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Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1580 Posts |
 Posted - 05/15/2016 : 12:23:48 PM
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Learning about Hawaiian music is complicated. Probably the same is true of any other oral tradition, but I'm finding that details of text, melody, and phrasing can be quite various when I try to get a handle on a new song.
"My Sweet Sweeting" offers another challenge - interpretation and kaona. I have heard from one source that the song has kaona related to a miscarried pregnancy or perhaps an infant death. And recently at the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association tent in Kapiolani Park on May Day, one of the players introduced the song by saying it was about someone afflicted with Hansen's.
So I've asked a few musicians and friends and no one I know is aware of these sad meanings, to them it's a sassy love song. Based on that I've continued to try to learn it and play it. In fact (grin) I shot a little video playing "My Sweet Sweeting" in the backyard of our current temporary residence:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWkHizd4_fc
When we first started coming to Kailua I didn't understand the charm of the Enchanted Lake neighborhood, but sitting on the lanai with the breezes blowing across the water has made me a believer.
Fran
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E ho`okani pila kakou ma Kaleponi
Slack Key Guitar in California - www.kaleponi.com
Slack Key on YouTube
Homebrewed Music Blog |
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Eynowd
Lokahi
Australia
181 Posts |
Posted - 05/15/2016 : 3:03:00 PM
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It doesn't surprise me that there are multiple interpretations of the "true" meaning of the song. Symbolism is a really interesting and very subjective thing.
When I was at high school, my English teachers used to go on and on about symbolism in poetry and the novels we were reading and I used to think it was a load of rubbish.
It wasn't until years later when I was working towards being an author and reading the works of people like Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung that I realised that a lot of the time, symbolism is important, but the meaning of the symbols is very subjective, and will differ according to who is doing the interpretation. The reader (or in the case of a song, the listener) may come up with a completely different and probably equally valid interpretation of the meaning, based on their own life experiences and what they are trying to learn/deal with at the time. It might not even be close to what the original author intended.
I can't watch the youtube vid at the moment, but I'll do it tonight once I'm home again. Watching a new Fran video is always a treat  |
Geoff - g'day from Canberra, Australia. |
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Russell Letson
`Olu`olu
USA
504 Posts |
Posted - 05/17/2016 : 06:24:06 AM
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I've run across different interpretations of "Kaula `Ili"--from major Hawaiian players. Which reminded me of a similar conversation here years ago, and sure enough, there's this:
http://taropatch.net/forum/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=4587
This sort of thing is no surprise to anyone who has traced late-medieval ballads from the UK, or blues lyrics, for that matter. Songs in an oral tradition shift around in all kinds of ways--words change, lines or whole stanza are grafted, meanings are lost or mutate or are adapted to new situations. (To say nothing of the machinery behind "'Scuse me while I kiss this guy.")
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ukrazy
Akahai
USA
69 Posts |
Posted - 05/17/2016 : 06:25:15 AM
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The "kaona" in Hawaiian music and poetry is one of the reasons I like, and continue to enjoy the music.
The composer, and reciever are the only ones that know the true meaning. There has been some great translator's, like Mary Kawena Pukui. Even then, they are basing the translation on commonly used words and phrases.
The best resource I've found on kaona is in the book "Na Mele O Hawai'i Nei"." 101 Hawaiian Songs" (1970) Even it just dedicates about 3 pages to it. The book mentions that very rarely post missionary music has hardship or grief in the song. Out of the 101 songs, "Hole Waimea" is listed as the only song about hardship.(War).
To me, and my meager attempts at understanding, "My Sweet Sweeting" is a love song.
Marvin Liko Puha is a great person to seek out for help in understanding kaona meanings. I have attended a couple of worksops with him and came away with a lot of respect for Hawaiian composers.
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Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1580 Posts |
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cmdrpiffle
`Olu`olu
USA
553 Posts |
Posted - 05/17/2016 : 5:14:16 PM
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Good God Fran, chicken skin and moist eyes.
Hauntingly beautiful...
Camera work is stellar. It has the vibe of a scene out of a movie. |
my Poodle is smarter than your honor student |
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Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1580 Posts |
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ukrazy
Akahai
USA
69 Posts |
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Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1580 Posts |
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My Sweet Sweeting
