Haʻaheo ka ua i nā pali
Ke nihi aʻela i ka nahele
E hahai (uhai) ana paha i ka liko
Pua ʻāhihi lehua o uka
Hui:
Aloha ʻoe, aloha ʻoe
E ke onaona noho i ka lipo
One fond embrace,
A hoʻi aʻe au
Until we meet again
ʻO ka haliʻa aloha i hiki mai
Ke hone aʻe nei i kuʻu manawa
ʻO ʻoe nō kaʻu ipo aloha
A loko e hana nei
Maopopo kuʻu ʻike i ka nani
Nā pua rose o Maunawili
I laila hiaʻai nā manu
Mikiʻala i ka nani o ka lipo
Proudly swept the rain by the cliffs
As it glided through the trees
Still following ever the bud
The ʻahihi lehua of the vale
Chorus:
Farewell to you, farewell to you
The charming one who dwells in the shaded bowers
One fond embrace,
'Ere I depart
Until we meet again
Sweet memories come back to me
Bringing fresh remembrances of the past
Dearest one, yes, you are mine own
From you, true love shall never depart
I have seen and watched your loveliness
The sweet rose of Maunawili
And 'tis there the birds of love dwell
And sip the honey from your lips
Queen Liliʻuokalani, age 53
Source: Jonathan Wong - This song of
farewell between two lovers is the most famous of the
Queen's compositions.Written in 1878. the tune of the verse
resembles "The Rock Beside the Sea", composed by Charles
Crozat Converse and published in Philadephia, 1857. The
melody of the chorus is remarkably close to the chorus of
George Frederick Root's composition, "There's Music In The
Air", published in 1854. There is a manuscript of "Aloha Oe"
in Queen Liliʻuokalani's handwriting in the Bishop Museum.
Lahilahi Webb and Virginia Dominis Koch tell of a visit by
the queen and her attendants to Maunawili Ranch, the home of
Edwin Boyd on windward Oahu. As they started their return
trip to Honolulu on horseback up the steep Pali trail, the
queen turned to admire the view of Kaneohe Bay. She
witnessed a particularly affectionate farewell between
Colonel James Boyd of her party and a lovely young girl from
Maunawili. As they rode up the steep cliff and into the
swirling winds, she started to hum this melody weaving words
into a romantic song. At the top of the pali, a cloud hung
over the mountain peak and slowly floated down Nu`uanu
Valley. The queen continued to hum and completed her song as
they rode the winding trail down the valley back to
Honolulu. Translation by Liliʻuokalani. Hawaiian Text edited by Puakea Nogelmeier. Music clip by Gippy Cooke.© 1939, renewed 1967 Miller
Music Corp