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Olivia Webb Anthems of Belonging – The Faulalo/Bull family 2019. Five-channel 4K/HD digital video (still). Courtesy of the artist
Life is Good
Anthems of Belonging
The Faulalo/Bull family
Samoan/Pākehā/New Zealanders
Life is Good
Composed February – July 2019
For 6-part unaccompanied voice, 3 mins 50 sec
The Faulalo/Bull family anthem sings of the excitement and vitality found in modern family life. Throughout the piece we hear a repeated rhythmic pulse of culture and praise “Malie le olaga, le olaga malie!” (Samoan for “life is good, how good life is!”). Alongside this pulse, a lively family chorus sings of routines, values, hopes and the cultural roots of the family tree. This involves a negotiation of many musical ideas. Unison, harmony and polyphony embody the busyness of young family life, with each family member contributing their own lyrics and ideas to the mix.
While this anthem is specific and important to the Faulalo/Bull family, they sing of themes familiar to many of us. Ideas of gratitude and participation, the sense of belonging that arises from being active community members, the spirit of hard work and practice, and sense of home that is formed through the feeling connected to each other and to family ancestry.
Life is Good
Malie le olaga
Le olaga malie!
Say yes! How good life is
Find joy in the world around you
Say yes! How good life is
And the people who surround you
Free to fly
Le olaga malie!
Like the roots of the tree
We are grounded
In the rich soil of our ancestry
Our branch bringing together
Two worlds
Children of the land and sea
(children of the land and sea)
Secure in knowing we are loved
And sure of our roots
Aiga is our family
We work as a team
United as one
At the end of the day
Connected to each other and our culture
Always looking ahead
Reflecting on the past to make a better future
Always looking ahead
Gently wake up to the stomp on the stairs
The clock that breaks in the kitchen keeps a watchful eye
We sing we dance we throw our shoes
The noise conjoined with conversation
When you speak there’s always someone to reply
Excited for the next part to spread my wings and fly away
To extend and grow and reach and know
But I will always remember home
Waking up and leaving
Returning when they’re all asleep I have new plans and I have grown
But I will always remember home
Our strength is from diversity
A fusion of cultures and beliefs
The journey’s always not as smooth
But sailing together
We get through
Malie le olaga
Le olaga malie!
Related
Exhibition
Olivia Webb: Anthems of belonging
13 March – 11 July 2021
Songs of belonging, struggle and unconditional love in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Commentary
What We Never Leave Behind
We sang the national anthem every morning before school. Our tiny white business shirts ironed and tucked in by our mothers, our striped red and black ties straightened and pinned to our chests. Across the large concrete plane that constituted both playground and football field, we lined up in two large groups and stood next to our peers before a five-metre flagpole that bore the flag of our nation: the Arab Republic of Egypt.