Hawaii Aloha

      "Hawaiʻi Aloha," also called "Kuʻu One Hanau," is a revered anthem of the native Hawaiian people and Hawaiʻi residents alike. Written by Lorenzo Lyons, a Christian minister who died in 1886, "Hawai‘i Aloha" was considered by the Hawaiʻi State Legislature in 1967 and by the Hawaiʻi State Constitutional Convention in 1978 to become the official state song, but "Hawaiʻi Pono‘ī," written by King David Kalākaua and composed by Royal Hawaiian Band Master Henri Berger, was chosen instead.

      "Hawaiʻi Aloha" is typically sung in both small and large, formal and informal gatherings, both in Hawaiʻi and abroad, while participants stand in a circle with joined hands. It is a feature of the inauguration of the Governor of Hawaiʻi (called Ke Kiaʻaina), and the opening sessions of the Hawai‘i State House of Representatives and Hawaiʻi State Senate. Traditionally, the last chorus is sung with hands raised above heads; the act of raising hands is especially important to advocates of the Hawaiian sovereignty movement.

      E Hawaiʻi e kuʻu one hānau e
      Kuʻu home kulaīwi nei
      ʻOli nō au i nā pono lani ou
      E Hawaiʻi, aloha ē

      O Hawaiʻi, O sands of my birth
      My native home
      I rejoice in the blessings of heaven
      O Hawaiʻi, aloha.

         Hui:
      E hauʻoli e nā ʻōpio o Hawaiʻi nei
      ʻOli ē! ʻOli ē!
      Mai nā aheahe makani e pā mai nei
      Mau ke aloha, no Hawaiʻi

         Chorus:
      Happy youth of Hawaiʻi
      Rejoice! Rejoice!
      Gentle breezes blow
      Love always for Hawaiʻi.

      E haʻi mai kou mau kini lani e
      Kou mau kupa aloha, e Hawaiʻi
      Nā mea ʻōlino kamahaʻo no luna mai
      E Hawaiʻi aloha ē
         (hui)

      May your divine throngs speak
      Your loving people, O Hawaiʻi
      The holy light from above
      O Hawaiʻi, aloha.
         (chorus)

      Nā ke Akua e mālama mai iā ʻoe
      Kou mau kualona aloha nei
      Kou mau kahawai ʻōlinolino mau
      Kou mau māla pua nani ē
         (hui)

      God protects you
      Your beloved ridges
      Your ever glistening streams
      Your beautiful flower gardens.
         (chorus)

      Listen to an excerpt: (The Rose Ensemble) http://www.roseensemble.org/recordings/hawaii.html


      Read in another language

      This page is available in 3 languages

      Last modified on 7 March 2013, at 14:35