While Moana’s father tells her their people have never ventured beyond the island reef, the truth is (SPOILER ALERT) Polynesian people have been beast-mode explorers for generations. Just imagine how ballsy you have to be to venture into the open ocean with no idea what, if anything, you’ll find.
And then you’re rewarded by finding Hawaii! Respect.
‘We Know the Way’ is a song about those ancestral explorers whose spirit lives in Moana. It’s also the one song in the film on which Lin-Manuel Miranda sings lead vocals. I bet it earns an Oscar nomination just to get him on stage at the show.
E le atua o le sami tele e o mai
Ia ava’e le lu’itau e lelei
Tapenapena
Aue, aue
Nuku i mua
Te manulele e tataki e
Aue, aue
Te fenua, te mālie
Nae ko hakilia mo kaiga e
[Verse 1]
We read the wind and the sky when the sun is high
We sail the length of the seas on the ocean breeze
At night, we name every star
We know where we are
We know who we are, who we are
Aue, aue
We set a course to find
A brand new Island everywhere we roam
Aue, aue
We keep our Island in our mind
And when it’s time to find home
We know the way
Aue, aue
We are explorers reading every sign
We tell the stories of our elders in a never-ending chain
Aue, aue
Te fenua, te mālie
Nā heko hakilia
We know the way
As I said yesterday, I predict a nomination for this song as well.