Wehiwehi `Oe (You Are So Decorative) - Words & music by Sylvester Kalama

 
E ku`u pua mae `ole
A `u i kui ai a lawa
I lei ho`ohiehie
Nô ke ano ahiahi
  
Hui:
Wehiwehi `oe e ku`u ipo
He `i`ini ke ko`i`i waiho ho`i i loko la ko loko
Loko hana nui i ka pu`uwai
`O kô leo nahenahe e maliu mai
 
E ku`u lei mai `ole
A`u i kui a lawa
I lei ho`ohiehie
No ke ano ahiahi

Ho`ohihi ka mana`o a`e `ike
I ka lau `âhihi o ia uka
I puia i ke `ala onaona
Me ka ua hâli`i ka nahele
My flower that never fades
I string a lei
For you, so lovely
In the evening
  
Chorus:
You are so decorative, my sweetheart
A longing, a desire for you lies within
Surges within my heart
Your gentle voice speaks to me
  
O my ever fadeless lei
Which I strung and completed
Into a lei to adorn me
For the evening hour

One wants to know and love
The `âhihi of the uplands
Drenched with fragrance and perfume
And the spreading rain of the forest

 

Source: King's "Songs of Hawai`i" - Chorus, Verse 1 & 2 translated by Mary Pukui. Verse 3 translated by Kanani Mana. Copyright 1942, Charles E. King