Lyr Add: Hi'ilawe

Subject: Lyr Add: Hi'ilawe
From: chico
Date: 21 Apr 06 - 09:34 AM

  
         D       
  Kûmaka ka 'ikena iâ Hi'ilawe                All eyes are on Hi'ilawe
            G       A7      D        
  Ka papa lohi mai a'o Maukele                In the sparkling lowlands of Maukele
        
  Pakele mai au i ka nui manu                I have not been trapped by the gossip
  Hau wala'au nei puni Waipi'o                Chattering everywhere in Waipi'o [wala'au = vala'au]
        
  'A'ole nô wau e loa'a mai                I am not caught
  A he uhiwai au no ke kuahiwi                For I am the mist of the mountains
        
  He hiwahiwa au na ka makua                I am the darling of the parents
  A he lei 'â'î na ke kupuna                And a lei for the necks of grandparents
   
  No Puna ke 'ala i hali 'ia mai                The fragrance is wafted from Puna
  Noho i ka wailele a'o Hi'ilawe                And lives at Hi'ilawe waterfall
  
  Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana                Tell the refrain
  Kûmaka ka 'ikena iâ Hi'ilawe                All eyes are on Hi'ilawe 
  
  [OMITA INFRA]      
  I ka poli nô au o Ha'i wahine                I was at the bosom of Ha'i, the woman
  I ka poli aloha o Ha'inakolo                At the beloved bosom of Ha'inakolo
        
  Ho'okolo 'ia aku i ka nui manu                Annoyed at the many birds
  I like ke ka'ina meka uahoa                They were indifferent to the distress they caused
        
  He hoa 'oe no ka lâ le'ale'a                You are my companion in the day of joy
  Na ka nui manu iho haunaele                The many birds there caused a commotion
   
  E 'ole ko'u nui piha akamai                It is my great skill
  Hala a'e nâ 'ale o ka moana                The waves of the ocean overwhelm us
        
  Hao mai ka moana kau e ka weli                The ocean rages fearfully
  Mea 'ole na'e ia no ia ho'okele                But my steering is skillfull
        
  Ho'okele o 'uleu pili i ka uapo                Hurry, let us go close to the wharf
  Honi malihini au me ku'u aloha                I am your new love to be kissed
        
  He aloha ia pua ua lei 'ia                My flower, my lei, my love for you
  Ku'u pua miulana poina 'ole                Is unforgettable like the muilan flower
    

[Source: Sonny Cunha's Music Book - Copyright 1902 William Coney - First published under the title Halialaulani (Fond Recollections of the Chiefs) by Mrs. Kuakini, it is also credited to Martha K. Maui under the title of Ke Aloha Poina 'Ole (Unforgettable Love), but was written by Sam Li'a Kalainaina, Sr. This information was given to Larry Kimura by Sam Li'a Kalainaina, Jr. and contributed by Keola Donaghy. This mele is about a love affair at Hi'ilawe (highest waterfall in Hawai'i) and Waio'ulu, two waterfalls in Waipi'o Valley on the Big Island. The girl, from Puna, describes herself poetically as the fragrance from Puna. Distressed by the gossip mongers, she calls them chattering birds. Mist of the mountains in the 3rd verse is the poetic way of saying this is a secret love affair. Lâlâkea and Hakalaoa are streams at the top of Waip'io Valley that flow over the cliff forming the twin waterfalls of Hi'ilawe and Hakalaoa. They merge into the Hi'ilawe stream that is one of two main waterways in Waip'io Valley]

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Hi'ilawe
From: chico
Date: 22 Apr 06 - 10:37 AM

Not every folk song can be from Anglia people. . .

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Hi'ilawe
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 22 Apr 06 - 04:44 PM

Three melodies are given in George Kanahele, "Hawaiian Music and Musicians." Now used mostly as a slack key number, all three may be heard on various 'Ki Ho'alu' recordings.

The following, from Kanahele's book, may add to the notes from Cunha:
"Originally a hula song but today popularly known as a slack key number. As with many Hawaiian songs, the authorship of this song is in dispute. Herbert Kane, the modern canoe designer, quotes his father, who was born and raised in Wai'pio Valley, as saying that the song was written by the father of Sam Lia, the Wai'pio songwriter. On the other hand, in Sonny Cunha's "Songs of Hawai'i' (1902) and "Famous Hawaiian Songs (1914), published by the Bergstrom Music Company in Honolulu, the music sheet gives the name of the composer as Mrs. Kuakini and the title as "Hali'a-lau-lani." Yet another version appears in the 1902 edition called "Ke Aloha Poina 'Ole" by Martha K. Maui. Though the words in each case are the same, the melodies are different."
Portions of all three tunes are given in Kanahele's book (pp. 125-126.
(Formally, Sam Lia's name is given correctly by Chico in his post above).

According to Kanahele, there are two versions of the 13 verse song, the first ending with the fifth verse given by Chico. The later version ends with his sixth verse (the order given by Chico for the other verses is the accepted one).

The old hula has been re-choreographed by Maiki Aiu Lake.

The melody is slow and repetitive in the version sung by Alice Namakelua as she 'learned it as a child,' contemporary singers use a faster tempo (Kanahele).