"Hine E Hine" is a Māori

Maori language

Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...

 lullaby

Lullaby

A lullaby is a soothing song, usually sung to young children before they go to sleep, with the intention of speeding that process. As a result they are often simple and repetitive. Lullabies can be found in every culture and since the ancient period....

 written by Princess Te Rangi Pai (born Fanny Rose Porter) (1868-1916) in 1907.

Hine E Hine was used from 1979 to 1994 as the New Zealand TV Channel 2's "closing-down song", which accompanied a cartoon featuring the Goodnight Kiwi

Goodnight Kiwi

The Goodnight Kiwi, later also called TV Kiwi, is a character in an animated short which has been used to signal the end of nightly broadcasts on Television New Zealand channels. The animation was introduced in 1975 on TV2, and used on South Pacific Television between 1976 and 1980. Between 1980...

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A cover of the song was recorded by Hayley Westenra

Hayley Westenra

Hayley Dee Westenra is a New Zealand soprano, classical crossover artist, songwriter and UNICEF Ambassador. Her first internationally released album, Pure, reached No. 1 on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million copies worldwide...

 for her album Pure

Pure (Hayley Westenra album)

Pure is the first internationally published Album by Christchurch, New Zealand soprano Hayley Westenra. Her previous albums were released only in New Zealand and nearby Australia. This album also received professional consultation from the legendary Sir George Martin who helped to create its...

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The song also features on the José Carreras

José Carreras

Josep Maria Carreras i Coll , better known as José Carreras , is a Spanish Catalan tenor particularly known for his performances in the operas of Verdi and Puccini...

 album The José Carreras Collection, released in 2003.