Ua nani nâ hono a Pi`ilani
I ke ku kilakila i ka `ôpua
`O ku`u pua kukui aia i Lanikâula
`O ka hene wai `olu lana mâlie
Hui:
Ua like no a like
Me (*nani) ku`u one hânau
Ke po`okela i ka piko o nâ kuahiwi
Me Moloka`i (nui) a Hina
`Âina i ka wehiwehi
E ho`i no au e pili
`Ae `ae
E ka makani ê
E pâ nei me ke aheahe
`Auhea ku`u pua kalaunu
Ki`eki`e Hâlawa i ke alo o na pali
Ka heke no ia i ka`u `ike
Lupalupa lau lipo i ke ohe o ka palai
Ma ku`u poli mai `oe e ho`oheno nei
Alternate 2nd verse
Ua nani Hâlawa i ke alo pali
Ua ku ho`okahi kuahiwi
Ao `oe ku`u ipo e hia`ai nei
Ma ku`u polki mai `oe e honehone ai
*older version uses nani
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- How beautiful are the bays of
Pi`ilani
- That stand majestically in the
billowy clouds
- My kukui blossom is at
Lanikaula
- All is calm and still
Chorus:
Alike
The (*beautiful) sands of my birth
The tops of all mountains
And Hina's great
Moloka`i
Festive land
May I return to stay,
Yes,
yes
O wind
Blow gently
Heed, my crown flower
Hâlawa is high amidst the
cliffs
Highest I have ever seen
And here are lush leaves and
green ferns
So you are loved within my
arms
Beautiful Hâlawa before the cliff
Where only one mountain stands
You are the darling in whom I delight
Let me embrace you with affection
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Source: Na Mele
o Hawai`i by West Maui Hawai'i Civic Club. Alternate 2nd verse from
Mary Pukui, Kamehameha Schools Collection
- Some attribute this to Matthew Kane, a Moloka`i born composer,
and
others
claim
the composer
is
unknown or may have visited Moloka`i at the turn of the
century. The melody was borrowed from "Tenting Tonight",
taught in island schools at that time. Hina was the mythical
mother of Moloka'`, Pi`ilani, an ancient chief of Maui.
Lanikâula is the kukui grove of the famous prophet of that name and
Hâlawa is a valley, both in east Moloka'i. The four references to height,
common
in Hawaiian symbolic language attests to the superiority of
the island. Translation by Mary Pukui. Music clip by Gippy Cooke
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