Yvonne Wall: Music

• MP3 play whole song, hi-fi (broadband)
• MP3 play whole song, lo-fi (modem)

One other regularly requested song is “Come Follow Me”, no it’s not the church hymn. It’s a true story I stumbled across at the Library, while looking up some general information about New Zealand. The story was so riveting that I knew I had to write a song about it. How ever the song is only part of the narrative. . . . . It’s important to know the “whole story” to fully appreciate it.

The “whole story” of Tarore
One day, a very long time ago, in the beautiful land of New Zealand, Tarore and her people embarked on a long journey to avoid persecution by a rival tribe. They set out for a place of safety in Bay of Plenty on the North Island. On the way they camped overnight. As they settled down to sleep, they were unaware that five raiders from a tribe in Rotorua were watching them.
In the early hours of the morning, the raiders stole many items from the camp. One warrior, called Uita, noticed Tarore was clutching a flax bag, which contained her precious copy of one of the books of the Bible. Tarore had been given a Maori translation of the Gospel of Luke by a missionary, following her attendance at a mission school where she had learned to read her language. Tarore refused to let go of her flax bag and Uita, determined to acquire it, thinking it must contain something valuable killed her in the struggle.
When Uita and his men were safely away, they looked in the bag to find their treasure. It was a small book and they could not read. They returned to Rotorua with their loot, and went the medicine man named Ripahau who was able to read the Maori language and he read to them from Tarore’s Gospel of Luke.
The story told of how God had reached down in love to His creation by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to bridge the gap between God and humankind. He read how Jesus healed the sick, preached a gospel of peace, sacrificed His life by dying on a cross, and rose again to return to His Heavenly Father. The lives of all who listened were challenged and some were changed.
Ripahau himself became a Christian and a short while later he traveled to Kapiti Island, situated just off the southwest coast of the North Island. There he shared the word of God with Tamihana, the son of the great Maori Chief, TeRauparaha, and also Tamihana’s cousins. The cousins were so impressed with the words of Luke’s Gospel, they got into their canoes and traveled to the South Island where they spent 18 months sharing the gospel story. Many tribespeople converted to Christianity.
Young Tarore had died, but her little book had traveled on. The Maoris were always great fishermen of the sea, but these had followed the call of Jesus to follow him and become fishers of men, increasing the beauty and holiness of New Zealand and the Maori people.

"Come Follow Me" - The Song of Tarore

Long, long ago in the land of the long white cloud
There was a conflict of people selfish and proud
Tarore and her people wanted to be free
So they left their homes and fled like a band of refugees
And she said;

Come follow me to the Bay of Plenty
Come follow me and we will find safety
Come follow me to the edge of the sea
We will be free if you come follow me

Evening had come, and they thought they had camped all alone
But masked in the darkness were warriors hearts cold as stone
They had watched Tarore, clutching a flaxen bag,
They knew it held a treasure, it was something they had to have
and they said;

Come follow me to the Bay of Plenty
Come follow me to the camp of Tarore
Come follow me to the edge of the sea,
There lies a treasure so come follow me

They stole into camp through the dark shadows of the night
Seeking the bag that the young girl held so tight
A battle soon erupted and she bravely defended her prize
But evil prevailed, Tarore was killed, right before everyone's eyes. . . . .

The warriors took flight with their spoils not looking back
Then Uita, their leader, revealed what was tucked in the sack
The treasure that laid before them was merely a little book
The title that it bore, was the precious "Gospel of Luke"
And it read;

Come follow me said Jesus to Peter
Come follow me for no joy is sweeter
Come follow me we will fish in a sea
Of brothers and sisters - come follow me.

Come follow me is the plea from our brother
Come follow me let's love one another
Let's walk hand in hand and be fishers of men
Come down to the sea and come follow me
If you truly believe, then come follow me