scraping across earth: Creeeeeak...) (A low, suffocating Tagelharpa drone begins: 'Mmmmm...') (Whispered, exhausted, overlapping voices) Tie-noo-ee... (Tainui - The Great Waka) Teh Pah-roo... (Te Paru - The Mud) Tie-noo-ee... (Verse 1) (An agonizingly slow, heavy drum beat: BOOM... ... ... BOOM... ... ...) The ocean is left to the eastern sky But the wood is heavy and the land is dry The mighty hull in the sinking clay To drag the shadow to the western day The muscle tears and the rope is tight We fight the earth in the fading light But the timber groans and the belly sinks And the water is black where the demon drinks. (Chorus) (Drums erupt into a brutal, synchronized pulling rhythm—every beat is a massive heave) (Full choir of deep voices roaring in sheer exertion) Hee-tah! (Hita - Heave/Pull!) Drag the belly through the bone! Hee-tah! Break the root and break the stone! Tie-noo-ee! The wood is heavy on the green! Tie-noo-ee! The greatest burden ever seen! (Verse 2) (Music drops back to just the pulsing drone and the terrifying sound of thick ropes snapping) The men are broken on the muddy floor The sacred canoe will move no more Until the Toh-hoo-ngah (Tohunga - Priest) takes the stand To breathe the magic on the bleeding land The Kah-rah-key-ah (Karakia - Incantation) cuts the air To wake the gods sleeping in the lair The spirit lifts and the shadow breaks The earth is trembling and the forest shakes! (Bridge) (Acapella. Frantic, heavy pulling sounds, chest-slapping, and the screeching of wood on wood) To-o-ah! (Tōa - Drag it/Pull it) The magic falls upon the tree! To-o-ah! To pull the fathers to the sea! Maw-ree! (Mauri - Life force) The heavy timber starts to slide! Maw-ree! We reach the water and the western tide! (Chorus) (Maximum volume, huge wall of sound with crashing percussion and roaring voices heaving in unison) Hee-tah! Drag the belly through the bone! Hee-tah! Break the root and break the stone! Tie-noo-ee! The wood is heavy on the green! Tie-noo-ee! The greatest burden ever seen! (Outro) (The heavy percussion suddenly stops) (Only the low drone and the sound of a massive wooden hull finally splashing into the ocean remain) (Spoken in a deep, exhausted, but triumphant whisper) The mud is washed. The western sea is open. Why-kah-toe... (Waikato - The region they settle) (A single, final splash of water)