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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
 Posted - 02/04/2009 : 10:57:35 AM
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Paul likes to play this song the way that Martin Pahinui does it and I was thinking of making this Paul's next Hawaiian video on you tube, but.
Now I find three different sets of lyrics. The oldest, by Charles King has a different tune (can listen to it on http://huapala.org/Kai/Kaimana_Hila.html . Then they also have on the same page, but further down, a version supposedly as popularizd by Andy Cummings. I've got one by Andy Cummings and his Wandering Troubadors, but it is not like the second version -- it is like the third version, which is the same as Martin sings it, which is in He Mele Aloha. (Paul likes Martin's intro). Does anyone know the story of how it lost some of the verses and how it got a different tune? The Charles Kiing 1916 verseion has lots of verses that make the song nicer, in my opinion, just because it tells more of a story. But in the differing versions, the verse about "papa he`e nalu" is not attached to the the verse about going Waikiki, it was about watching surfers from the Seaside Hotel. Ah, history is full of mystery.
Kaimana Hila (Diamond Head) - Words & music by Charles E. King
Iwaho mâkou i Ka`alawai lâ
`Ike i ka nani Kaimana Hila lâ
Kau mai i luna
Iwaho mâkou Kapi`olani Paka lâ
`I ka lina poepoe ho`oluhi kino
Aloha `ino
Iwaho mâkou Waikîkî lâ
`Ike i ka nani hale ho`onui `ike lâ
Ho`onui hana
Iwaho mâkou Maki `Ailana lâ
Ku`u pua lilia lana i ka wai lâ
Lana mâlie
Iwaho mâkou i ka Seaside lâ
`Ike i ka nani papa he`e nalu lâ
He`e mâlie
Iwaho mâkou `Âinahau lâ
`Ike i ka nani papa hinuhinu lâ
Hele mâlie
Ha`ina `ia mai ana ka puana lâ
`Ike i ka nani Kaimana Hila lâ
Kau mai i luna
We all went there on Ka`alawai shores
And gazed up at the grandeur of old Diamond Head
So majestic
We all went and saw Kapi`olani Park
To see a ring that exhausted the body
That is too bad
We all went and saw Waikîkî
To see a house that increased knowledge
And made much work
We all went and saw Makee Island
Beheld the beauty of the floating water lily
Sweet and peaceful
We all went to the Seaside Hotel
And looked with wonder at all the riders of the surf
Gliding swiftly
We all went to `Âinahau
And saw the beautiful shining surfboards
Moving gently
This is the end of the song
Gazed up at the grandeur of old Diamond Head
So majestic
Source: King's Hawaiian Melodies - This song relates the adventures of a group of friends on a Hawaiian holiday. Verse 1, stanza 1, Ka`alawai is the land below Diamond Head. They go to Kapiolani Park, dedicated in 1877, by King Kalakaua, and renowned for the beautiful oval horse race track, the ring, in verse 2, stanza 2. The exhaused body is that of the jockey. They watch the races, then meander through Maki (Makee) `Ailana, an island in the park. They marvel at the big hotels and stop for refreshments at the Seaside Inn, a favorite of kama`âina and malihini in the early 1900's. This hotel, situated on 10 acres of Waikîkî beachfront property, was demolished in 1920, to make way for the new Royal Hawaiian Hotel. They end their holiday with a leisurely stroll thru `Âinahau, the lush estate of Princess Miriam Likelike. The melody and lyrics as it is sung today, was popularized by Andy Cummings and is different from the original tune and lyrics. Translation from Hawaiian Melodies. Copyright 1916,1943, Charles E. King
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New lyrics
Iwaho mâkou i ka`alawai lâ
`Ike i ka nani Kaimana Hila
Kaimana Hila kau mai i luna
Iwaho mâkou Kapi`olani Paka
`Ike i ka nani lina poepoe
Lina poepoe ho`oluhi kino
Iwaho mâkou i Waikîkî lâ
`Ike i ka nani hale ho`onui
Hale ho`onui hana lâ
Iwaho mâkou Makee `Ailana lâ
`Ike i ka nani pua lilia
Pua lilia lana i ka wai lâ
Iwaho mâkou i ka Seaside lâ
`Ike i ka nani papa he`e nalu
Papa he`e nalu he`e mâlie
Iwaho mâkou `Ainahau lâ
`Ike i ka nani papa hinuhinu lâ
Papa hinuhinu hele mälie
Iwaho mâkou i ka pô nei
`Ike i ka nani Kaimana Hila
Kaimana hila kau mai i luna
Ha`ina `ia mai ana ka puana
`Ike i ka nani Kaimana Hila
Kaimana Hila kau mai i luna Click Here to Access Newer Melody by Gippy Cooke
We were out at Ka`alawai
And saw the beauty of Diamond Head
Diamond Head, standing above
We were out at Kapi`olani Park
To see the circular racetrack
Circular racetrack that exhausted the body
We went out to Waikîkî
And saw the beautiful hotels
Hotels where some of us worked
We all went and saw Makee Island
And saw the beauty of the lily
Floating water lily
We all went to the Seaside Inn
And looked with wonder at all
The surf riders gliding calmly
We all went to Ainahau
And gazed at the splendor
And strolled in the tranquility
We all went out last night
To see the grandeur of Diamond Head
Diamond Head, so majestic
Sing the refrain
See the grandeur of Diamond Head
Diamond Head, so majestic
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Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 02/04/2009 : 9:47:25 PM
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In many recordings I've heard, the song has been simplified to three verses plus ha'ina: "i ka po nei", "i Waikiki ea/papa he'e nalu", "Kapi'olani Paka" and ha'ina. I don't know exactly why, but I'm sure it's a common practice that longer songs get shorter as they are widely sung informally from memory.
Jesse |
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hwnmusiclives
`Olu`olu
USA
580 Posts |
Posted - 02/05/2009 : 04:45:02 AM
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According to Keith Haugen, it was Andy Cummings who wrote the jazzier melody and chord progression that we hear today.
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Join me for the history of Hawaiian music and its musicians at Ho`olohe Hou at www.hoolohehou.org. |
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