Music of the Islands (Mibba's Culture Month Event)

Mission of the Day: Make a playlist of songs that remind you of home and share them in a blog.

Aloha mai kākou!

Here are some songs that remind me of home.

Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī
Hawaiʻi ponoʻī, (Hawaiʻi’s own true sons,)
Nānā i kou mōʻī, (Be loyal to your king,)
Ka lani aliʻi, (Your country’s liege and lord,)
Ke aliʻi. (The chief.)

Makua lani ē, (Father above us all,)
Kamehameha ē, (Kamehameha,)
Na kāua e pale, (Who guarded in the war,)
Me ka ihe. (With his spear.)

Hawaiʻi '78 - Iz
All of the fighting that the king had done
to conquer all these islands,
Now there's condominiums.
How would he feel if he saw Hawaiʻi now?

How would he feel?
Would his smiles be content
Rather than cry?
Cry for the gods, cry for the people,
Cry for the lands that were taken away.
And in it, you'll find Hawaiʻi.

Maui Hawaiian Sup'pa Man - IZ
Oh, tall is the tale of the mischievous one,
Who fished out all the islands and captured the sun.
His deeds and tasks I will unmask,
So that you'll understand
That before there was a Clark Kent,
There was a Hawaiian Sup'pa Man.

He fished out all the islands with a magic hook.
There would've been more, but somebody looked.
He pulled morning sky, the sun he entwined
To slow down his flight, so kapa could dry.

Spread a Little Aloha - The Manaʻo Company
A-L-O-H-A, a little aloha in our day,
Spread a little aloha around the world.
A-L-O-H-A, a little aloha in our day,
Spread a little aloha around the world.

Could you imagine all around the world,
A little aloha in every boy and girl?
Could you imagine how simple life could be,
With a little aloha in you and me?

Local Girl - Keahiwai
‘Cause she’s a local girl
Living in this Hawaiian world.
Yeah, she’s a local girl
Living in this Hawaiian world.

Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride - Kamehameha Choir
There's no place I'd rather be
Than on my surfboard out at sea
Lingering in the ocean blue
And If I had one wish come true
I'd surf till the sun sets
Beyond the horizon

What a Wonderful World - Iz
The colors of the rainbow,
So pretty in the sky,
Are also on the faces of people passing by.
See friends shakin hands saying,
"How do you do?"
They're really sayin,"I, I love you."

I chose these songs because they were played on the radio quite frequently as I was growing up, Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī and Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride aside. In fact, these songs are still played on the radio pretty consistently, and I think a lot these songs are great examples of the personality, culture, and history of Hawaiʻi.

I included Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride because it's probably an iconic song that a lot of people in the mainland (not sure about international) would associate with Hawaiʻi via Lilo & Stitch.

There are a lot of Iz songs, I know, but it's because he was and still is such a musical influence; he was considered The Voice of Hawaiʻi at one point.

In addition to these songs, pretty much any Bob Marley song reminds me of home because of how often his songs are played. I didn't really want to do much more than give a snippet of the songs because I felt they spoke for themselves.

As always, if you have questions or would like to discuss, please let me know!

Mahalo nui loa!