This love song, also known as “Nani Wale Līhuʻe” in the King’s Book of Hawaiian Melodies, takes the lovers to places meaningful to them. Although many of the place names suggest the island of Kauaʻi, they are also found on the island of Oʻahu, Maui, Hawaiʻi, and the tiny island of Lehua. Metaphorically, the place names suggest wetness and coolness, love symbols that serve as memory cues for a wide range of sensory and emotional experiences. (Moon Kauakahi)

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Hui:

Nani wale Līhuʻe i ka laʻi

I ka noe a ka ua Paʻūpili

ʻO ke ahe mai a ka makani

A ka Mālualuakiʻiwai o Lehua.

 

ʻAnoʻai wale ka hikina mai

Ka ʻikena i ka nani o Wailua

ʻElua māua me ka haliʻa

I ka piko wai ʻolu o Kemamo.

 

Hiʻipoi ʻia iho ke aloha

I mehana ia pō anuanu

Mili ʻia i ka lā o ka makemake

I ka lā a ka ʻanoʻi hiki ai.

 

Hoʻonā aʻe ana i ke aloha

Pehea lā ia e pau ai

ʻAʻohe naʻe hoʻi e hihi

Ua ʻolu nahe, ʻolu i ka noe.

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*Compiled by Michael-Thomas Foumai. Digitally published for the Hawaiʻi Symphony Sheraton Starlight Series on June 4-6 2021.