Ka Ipo Lei Manu

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Sean Na'auao :

He manaʻo healoha
No ka ipo lei manu
He manu kuʻu hoa
Noho mai i ka nahele
Iʻiwi o uka
Polena i ka ua
ʻElua māua
I ka pō ua nui
Ua o Hanalei
Anu au maʻeʻele
Ua anu hoʻi au
I ka ua noe anu
Na hau o Maʻihi
`Au ana i ke kai
Na ulu o wehi
Pūnohu mai ana
Ke ʻala o ka hala
Hala o mapuana
Onaona i ka ihu
Ke ʻala pua loke
Hone ʻana i ka manaʻo
E naue kuʻu kino
Ko hiki ʻana mai
Hauʻoli kuʻu manaʻo
Haʻina ka puana
No kalani heleloa
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I have a feeling of love
For my cherished sweetheart
My companion is a bird
Who dwells in the forest
The `i`iwi bird of the uplands
Appears yellow in the rain
The two of us
In the night of great rain
The rain of Hanalei
I'm numb with the cold
I'm also cooled
In the cold misty rain
The hau of Ma`ihi
Swimming in the sea
The vegetation
Spreading out
The fragrance of the hala
Is borne on the wind
Sweetly scented
Is the fragrance of the rose
A sweetly recurring thought
Urges my body to travel
I am made happy
By thoughts of your arrival
Tell the refrain
My chief is gone forever

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Queen Kapiʻolani : In Hawaiian poetry, the sweetheart is personified as the ʻiʻiwi bird. Julia Kapiʻolani, the shy
and retiring widow of Chief Bennett Nāmākēha, was one of the
most beautiful women of her time and married High Chief
David Kalākaua, Dec. 1863, who was elected king in
1874. A devout christian with high morals, her motto was
"Kulia I Ka Nuʻu (Strive for the Highest)". Beloved by her
people, distinguished by her charitable deeds, two missions
close to her heart stood out: (1) she always raised money
for the leper settlement in Kalaupapa to improve their
living conditions, and (2) perpetuation of the Hawaiian
Race. She wanted to establish a hospital for underprivileged
Hawaiian women to have the best care for mothers and babies.
Attending Queen Victoria's Jubilee celebration, 1887, in
London, Kapiʻolani made many visits to hospitals and
foundling homes and returned to Hawaiʻi with much enthusiam
and exciting plans for her hospital. She raised $8000 and
her most cherished dream was realized when Kapiʻolani
Maternity Home opened June 14, 1890, on the site of the
former home of Princess Kekaulike. Queen Kapiʻolani composed
this song for her husband after he left Hawaiʻi for the
mainland aboard the Charleston, Nov, 1890. Under great
political stress, his doctors thought a change of climate
would benefit his failing health. He arrived in San
Francisco, Dec 4, and took up residence at the Palace Hotel.
He toured southern California and returned to San Francisco
the middle of January for medical attention. January 20,
1891, the King died at the Palace Hotel. His last words were
"Tell my people I tried". He never heard this haunting love
song