He aloha nō ʻo Honolulu
I ka ua Kūkalahale
Ka nuku aʻo Māmala
ʻAu aʻe nei mahope
Kau mai ana mamua
Ka malu ʻulu aʻo Lele
Kukui ʻaʻā mau
Pio ʻole i ke Kauaʻula
ʻAu aku i ke kai loa
Oni mai ana ʻo ʻUpolu
Hoʻokomo iā Mahukona
Ka makani ʻĀpaʻapaʻa
E wiki ʻoe ʻapa nei
Eia aʻe ʻo Kawaihae
Hoʻohaehae Nāulu
Ka makani Kuʻehu ʻale
Ka hao a ka Mūmuku
Poho pono nā peʻa heke
ʻO ka heke aʻo nā Kona
I ke kai māʻokiʻoki
Kiʻina ke koiʻi koi
I ka piko o Hualālai
A lʻ`i wale ke kaunu
ʻAʻole pahuna hala
Hala ʻole nō ka ua
I ke kole maka onaona
E haupā ʻoe a kena
I ka piko ʻoe lihaliha
Hāliʻaliʻa mai ana
Kou aloha kâkia iwi
Hoʻokomo iā Honuʻapo
I ke kai kauhaʻa
Haʻalele ka Maunaloa
I ka pohu laʻi aʻo Kona
Hoʻokomo iā Hoʻokena
I ka pewa aʻo ka manini
Haʻina mai ka puana
ʻO ka heke nō nā Kona
No Kona ke kai malino
Kaulana i ka lehulehu
| Goodby Honolulu
In the
Kūkalahale rain
Māmala, the entrance of
Honolulu Harbor
Lies behind
Ahead
The shady groves of Lele
Lighthouse is always
burning
And not extinguished by the Kauaʻula
rain
Sailing out to the open
sea
ʻUpolu point appears
Take shelter at Mahukona
From the ʻĀpaʻapaʻa wind
Hurry, so we may tarry
Here at Kawaihae
From the Nāulu showers
and
The wind that stirs the
waves
The Mūmuku wind gusts
Filling the top sails
Kona is the best
Of the streaked sea
Urging on
To the center of Hualālai
Peace overwhelms
After the piercing
The rain does not pass
The sweet-eyed kole
Eat heartily
Especially the belly, so fat
and choice
Remembering
Your love in the depths of my
soul
Entering Honuʻapo
The sea is dancing
Leave the Maunaloa
In the calm night of
Kona
Enter Hoʻokena
Like the tail of the manini
Tell the refrain
Kona is the best
Kona of the calm sea
Famous among mulititudes
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Source: Lot Kauwe was an accomplished
singer, dancer, musician, composer and entertainer whose
talents went beyond the stage. He was known to set his
indiscretions to music, veiled in kaona. This is one of his
best known compositions and tells of his return home from
Honolulu to Kona, aboard the inter-island steamer, Maunaloa.
Verse 1, the house, in many instances, is symbolic of a long
term lover. Kauaʻula waterfall in stanza #8, is near Lele,
short for Lahaina. ʻApaʻapaʻa, Kuehuʻale in verse #2 and
Mūmuki in verse #3 are names of Kona winds. The kole and
manini fish in verses 3 and 4 are terms of endearment. Place
names, such as Hoʻokena, are used as a play on words in many
love songs.
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