An Innocent Warrior: The story behind that hauntingly beautiful song on the Moana soundtrack

I’ve shared my love of the Moana soundtrack about eight trillion times since its release on November 18. Even before that, I shared my love of this particular scene:

It’s not just that it’s the most overwhelmingly beautiful scene I’ve ever seen from a visual standpoint. It’s that the song – “An Innocent Warrior” – is haunting, and has moved me to tears since the first time I saw it at the D23 Expo. I didn’t even know what the words meant, but the emotion in Vai Marina’s voice is palpable, and so very contagious. {That’s a good vocal performance, my friends, when you can make me sob and, as far as I know, you might be singing about a porcupine eating a pickle.}

Loimata e maligi

As I was sitting in the carpool lane today at my kids’ school, I thought I’d finally look up the translation of “An Innocent Warrior”. I’ve considered covering it with my girls, and figured we should probably know what we were saying. I’ve now been listening to Te Vaka for the past 20 minutes, starting this post on my phone, having read far too much about this song for my fragile heart. You guys, the story is so moving – stick with me.

In 2000, Opetaia Foa’i wrote “Loimata e maligi” in remembrance of 19 young girls who lost their lives when their dormitory at a secondary school in Tuvalu caught fire. (You can read a Tuvalu news report here, but be forewarned that the details make the story even more difficult.)

Vai Marina, who voices the track “An Innocent Warrior” on the Moana soundtrack, says the original song has always affected her deeply. She recalls being pregnant with her own daughter when the tragedy occurred, so to sing a rewritten version of the song now with such emotion came relatively easily. She says, “Every time I sing this song and then I look at my daughter and my children, I am reminded how lucky I am to have them here with me.”

Oof.

From Te Vaka’s website (where you can also listen to the original song), the translation of “Loimata e maligi”:

Let the tears fall down
My heart is filled with sorrow
For we have lost
Many loved ones
Let the healing flow over me
and wash this pain away
For we have lost
Many of our young women
It¹s hard to understand
That 19 lives were taken
And along with it
The future of a small nation
Let the tears fall down
My heart is filled with sorrow
For we have lost
Many loved ones

Photo: Malcom Ponton | A memorial stands at Motufoua Secondary School in honor of the victims of the 2000 dormitory fire.

“An Innocent Warrior” Lyrics and Translation

For curiosity’s sake, here is the translation of “An Innocent Warrior” :

Your eyes so full of wonder
Your heart an innocent warrior
There’s a task for you
My dearest one
Let it flow over you
This freedom you feel
And your deep thoughts
Our young girl
Your eyes so full of wonder

Now, when you watch the scene again (and again and again), you’ll have even more reason to weep. Or, you know, to be grateful for what you have. ????

[clickToTweet tweet=”When you watch the scene again, you’ll have even more reason to be grateful for what you have.” quote=”When you watch the scene again, you’ll have even more reason to be grateful for what you have.”]

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