Maʻemaʻe wale ke kino o ka palai
Pulupē i ka ua liʻiliʻi kilikilihune
A he wehi ia nō ka uka o ka nahele
E moani ke ʻala i lawe ʻia mai huʻihuʻi konikoni e
Hui:
Kani e ka wī ʻuheʻuheʻuhene
E Kaʻililauokekoa
ʻAuhea ʻoe?
Eia nō ʻo au
lā
O Pihanaokalani
E Kaʻililauokekoa
Ua moe paha ʻoe?
ʻAʻole lā
Me wai lā ʻoe hoʻoheno nei? | Beautiful is the hedge of
fern
Sprinkled by the tiny
raindrops
Decorating the mountainous region
Bringing forth a cooling breathing scent
Chorus:
Sing o you shell `uhe`uhe`uhene
The bark of the leaf of the koa tree
Where are you?
Here I am!
The fulfillment of the heaven
The bark of the leaf of the koa tree
Are you asleep?
I am not!
With whom are you flirting
|
|
Source: Kamehameha HSI - Based on the
Kauaʻi legend, Kaʻililauokekoa (the bark of the leaf of the
koa tree), was a princess awakened one night by the lilting
sound of a nose flute. The next night she was again
awakened, but this time, the flute called her by name. She
went in search of the flute in the rain and mist and
journeyed far up the Wailua River to a place called
Pihanakalani. There she found the young man with the flute
and fell in love with him. Her parents protested her
marriage to this strange musician, but the young man in
reality was a prince. Chorus, wî are the mountain shells that make the sound ʻuheʻuhene. Translation
by Henry Waiau.
|