Aloha ʻOe

For the 1915 film, see Aloha Oe (film).

Cover of "Aloha ʻOe", 1890 <phonos file="Aloha oe song midi.mid">Play</phonos>

Queen Liliuokalani, 1908

"Aloha ʻOe" (Farewell to Thee) is Liliʻuokalani's most famous song and a common cultural symbol for Hawaii. The story of the origin of the song has several variations. They all have in common that the song was inspired by a notable farewell embrace given by Colonel James Harbottle Boyd during a horseback trip taken by Princess Liliʻuokalani in 1877 or 1878 to the Boyd ranch in Maunawili on the windward side of Oʻahu, 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 sister Princess Likelike Cleghorn or a young lady at the ranch. 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 like The 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 at Washington Place.

The Hawaiʻi State Archives preserves a hand-written manuscript by Liliʻuokalani, dated 1878, with the score of the song, the 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." A 1913 score can be seen at the Levy Sheet Music Collection.

Lyrics

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 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
Tomago:	Refrain?:
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 hiaʻia 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

Musicology

The song "The Lone Rock by the Sea," recalled by Charles Wilson as "The Rock Beside the Sea" and published by Charles Crozat Converse in 1857, derives from a Croatian folk song, "Sidi Mara Na Kamen Studencu" ("Girl On The Rock").

Musicologist Sigmund Spaeth noted that the first two measures of the melody of the chorus (which are arpeggiated IV-I chords) resemble the chorus of George Frederick Root's 1854 song, "There's Music In The Air," but measures 3 and 4 differ from it.

The same melodic motif begins the chorus of the popular song, "Open Up Your Heart (And Let the Sunshine In)" (1954).

In popular culture

In the Disney film Lilo & Stitch (2002), the song is sung briefly by the character Nani. It is sung again in Leroy & Stitch by Lilo, Stitch, and Reuben to shut down the Leroy clones. The song also appears on the soundtrack to the film's sequel Lilo and Stitch 2: Island Favorites.

In the Japanese anime Space Dandy (created in 2014), the eponymous main character is captain of a spaceship called the Aloha Oe.

The Jack London short story Aloha Oe features the chorus of the song.

See also

• List of compositions and works by Liliuokalani