- Kawaihae, ka ʻuapo aʻo Hilo
- Hoe hoe nā waʻa
- Pili i ka puʻe one
Mahukona, kaʻuapo aʻo Miloliʻi
- Hoe hoe nā waʻa
- Pili i ka moku
Lahaina, kaʻuapo aʻo Māla
- Kukui mālamalama
- I ka ihu o Mauna Kea
Kaunakakai, kaʻuapo Molokaʻi
- Hoe hoe nā waʻa
- Hoʻokano kahi selamoku
Haʻina ʻia mai ana ka puana
- Hoe hoe nā waʻa
- Pili i ka puʻe one
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- Kawaihae, the wharf of
Hilo
- Row, row the boats
- Close to the sandbar
Mahukona, the wharf of
Miloliʻi
- Row, row the boats
- Close to the island
Lahaina, the wharf of
Māla
- Light shines
- On the prow of the Mauna
Kea
Kaunakakai, the wharf of
Molokaʻi
- Row, row the boats
- Sassy, that sailor
Tell the theme
- Row, row the boats
- Close to the sandbar
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Source: Phillip Lee - Mauna Kea was an interisland
steamer. Cargo and passengers would be rowed ashore by
sailors in row boats, while the ship would anchor off
shore. Stanza 1, the wharf would be located in Kona, but the composer wrote it as Hilo. Emma Paishon was 17 years old and had never been to Hawai?i and was not familiar with the landscape when she composed this mele. She was Hawaiian but was born in ʻIosepa, Utah, where a colony of Hawaiians lived in Skull Valley, in the desert, 75 miles from Salt Lake City, next to an Indian reservation.
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