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mike2jb
Lokahi
USA
213 Posts |
 Posted - 05/23/2007 : 09:50:22 AM
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Can anyone here give me a hand with words for “Pololei `Oia`i`o,” which I found on the collection “Hula Hawaiian Style, Vol. 2”?
The singer is John Almeida, backed up by “Genoa Keawe & her hula maids.” Auntie Maria will let you have a quick listen at mele.com, where I got this CD. Unfortunately, lyrics weren’t included and I can’t find them at the usual sources. The style sounds like well before 1960.
Does any TP’er know this song? I can transcribe maybe 80% of it, mostly apparently in praise of various sites on the several islands.
If no one knows the words, can anybody at least tell me what “shua” means? (At least that’s what the word sounds like to me.) It occurs several times here and in the same context where you’d expect to find “nani” or “beauty” in other songs. I assume it’s a foreign loan-word. Here’s my best crack at transcribing one verse, in case the context helps:
Ha`ina ka puana me ke aloha
E mauka eo ka `aina i ka pono (not sure this is accurate)
Moloka`i, Lana`i (a) me Ni`ihau
A he shua maoli nö.
Any help appreciated. I don’t want to have to call up Auntie Genoa and ask if she or her hula maids remember the words. And as long as I’m asking, does anyone know the chords?
Thanks.
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Sarah
`Olu`olu
571 Posts |
Posted - 05/23/2007 : 10:22:45 AM
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Far as I know, the "shua" is borrowed from the English "sure" -- and used in the sense of "really", like "it sure is pretty", or in this instance, "sure truly Hawaiian" if maoli is construed that way -- but maybe there is something else going on. I've heard "shua-la" too, which seems a line filler (or whatever you want to call it), like "'ea la".
Far as your second line there, looks to me like it is a slight variation on the motto of Hawai'i, using E [marker indicating intent/imperative], instead of Ua [marker indicating a state achieved]:
E mau ke ea o ka 'äina i ka pono
aloha,
Sarah
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Pua Kai
Ha`aha`a
USA
1007 Posts |
Posted - 05/23/2007 : 2:25:42 PM
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Try contacting taropatch member 1candy, Chuck Ka`imikaua. He is Johnny Almeida's nephew and lived with him during WWII. He is a wealth of information of older songs, but is quite busy these days with grant money to perpetuate slack key.
aloha,
nancy |
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Sarah
`Olu`olu
571 Posts |
Posted - 05/28/2007 : 12:31:04 PM
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Mike,
I just now ran across the first line of the song Kalama'ula (about a place on Moloka'i) in the book "He Mele Aloha," and there it is interpreted as meaning "Surely and truly indeed."
A he sure maoli no, 'ea
It is almost identical to the line you inquired about.
aloha,
Sarah
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mike2jb
Lokahi
USA
213 Posts |
Posted - 05/28/2007 : 1:59:11 PM
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Sarah- sounds like your initial impression was correct about this word. Likewise, you're probably also on target about the use of the state motto, which would be appropriate considering the context of the rest of the song (almost like a travelogue, each island is named, along with a famous landmark or the island's lei or flower).
Nancy- thanks for the hint. Unfortunately, Chuck doesn't have a contact email through this site. I'm going to keep plugging away at this, though. I think with Sarah's insights I'm up to 90% on the transcription. |
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Peter Medeiros
`Olu`olu
546 Posts |
Posted - 05/28/2007 : 2:57:08 PM
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Mike,
The chord progression is from right out of the thirties. 1st phrase = I, II7 (or II9 to II7), V7, VIb7, V7: 2nd phrase = I, II7 (9), V7,VIb7,V7, I. In taropatch 1st phrase = G, A7(or A9 to A7), D7, Eb7, D7: 2nd phrase = G, A7(or A9 to A7), D7, Eb7, D7, G. Drop C 1st phrase = C, D7(or D9 to D7), G7, Ab7, G7: 2nd phrase = C, D7(or D9 to D7), G7, Ab7, G7, C
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mike2jb
Lokahi
USA
213 Posts |
Posted - 05/29/2007 : 06:23:00 AM
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| Thanks much for the help, Peter. My ear told me the song had that "thirties" sound to it (as does the singing style), but I couldn't explain why, in terms of chord structure. My chord recognition skills so far don't get me much past I-IV-V (but of course that puts an awful lot of Hawaiian music within my grasp). Just leafing through "He Mele Aloha" it seems to me like late-teens-to-forties era tunes often have two or three times as many chords as earlier (or later) tunes commonly do. |
Edited by - mike2jb on 05/29/2007 06:24:16 AM |
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