Hilo One - Traditional

Aia i Hilo One ka ʻeha a ka manaʻo
ʻO sweet ʻEmalia ʻo koʻu aloha ia

Nānā ke kolohe kiʻina i ka liko
ʻIʻiwi pōlena ʻo ka manu o ka uka

Kohu ʻole ʻo ia ala i kaʻī ʻana mai
 Eia me aʻu ka ʻiwi aʻo Heneri

Haʻina ka puana aia i Hilo One
ʻO sweet ʻEmalia ʻo koʻu aloha ia


 There in Hilo One is the painful remembrance
Of sweet Emily, my beloved

Mischievious looks trap the young man
The ʻiʻiwi polena, a bird of the uplands

No one can compare to her flirtation
Here with me is Henry, the 'i'wi

Tell the refrain, there in Hilo One
Is sweet Emily, my beloved

Source: Composed in 1894, Sweet Emalia or Emalia Kaihumua was a hula dancer in the court of King Kalākaua. Verse 2, the liko is a very young, attractive man. The ʻiwi or bone in the 3rd verse is an old Hawaiian expression in songs, that means love rooted deep in the bones. The three sections of Hilo are: 1) Hilo One, the sands of Hilo, near the sea; 2) Hilo Palikū, the upright cliff of Hilo, east of the Wailuku river toward Hāmākua; and 3) Hilo Hanakahi, named for the beloved and benevolent chief of Hilo, inland toward Keaukaha. Translated by Kaiu Kanoa based on the interpretation and notes of Kini Sullivan.