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"Aloha ʻOe" ("Farewell to Thee") is a Hawaiian folk song writtenc. 1878 byQueen "Lydia" Liliʻuokalani, who was then Princess of theHawaiian Kingdom. It is her most famous song and is a common cultural symbol forHawaii.
The story of the origin of the song has several variations.[1] They all have in common that the song was inspired by a notable farewell embrace given by ColonelJames Harbottle Boyd during a horseback trip taken by Princess Liliʻuokalani in 1877 or 1878 to the Boyd ranch inMaunawili on the windward side ofOʻahu, and that the members of the party hummed the tune on the way back to Honolulu. Different versions tell of alternate recipients of the embrace—either Liliʻuokalani's sisterPrincess Likelike Cleghorn or a young lady at the ranch.[2] According to the most familiar version of the story:
This tender farewell set Liliʻuokalani to thinking, and she began humming to herself on the homeward trip. Overhearing,Charles Wilson observed, "That sounds likeThe Lone Rock by the Sea," a comment with which Liliʻuokalani is said to have agreed. When the party paused to rest in an orange grove on the Honolulu side of the Pali, the others joined in the hummings, and the song was completed later atWashington Place.[3]
The Hawaiʻi State Archives preserves a hand-written manuscript[4] by Liliʻuokalani, dated 1878, with the score of the song, theHawaiian language lyrics, Liliʻuokalani's English translation, and her note evidently added later: "Composed at Maunawili 1878. Played by the Royal Hawaiian Band in San Francisco August 1883 and became very popular."
The first known recording of the song was released byBerliner Gramophone in1898.[5] A catalogue issued byColumbia Records in1901 mentioned two wax cylinders labeled "Vocal Solos in Hawaiian", containing some of the earlier recordings of "Aloha ʻOe" and "Kuʻu Pua I Paoakalani". However, it is uncertain if this was recorded in Hawaii or if the performer was Hawaiian and the cylinders are now lost.[6] Columbia Records later recorded a duet of the song byNani Alapai and Henry N. Clark in 1911.[7]A 1913 score can be seen at the Levy Sheet Music Collection.[8]
| Haʻaheo e ka ua i nā pali | Proudly swept the rain by the cliffs |
| Ke nihi aʻela i ka nahele | As it glided through the trees |
| E hahai (uhai) ana paha i ka liko | Still following ever the bud |
| Pua ʻāhihi lehua o uka | The ʻāhihi lehua[a] of the vale |
| Hui: | Chorus: |
| Aloha ʻoe, aloha ʻoe | Farewell to thee, farewell to thee |
| E ke onaona noho i ka lipo | The charming one who dwells in the shaded bowers |
| One fond embrace, | One fond embrace, |
| A hoʻi aʻe au | Ere I depart |
| Until we meet again | Until we meet again |
| ʻO ka haliʻa aloha i hiki mai | Sweet memories come back to me |
| Ke hone aʻe nei i | Bringing fresh remembrances |
| Kuʻu manawa | Of the past |
| ʻO ʻoe nō kuʻu ipo aloha | Dearest one, yes, you are mine own |
| A loko e hana nei | From you, true love shall never depart |
| Maopopo kuʻu ʻike i ka nani | I have seen and watched your loveliness |
| Nā pua rose o Maunawili | The sweet rose of Maunawili |
| I laila hiaʻai nā manu | And 'tis there the birds of love dwell |
| Mikiʻala i ka nani o ka liko | And sip the honey from your lips |
| Hui | Chorus |
Parts of "Aloha ʻOe" resemble the song "The Lone Rock by the Sea" and the chorus ofGeorge Frederick Root's 1854 song "There's Music in the Air".[9] "The Lone Rock by the Sea" mentioned by Charles Wilson, was "The Rock Beside the Sea" published byCharles Crozat Converse in 1857,[10] which itself was derived from a Croatian/Serbian folk song, "Sedi Mara na kamen studencu" (Mary is Sitting on a Stone Well).[11][unreliable source?][12][original research?] The chorus' melody was also used as the counterpoint to the chorus of the jazz song "Hula Lou" and also could be a counterpoint toWoody Guthrie's folk song, "This Land Is Your Land" orDan Baird's "I Love You Period".
"Aloha ʻOe" appeared in the scores of many ofWarner Bros.' classicLooney Tunes andMerrie Melodies cartoons, as composerCarl Stalling's stock musical cue for Hawaii-themed gags. Usually instrumental, butBugs Bunny actually sings one line of the refrain at the very end ofCase of the Missing Hare. In the 1953 cartoon short,Duck Amuck part of it is briefly sung byDaffy Duck when the scenery is changed to a Hawaiian setting, courtesy of a sadistic mystery animator and again inA Squeak in the Deep. In the 1958 Oscar-winning shortKnighty Knight Bugs, the cartoon ends with an enchanted sword performing an instrumental version of the song (played by amusical saw).
The song has appeared in several instances throughout Disney'sLilo & Stitch franchise. InLilo & Stitch (2002), Nani sings it to Lilo as a farewell the night before they were to be separated. In theLilo & Stitch: The Series episode "Spooky" (2003), Lilo reveals to Stitch that she sings the song to herself as acoping mechanism, which leads to Stitch doing so for himself later in the same episode, to Lilo's approval. InLeroy & Stitch (2006),Jumba Jookiba usesElvis Presley's cover of the song during the creation of Leroy to secretly program a fail-safe within him; this is exploited during the climax in Stitch (dressed up as Presley), Lilo, and Reuben (along with several of the Experiments near the end) play an upbeat rock version during the finale to shut Leroy and his clones down.
In the episode "Cruise Cat" ofTom and Jerry (1952), a guitar version of this song plays in the background.[19]
In the first episode of the 1963Hanna-Barbera cartoonTop Cat entitled "Hawaii, Here We Come", at the start of the episode, Benny the Ball sings the song, after winning a free trip to Hawaii, sometime later Officer Dibble also sings the song. They both however replace some of the lyrics with English ones.
In the JapaneseanimeSpace Dandy (created in 2014), the eponymous main character is captain of aspaceship called theAloha Oe.[20][21]
TheJack London short storyAloha Oe features the chorus of the song.[22]
WhenJiang Zemin, then-Chinese President and theGeneral Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, arrived at Hawaii at the beginning of his state visit to U.S. in October 1997, he played "Aloha ʻOe" with a Hawaiianlap steel guitar and invited then Hawaiian First LadyVicky Cayetano to sing the song at a dinner with the presence of GovernorBen Cayetano. Jiang recounted that he used to frequently play this song when he was in college in 1940s.[23][24]
Aloha 'Oe also inspired a traditional farewell ceremony of the same name for graduating seniors of theUniversity of Tennessee beginning in 1926.[25]
Media related toAloha ʻOe at Wikimedia Commons
