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Ku`u pua `alani ku`u ipo iâ Ku`u lei pikake lei o ke `aumoe Lei aku mâua i ka pili o ka ao Ho`oheno ke aloha me he ipo ala Hui: Ua pono no `oe e ka Inuwai I ka lawe a holu i ka lau o ke pili Komo pono aku la `oe i ka `ai a ka lua I ke ala pi`i a ka `opae Hia`ai aku au la e `ike Ke `ala onaona o ke kiele Ka moani hu`ihu`i i ka pili o ke ao Ka `iniki welenia me he ipo la Ha`aheo ka maka oka `ôpua i ka lewa Ua kohu no e like me ka `i`iwi polena Ka nunu`a i ka liko pua o ka `ôhelo I ke kaha la o `Iloli Ua pulu mâua i ka ua kilihune I ka wai lihau `a`ala o ke kini Po`iu noi`i miki`oi no welo `O ka `apa a ka ua i ka nahele |
My orange blossom is my sweetheart My lei pikake for the midnight hours These we wore at the break of day Enjoying our love as sweethearts do Chorus: You are all right O Inuwai breeze In setting the leaves of the pili to swaying You are caught in the grip of the lua Called “the stairway of the shrimp” I yearned greatly to know The sweet fragrance of gardenias The wind borne fragrance at break of day Is as penetrating as love itself Proud are the faces of the clouds above Moving like Hawaiian honey creeper birds Hovering in flocks over the `ôhelo buds On the plain of `Iloli We two were drenched with the fine rain With the fine, fragrant water of gin Hazy, seeking, searching Such were the doings of the rain of the forest |
Source: KSB Berger Collection - signature tune of Emma Alexandria Kalanikauika`alaneo Kiliaulaninuiamamao Kanoa Defries, daughter of Rev. M. Kanoa. She was born on Strong Island, January 20, 1856, when her parents were Hawaiian missionaries in the Gilbert Islands. Chorus, stanza 3, lua is the Hawaiian bone breaking sport of ancient Hawai`i, forbidden by law in the days of the kingdom. Chorus, stanza 4, “stairway of the shrimp” is the name of a steep incline up the side of Wailau Valley on Moloka`i. It is also a lua hold whereby a warrior lifts his opponent from the ground and breaks his bones in the air. Translated by Mary Pukui | Emma Alexandria Kalanikauika`alaneo Kiliaulaninuiamamao Kanoa Defries |