The UkeQuestors Zoom Jam Series
The Hawaii Theme
As of May 18, 2021
Zoom Jam Themes and Their Songbooks
The UkeQUESTors Main Page
Updated:
The Hawaii Theme Songbook_Display_2021-05-18.pdf
The Hawaii Theme Songbook_Display_Paged_2021-05-18.pdf
The Hawaii Theme Songbook_Print_2021-05-18.pdf
The Hawaii Theme Songbook_Print_Paged_2021-05-18.pdf
These songs are a supplement to our
The Hawaiian Songbook
Hawaiian Song Book 2-1-6 2s.pdf (May 2020)
Hawaiian Song Book 2-1-2 wide.pdf (May 2020)
May 23
Until I get around to compiling all of my notes concerning the songs in the Hawaii Theme and the Hawai'ian Songs songbooks, here are two public domain Hawaiian-English dictionaries that may be helpful:
An English-Hawaiian Dictionary by Harvey Rexford Hitchcock (1887) (268 Pages)
A Dictionary of the Hawaiian Language by Rev. Lorrin Andrews (1922) (684 pages)
May 18
Another song has been added to this theme, Little Grass Shack-Little Brown Gal Medley (in F), a song that's been done by the Tennessee Valley Uke Club on several occasions, and which has been played by members of this group.
This song has been added to the bottom of the Hawaii Theme Songbooks (so that those who print won't have to reprint the entire thing, just the last two pages. The Hawaii Theme Songbooks are now in both Display and Print editions (posted above).
May 15
Remembering a generational great, Israel Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole, who would have been 62 on Thursday, May 20, 2021.
April 29
There is one new song plus a second new song and a couple of updated songs posted on April 11 for this theme:
For You A Lei (C & G).pdf. YouTube links are listed below.
Updated songbooks and a Table of Contents have been published as well; the links are above.
April 11
A few corrections were made, plus there are two additions:
Happy Birthday - Hawaiian Verse (deletion of a blank page)
Hawaiian Rainbows (A C F) (new song)
I Wonder Where My Little Hula Girl Has Gone 02 (G) (L) (correction of the original)
I Wonder Where My Little Hula Girl Has Gone 03 (G & C) (P) (addition of a version in Portrait in the keys of G and C)
The updated songbooks have been posted above. All songs have now been linked and their notes and YouTube links posted (with one exception . . . still chasing that one).
Title |
YouTube Link |
Blue Hawaii (Leo Robin & Ralph Rainger, 1937) (C & G) |
Blue Hawaii by Bing Crosby (1937) Blue Hawaii by Elvis Presley (1961) |
Blue Hawaiian Moonlight (Ray Muffs & Myron A. Muffs) (C, F & G) |
Blue Hawaiian Moonlight by Mike Keale And Friends, Hula By Melissa Meidinger Blue Hawaiian Moonlight by The Gabby Pahinui Hawaiian Band, featuring Ry Cooder (Instrumental) Blue Hawaiian Moonlight by the steel guitarist Eddie Palama, with Bobby Ingano on ukulele, Alan Akaka on bass, and Kaipo Asing on guitar. From the 2017 Kaua'i Steel Guitar Festival. |
Fish and Poi (Jack Pitman & Bob Magoon, Jr., 1953) ("Mama don't scold me, I no go work today") (C) |
Fish And Poi by Andy Bright and The Moana Hawaiians featuring Jules Keiliikuihonua Ah See (MP3 recording from the Internet Archive) |
For You A Lei (John Noble & Oscar Hyatt, 1929) (C & G) |
For You A Lei - Maile Serenaders (Contemporary recording, 1999; the original LP included hula lessons) For You A Lei - Henry Kaleialoha Allen (Contemporary recording, 2005) For You A Lei - Richard Kauhi with The Polynesians (Hawaiian lyrics?, released 2019) For You A Lei - Mana Leone Hasegawa (Seems to be a contemporary video; all the text is Japanese but Mana is singing in English) For You A Lei - Wendell Peters & Fernando Perez (Contemporary recording, 2004) |
Green Rose Hula (C, F & G)(Laida Paia & John Kameaaloha Almeida) (C, F & G) |
Green Rose Hula by John Kameaaloha Almeida as John K. Almeida's Hawaiians (trio) Green Rose Hula by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole from "Live from Manoa Valley!" Green Rose Hula by Halau Hula Olana from the 2008 album "Halau Hula Olana" |
Hanalei Moon
(Bob Nelson, 1974) (C, F & G) |
Hanalei Moon by Bob Nelson (1974) |
Happy Birthday With Hawaiian Verse (Arrangement by Mele Fong aka "Ukulele Mele") Mele has a lot of resources for ukulele. Find her at Facebook, her Blog, or her Website. |
Happy Birthday - Hawaiian by Mele Fong The Story Behind The Song by Mele Fong |
Hawaii (Brian Wilson & Mike Love, 1963) (C) Recorded in July 1963, it is one of the first Beach Boys songs that Hal Blaine played on. The single didn't chart in the US but reached the Australian Top Ten during the Beach Boys' tour of Australia in February 1964. Hawaii (Beach Boys song), Wikipedia. |
Hawaii by The Beach Boys from their 1963 album "Surfer Girl" Hawaii by The Beach Boys in a live appearance in San Francisco, 1963 |
Hawaii Calls (Harry Owens, 1935) (C, F & G) This was the theme song for the radio program of the same name. The show introduced and popularized Hawaiian music, both traditional and hapa-haole styles, around the world. A Version with Dick McIntire and His Harmony Hawaiians, featuring Ray Kinney, is at Archive.org (with an impossibly long URL). |
Hawaii Calls (Instrumental) by Harry Owens & His Royal Hawaiians – Hawaii, 1950 Hawaii Calls by Jesse Tinsley Hawaii Calls by Nathan Aweau and Jeff Peterson |
Hawaiian Eyes (Jon Osorio & Randy Borden, 1981) (C) Winner of the 1981 Na Hoku Hanohano Award Song of the Year. Jon & Randy have been described as "a legendary contemporary Hawaiian duo," and were part of the “Hawaiian Renaissance” in local music scene in the 1970s and early 1980s. Jon Osorio, PhD, is dean of the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and received a lifetime achievement award in 2019 for his contributions to Hawaiʻi’s music and recording industry by the Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts. Randy Kamuela Borden died at the age of 45 in October, 1997; he was born on Molokai. Hawaiian Eyes, Nā Mea Hawaiʻi; Lifetime achievement award for Hawaiʻinuiākea Dean Osorio, University of Hawaii News, October 28 2019; Randy Borden, Hawaiian Athlete, Singer, The Seattle Times (Nov 1 1997). |
Hawaiian Eyes by Jon & Randy from their album "Hawaiian Eyes" (1981) Hawaiian Eyes by Nā Leo · Nā Leo Pilimehana |
|
|
Honolulu Blue And Green (Melveen Leed) (D & F) (TVUC Archive) |
Honolulu Blue and Green by Copper Nickel (1971) Honolulu Blue and Green by Melveen Leed (1975) |
Honolulu City Lights (Keola Beamer, early 1970s) (G & C)
Keola and
Kapono Beamer were part of
the “Hawaiian Renaissance” in local music scene beginning in
the 1970s. The "Honolulu City Lights" album won several of
the Hawaiian music industry's Na Hoku Hanohano Awards in
1979, among them for Best Contemporary Hawaiian Album, and
both the song and the album went on to become among the most
popular and most played works of contemporary Hawaiian
music. Richard and Karen Carpenter were vacationing in
Hawaii in 1977 when they heard "Honolulu City Lights." The
1978 recording was not released until 1986, three years
after Karen's death.
Honolulu City Lights, Wikipedia. |
Honolulu City Lights by Keola and Kapono Beamer from their album "Honolulu City Lights" (1979) Honolulu City Lights by the Carpenters (1986) from their album "Lovelines" (1989) |
Honolulu Lulu (Jan Berry, Roger Christian, Lou Adler, 1963) (Bb) |
Honolulu Lulu by Jan And Dean (1990 stereo remaster) Honolulu Lulu by Jan And Dean, a live performance in 1987. |
Hula Heaven (Ralph Rainger & Leo Robin, 1937; alt. by Theresa Bright, ca. 1990) (C)
Originally one of several songs written for the 1937
Paramount movie "Waikiki Wedding," starring Bing Crosby, Bob
Burns, Shirley Ross, and Martha Raye. Other songs included
Harry Owens' "Sweet Leilani" and original compositions by
Leo Robin, Ralph Rainger, and Don Hartman, namely, "Blue
Hawaii," "Sweet Is the Word for You," and "Nani O Nā Pua."
See: "Movies
and Hawaiian Music" by George Kanahele from "Ha'ilono
Mele," The Hawaiian Music Foundation, Vol. IV, Number 6
(June 1978), pp. 4-7. |
Hula Heaven by Teresa Bright from her album "Self Portrait" (1990) In A Little Hula Heaven by Bing Crosby with Tommy Dorsey & his Orchestra from the movie "Waikiki Wedding" (1937) |
I Wonder Where My Little Hula Girl Has Gone 02 (G) (L) (Johnny Noble, Treve Bluett, & Walter Donaldson, 1938) |
I Wonder Where My Little Hula Girl Has Gone by Sol K. Bright (Solomon Kekipi Bright, Sr.) and his Hollywaiians (1939) I Wonder Where My Little Hula Girl Has Gone by Ian Whitcomb and The Bungalow Boys (2003) I Wonder Where My Little Hula Girl Has Gone by Casey MacGiill & Orville Johnson from their album "Hawaii of My Dreams" (2014) |
I’ll Remember You (Kui Lee, 1964) (C) |
I'll Remember You by Kui Lee from his album "The Extraordinary Kui Lee" I'll Remember You by Don Ho I'll Remember You by Elvis Presley from the 1973 "Aloha from Hawaii" concert which raised $75,000 for the Kui Lee Cancer Fund, which had been created shortly before the concert by Hawaii veteran newspaper columnist Eddie Sherman, to fund the cancer research going on at the University of Hawaii. I'll Remember You by Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau from a 1988 TV special with the Makaha Sons featuring Israel Kamakawiwo`ole. |
Little Grass Shack-Little Brown Gal Medley (Often performed with the songs reversed) Little Grass Shack (Johnny Noble, William Cogswell, & Tommy Harrison, 1933) Full title: "My Little Grass Shack In Kealakekua, Hawaii" Little Brown Gal (Johnny Noble, Lee Wood & Don McDiarmid, 1935) |
Little Grass Shack / Little Brown Girl by "A Bunch of Coconuts" at the Tiki Terrace on May 27, 2010. Little Brown Girl / Little Grass Shack by Jesse Tinsley, 2009 Little Brown Girl / Little Grass Shack by The Hula La's performing at the 2013 Cabarrus SilverArts Follies competition in Mt. Pleasant, NC on May 18, 2013 |
Mahalo Nui (Words by Harold Roes; Music by Carol Roes and Lloyd Stone, 1956) (C & G) A "Mele Keiki" (children's Hawaiian song) used to help teach the hula. Over the years, she conducted numerous workshops for teachers on how her songs should be presented, including pronunciation of the Hawaiian lyrics, the music, and gestures or dance motions. For some years it was the traditional closing song of the Kailua Madrigal Singers. |
Mahalo Nui by Bill Aliiloa Lincoln (Bill Lincoln, Lei Cypriano, Eddie Pang) Mahalo Nui by Leeward (LCC) Kanikapila Singers, 2011 LCC Spring Concert |
Manuela Boy (Johnny Noble, 1937), with frequent additional verses. (C) Additional notes: Manuela Boy - Notes on the Lyrics. |
Manuela Boy by Hilo Hattie (Kalala Haili) and the Royal Hawaiian Girls Glee Club (Recorded 1937; Released 1938) Manuela Boy by Atta Isaacs & Gabby Pahinui from the album "Two Slack Key Guitars" (2008) Manuela Boy by Ledward Kaapana, live at Don Quixote's in Felton, California, September 28, 2010 Manuela Boy by Lito Arkangel (2017) |
May Day Celebration Songs |
|
May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii (Ruth and Leonard "Red"
Hawk, ca. 1927-1929) (F)
Complete lyrics:
May Day is Lei
Day in Hawai'i
Sources: |
May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii by King Benny Nawahi's Hawaiians (June 2nd, 1930) May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii by The Halekulani Girls (Alice Fredlund, Iwalani Kahalewai and Noenoe Chai) from the LP "Dreams Of Old Hawai'i" (1977) May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii Day by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) Board of Trustees Staff. 2013 May Day Hawaii at Kapiolani Park video from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Telona & Telila dancing for May Day to the tune of "May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii" May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii, 21 ladies perform the hula for the Lei Queen Contest 2010, Lei Aloha Festival in Tokyo "Aloha" - Henry Kapono Shares A Positive Message and sings “May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii” (May 2, 2020) Beach Walks with Rox, #70, 2006 Lei Day celebration video including dancers from Kapiʻolani Park. Song: "Aia La `o Pele" by Kamakele Bulla Ka`iliwai" from the album "Na Hulukupuna." |
My Hula Girl (Randy Lorenzo, 1996) (C) |
My Hula Girl (Randy Lorenzo, 1996) (C) |
My Yellow Ginger Lei (Ku’u Lei ‘Awapuhi Melemele) (John Ka’onoho’i’okala Ke’awehawai’i, 1948) (C, F & G) |
My Yellow Ginger Lei by The Richard Kauhi Quartet (1951) My Yellow Ginger Lei by Bill Ali'iloa Lincoln and His Hawaiians (1955) My Yellow Ginger Lei by Charles Kaipo and His Happy Hawaiians, from their album "Easy and Sophisticated Hulas" (1962) My Yellow Ginger Lei by Makaha Sons Of Ni'ihau (1981) My Yellow Ginger Lei by Dennis Pavao from his album "Sweet Leilani" (1997) |
North Shore Serenade (Nalani Jenkins, 2005) (C, F & G) |
North Shore Serenade by Na Leo Pilimehana North Shore Serenade by Na Leo |
On The Beach At Waikiki
(Or "The Golden Hula") (G. H. Stover & Henry Kailimai, 1916) (C & G) |
On The Beach At Waikiki by Helen Louise and Frank Ferera (Instrumental, 1915) On The Beach At Waikiki by Tau Moe, Rose Moe and Lani Moe (followed by "Out on the Beach at Waikiki" by Charles Kaipo) On The Beach At Waikiki by the Four Hawaiians (four Danes who do a pretty good job (1960) On The Beach At Waikiki by Weldon Kekauoha |
Pidgin English Hula (Charles E. King, 1933) (F) Although early Chinese immigrants to Hawai'i spoke Hawaiian to a degree, it is likely that Chinese and Hawaiian people developed a Pidgin Hawaiian when Portuguese workers arrived in the 1870s. Because these immigrants learned a little Hawaiian, a Pidgin Hawaiian language developed to allow for intercultural communication, especially on the plantations. This evolved into a kind of Hawai‘i Creole, when the second generation of plantation workers were born and when Japanese children began to attend public schools in the 1880s, because of the need for a common language. Source: Social Relations on Plantations: The Origins of Pidgin, Department of Second Language Studies, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa 2009, 2010, citing Kent Sakoda & Jeff Siegel, Pidgin Grammar: An introduction to the Creole Language of Hawai‘i (Bess Press, 2003). |
Pidgin Engkish Hula by Sol Hoopii and his Novelty Quartet (1935) Pidgin Engkish Hula by Hilo Hattie and the Royal Hawaiian (Hotel) Girls Glee Club (1937) Pidgin Engkish Hula by the Mākaha Sons of Niʻihau (Retro Video) Pidgin Engkish Hula by Alvin And The Chipmonks (David Seville) (1960) Pidgin Engkish Hula by The Surfers (with an introduction together with a spoken translation) |
Someone to Lava (Raphael Martins, 2014) (C) |
Someone To Lava (Raphael Martins) from Pixar's short film "Lava" |
Sweet Lady of Waiahole (Bruddah Waltah, 2005) (C & F) The woman who inspired this song was Fujiko Shimabukuro, born in Kohala, Hawai‘i on March 18, 1914. The family moved to Okinawa when she was 3 and returned to Hawai‘i at 18. She married Koji Matayoshi and lived in Kahalu‘u, where they had eight children, five daughters and three sons. They eventually moved from Kahalu‘u to Waiāhole, where her husband and her husband’s father started farming a 10-acre plot of land that was leased to them by the McCandless family. After her husband died, Fujiko needed a way to support her children, so every day, she would gather all her fruits in a wheelbarrow and wheel them down to sell on Kamehameha Highway. Source: "Sweet Lady of Waiāhole" by Lisa Yamada-Son, FluxHawaii.com (May 7, 2012) |
Sweet Lady of Waiahole (Bruddah Waltah) |
Ukulele Lady (Gus Kahn & Richard A. Whiting, 1925)
(C & F) |
Ukulele Lady by Vaughn De Leath (1925), popular star on the radio in the 1920s. She invented the "crooning" style of singing, and was an accomplished ukulele player. Ukulele Lady by the Paul Whiteman Orchestra with vocals by the Southern Fall Colored Quartet (1925); lengthy instrumental introduction. Ukulele Lady by Lee Morse (1925) Ukulele Lady by by Kermit the Frog (playing the ukulele) and Miss Piggy in the second season of The Muppet Show, Episode 15. Ukulele Lady by Arlo Guthrie on his 1972 album "Hobo's Lullaby" Ukulele Lady by Bette Midler, first performed live in the 1997 TV special "Diva Las Vegas" as a tribute to her native Hawaii. Midler later recorded the song for her album "Bathhouse Betty." |
Waikiki (Andrew Kealoha Cummings, 1938) (F) One of the most enduring and popular of the 'place name' songs and regarded by some as the greatest Hapa Haole song of them all. Andy Cummings, a respected and well-loved composer and musician, had a severe attack of homesickness and wrote this song while in Lansing, Michigan on tour with The Paradise Islands revue. "It was a cold and foggy night in November 1938 and we were walking back to our hotel from the theatre. I thought of Waikiki with its rolling surf, warm sunshine, palm trees, and…" Waikiki, Huapala.org; Waikiki, Squareone.org, citing Tony Todaro, The Golden Years of Hawaiian Entertainment (Tony Todaro Pub., 1974) |
Waikiki by Andy Cummings & his Hawaiian Serenaders (David Nalu, Gabby Pahinui, Joe Diamond, Ralph Alapa'i, 1946) Waikiki by Na Leo Pilimehana from their first album "Local Boys" Waikiki by the Brothers Cazimero |
You Ku’uipo (Lyrics by Gilbert Belmudez, Music by
William Awihilima Kahaiali'i, ca. 1990) (C & G) |
You
Ku'uipo by Willie K (William Kahaiali'i) |
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