This past Friday I went on a hike with a friend of mine after class. On our drive there, this song came up on one of his CD's. It was a version sung by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole's cousin, and I didn't really like it :P lol. Not saying it wasn't good, he sounded great. Itʻs just that most times, there's nothing like the original version (at least I'm pretty sure IZ was the original singer)... It was the version I grew up with, so naturally, I like it better. Anyway, for the rest of the day and for the rest of the weekend, I kept singing it. So I chose to write about it this week.
Israel Kamakawiwoʻole is one of the most famous Hawaiian singers to this day. He was born in Honolulu and was surrounded by music growing up. His Uncle, Moe Keale, was a well-known musician and his parents worked at a Waikiki bar where many Hawaiian music legends performed. When he was six, Israel learned to play the ʻUkulele after watching his mother, older brother, and uncle. He first performed publicly at around age eleven when he and his older brother Skippy were called up on stage by a band that played for tourists at their parents' workplace. In 1976, together with his brother Skippy, Israel formed a band with Jerome Koko, Louis "Moon" Kauakahi, and Sam Gray called the Makaha Sons of Niʻihau. They released multiple albums and became one of the most popular bands in Hawaii. Two years after Skippyʻs death, Israel Kamakawiwoʻole decided to launch a solo career. HIs first record, Ka ʻAnoʻi, became the most popular Hawaiian album of 1990. He became famous outside of Hawaiʻi when in 1993 he released his album Facing Future in 1993. His medley of "Over the Rainbow" and "What a Wonderful World" was featured in several films, television programs, and advertisement commercials following its release. Throughout his life, IZ suffered from severe obesity. On June 26th, 1997 he died of weight-related respirator illness. Over 10,000 people attended his funeral, the wooden coffin lay at the Capitol building in Honolulu. He was the third person in Hawaiian history to ever be accorded this honor.
Iz was known for promoting Hawaiian rights and Hawaiian independence, both through is lyrics and his life. "Hawaiʻi ʻ78" from his album Facing Future, demonstrates that. The lyrics are so powerful. It talks about how much Hawaiʻi has changed since the days the Aliʻi ruled. Asking how the Kings, Queens, and Aliʻi of our past would react to the changes of our land. It shows Iz's beliefs and hopes he had for the people of Hawaiʻi: the life of this land is the life of the people, and that to care for the land is to care for the Hawaiian culture. The state motto of Hawaiʻi is a recurring line in the song, encompassing the meaning of Izʻs message: Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono, The life/sovereignty of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.
Here are the lyrics:
Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono ʻo Hawai'i
Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono ʻo Hawai'i
If just for a day our king and queen
Would visit all these islands and saw everything
How would they feel about the changes of our land
Could you just imagine if they were around
And saw highways on their sacred grounds
How would they feel about this modern city life?
Tears would come from each other's eyes
As they would stop to realize
That our people are in great, great danger now
How would they feel?
Would their smiles be content, then cry
Chorus:
Cry for the gods, cry for the people
Cry for the land that was taken away
And then yet you'll find, Hawai'i.
Could you just imagine they came back
And saw traffic lights and railroad tracks
How would they feel about this modern city life
Tears would come from each other's eyes
As they would stop to realize
That our land is in great, great danger now.
All the fighting that the King has done
To conquer all these islands, now these condominiums
How would he feel if he saw Hawai'i nei?
How would he feel? Would his smile be content, then cry?
(Repeat chorus)
Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono ʻo Hawaiʻi
Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono ʻo Hawaiʻi.
Ua hoʻopaʻa leo kēia mele i nā mau makahiki aku nei, a mau nō nā pilikia o ka ʻāina a me nā kānaka maoli. Hū ka minamina.
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