This week, the song that was consistently stuck in my head was Haleakalā Medley by Kendra Fisher. Like so many other
songs, the way that this song just so happened to stick to my mind was
random. I was on the bus heading toward UH Manoa as usual, and for once I was
looking out the window watching everything pass by. The bus was driving on King
Street when we suddenly stopped (because of traffic) right in front of Haleakalā
Solar (the name is self-explainable) and BAM the song started playing (in my
mind), I probably started singing it (I did start singing it), and
instantly, it was stuck in my head (okay maybe not instantly, but it was the
start.) Anyway, I found myself singing it at work tonight, and realized I’d
been singing it for the past few days, and figured it’d be the song that I’d
write about on my blog this week.
My friend introduced me to this song last
semester while we were hanging out in her room at the freshman towers at UH. After only
a few seconds of listening to it, I was nearly brought to tears by how
beautiful it was. Her voice was so pure, so real. No instrumental background,
no earphones, no nothing to help her hold the notes that she held… she was singing live on
the radio and it was all her. (I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s noticed that big time
artists today can NOT sing as well as their recordings when they perform live. In
this video, Kendra, like so many Hawaiian artists, showed that she could.)
Unfortunately,
:(
But I found another version nonetheless, which
is at the bottom of this post for you to listen to. I admit that it’s still beautiful... the
guitarist is Lee Wells and his harmonies are so nahenahe (sweet sounding.) But
the a cappella version was so much more amazing, it totally blew me away, and I
wish I could have shared it instead to show everyone what I mean.
Now, about the medley… I did some quick
research (on the Internet) and Haleakalā Medley is made up of two songs that Kendra did not write
herself: Hōlei and Haleakalā. Hōlei is a poem that “refers to the booming and
swelling seas of Kalapana that was destroyed by lava in 1990” (huapala.org/holei.html). Hōlei is located
on the island of Hawaiʻi in Puna. Here are the lyrics and the translation to
the poem:
ʻO Kalapana, kai leo nui,
Ua lono ka uka o Hōlei,
He uwā lā Kalapana, ē,
Kuli wale, kuli wale i ka leo,
He leo no ke kai, ē.
It is Kalapana, the great-voiced sea,
The uplands of Hōlei listened,
Roaring is Kalapana,
Deafened, deafened indeed by the voice,
It is the voice of the sea
The second song, Haleakalā, was composed by
Kalani Kekona from Kihei, Maui. He was born in Wailuku on July 10, 1960 and
passed away at the age of 51 on October 17, 2011. Sadly, his recording of the
song isn’t sold in any stores... he only made a hard copy for radio studios. Here
are the lyrics to his song:
One summer morning, I took an early ride
To watch the sunrise in the beautiful sky
As it was rising, I could see all of my dreams
On top of that mountain called Haleakalā
Haleakalā, a beautiful mountain
Stands all alone so peacefully
Haleakalā, a beautiful mountain
Stands all alone so peacefully
When I first found out where Hōlei was located, I wondered why
Kendra decided to put it and Haleakalā together. Hōlei is on the East side of
the island of Hawaiʻi, while Haleakalā is on Maui to the West. A person
standing in Puna wouldn’t even be able to see Haleakalā from Hawaiʻi island. But when
I looked up the translation and thought about it in a more… symbolic way, I
found my answer. The first song talks about the “booming,” “roaring,” and “deafening” voice of the sea. The second
song talks about how warm, hopeful, and peaceful Haleakalā is. Therefore, it is
merely a comparison: Hōlei opens the song as a contrast to Haleakalā. (Of course, that’s just my personal analysis.)
Now back to the medley itself.
The last section of the medley is nowhere to be found on the Internet,
so I can only assume that Kendra wrote it herself. Raised in Waimanalo, Kendra
was surrounded by traditional Hawaiian music all her life. She started singing at the age of
four, began playing ʻukulele at the age of seven, and wrote her first song at
the age of eight. She recorded her first album with Haleakalā Medley at the age
of 17, but did not release it until she was 22 and ready for the responsibility
that came with being a professional musician. Here is the last part of the
medley:
The sun was shining upon your face
And the wind was blowing through your hair
And your smile brought back memories of love
You were once mine, we were once one but you left me
Please help me, I trust in you lord
He leo no ke kai, ē
And now that you’ve read my ENTIRE post (haha) give it up for Kendra!
Aloha nui au i kēia mele. Hīmeni wale au i ʻia
mele i nā manawa a pau... nahenahe loa ʻia i ka pepeiao. No kēia wā, ʻo Haleakalā
Medley kuʻu mele Hawaiʻi punahele.
He ʻaumoe maikaʻi kā ʻoukou a pau.
