It is almost guaranteed that after the words bula (welcome) and vinaka (please), the two words you will hear more often than any other during a visit to Fiji are ‘ Isa Lei’. That is because they are the title of the beautiful farewell song that Fijians sing to the visitors who come out.
Melodic and inspiring, its sweet notes rise in layers of hymn stanzas. Fijians do a lot of singing on Sundays in church (they attend a service to be enthralled by the melodic harmonies), and their farewell song is sure to stir excitement.
Isa Lei’s lyrics
” Isa Lei” is sung in Fiji, and was recorded in 1967 by Australian folk singers The Seekers on their album “Roving With the Seekers”. Here’s an English translation:
Isa, Isa, you are my only treasure;
Must you leave me alone and forewarned?
As the roses will miss the sun at dawn,
Every moment my heart for you is yearning.
Isa Lei, the purple shadow falling,
Sad, the day will dawn on my pain;
Oh don’t forget when you’re away
Precious moments next to the dear Suva.
Isa, Isa, my heart was full of pleasure,
From the moment I heard your tender greeting;
‘In the middle of the sun, we spent the hours together,
Now so quickly those happy hours are fleeting.
Isa Lei, the purple shadow falling,
Sad, the day will dawn on my pain;
Oh don’t forget when you’re away
Precious moments next to the dear Suva.
Over the ocean that you call your island home,
Happy country where roses bloom in splendor;
Oh if I could travel there by your side
Then forever my heart would sing in ecstasy.
Isa Lei, the purple shadow falling,
Sad, the day will dawn on my pain;
Oh don’t forget when you’re away
Precious moments next to the dear Suva.
Edited by John Fischer
