Description
This mele is about a love affair at Hiʻilawe (highest waterfall in Hawaiʻi) and Waioʻulu, two waterfalls in Waipiʻo Valley on the Big Island. The girl, from Puna, describes herself poetically as the fragrance from Puna. Distressed by the gossip mongers, she calls them chattering birds.
Mist of the mountains in the 3rd verse is the poetic way of saying this is a secret love affair. Lālākea and Hakalaoa are streams at the top of Waipʻio Valley that flow over the cliff forming the twin waterfalls of Hiʻilawe and Hakalaoa. They merge into the Hiʻilawe stream that is one of two main waterways in Waipiʻo Valley.
Source: Sonny Cunha’s Music Book – Copyright 1902 William Coney – First published under the title Halialaulani (Fond Recollections of the Chiefs) by Mrs. Kuakini, it is also credited to Martha K. Maui under the title of Ke Aloha Poina ʻOle (Unforgettable Love), but was written by Sam Liʻa Kalainaina, Sr.
This information was given to Larry Kimura by Sam Liʻa Kalainaina, Jr. and contributed by Keola Donaghy.