Ka Wailele `O Nu`uanu - words & music by Jay Kauka

 

I laila i nä pali `ike ai
Ka wailele 'o Nu`uanu
E ho`okahe pau `ole
He wai nö ia e iho ai
E ka`aka`a kou maka e `ike ai
Ke kahe nei ka wailele pahihi
`Ole mai nö
He kahe mau nö ia

 

There on the cliffs can be seen
The waterfall of Nu`uanu
It never stops flowing
It just keeps coming down
 The waterfall is flowing
It keeps on flowing
Never locked
It flows forever

Source: Eia Au 'O Noelani CD, Kamehameha Schools HSI - When Jay Kauka was a student at the Kamehameha Schools, his father would drive him from Lanikai to Honolulu via Nuuanu Valley. In 1978, the year his father died, Jay wrote this haunting melody and poetic lyrics as a tribute to his father's words, "Look at the waterfall on the left and know that it will always be there."