"" ("God is Truth") is the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...

of the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

. It was adopted in 1982, replacing the previous New Zealand anthem "

God Defend New Zealand "God Defend New Zealand" (, meaning 'New Zealand') is one of two national anthems of New Zealand, the other being "God Save the King". Legally the two have equal status, but "God Defend New Zealand" is more commonly used. Originally written as a ...

History

The music is by Sir Tom Davis, then

Prime Minister of the Cook Islands The prime minister of the Cook Islands is the head of government of the Cook Islands, a self-governing territory in Associated state, free association with New Zealand. The office was established in 1965, when Hi ...

. The lyrics are by his wife, Pa Tepaeru Terito Ariki, Lady Davis. In 1982, article 76(D) of the constitution of the Cook Islands declared the song the official anthem of the Cook Islands. Before, the country used the New Zealand National Anthem. In 2017, the

House of Ariki The House of Ariki () is a parliamentary body in the Cook Islands. It is composed of Cook Islands high chiefs (''ariki''), appointed by the King's Representative. While it functions in a similar way to the House of Lords and the Senate of Canada ...

proposed to change two words from the song, replacing ("all the islands of the sea") with (Cook Islands). The change was heavily disliked by residents of the islands. They pointed out the new words were not part of their language, te reo Māori, and claimed the change was offensive towards Sir Tom Davis and Pa Tepaeru Ariki Lady Davis.

Lyrics

Notes

References

External links

* (female voice and guitar) * (3-part

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

, first 2½ lines missing) {{National anthems of Oceania and the Pacific Islands National anthems National symbols of the Cook Islands Cook Islands music Oceanian anthems New Zealand songs