Kuu Leialoha - yes, that is spelled correctly! This song was written in 1925, by Charles E. King, long before the ʻokina started to be in regular use in the 1970s. Still, we'll add the ʻokinas and macrons in the lyrics below while we go over the meaning of this love song!
First, here are a few audios from YouTube to get you familiar with the tune:
Puʻukani (singer): Sol Hoopii [RARE!]
Special thank you to Christo Ruppenthal for locating this rare version, performed in 1931. There were no previous mp3s (or even physical records) available for me to provide here until he helped me find it. I was now able to upload it to YouTube for all to enjoy! Mahalo nui!
Puʻukani: Samuel Toomey & Allen Akana (1927)
Puʻukani: Waipuna
Nā lila [lyrics]:
[From King's Book of Hawaiian Melodies, pages 42-44]
Nā lila (with macrons and ʻokinas):
Inoa - Kuʻu Leialoha
ʻ
A ʻo ke ʻala ka i hiki mai
Na ke ahe lau makani
Hali mai i oʻu nei
Hiki kou aloha, kau mai ka haliʻa
Nou hoʻokahi
E kuʻu ipo nohea
Hui [chorus]
Kuʻu lei aloha
E kuʻu lei makamae
Aia me ʻoe ka haliʻa, ka ʻanoʻi
a nēia puʻuwai
Hoʻokahi mea nui
o ka leo o ke aloha
Ke pani mai ʻolu au
Maha nei i puʻuwai
GRAMMAR,
VOCAB,
TRANSLATION
FIRST VERSE:
A ʻo ke ʻala ka i hiki mai (And) The fragrance is the [one] that came here
Na ke ahe lau makani It is the broad, wafting wind
Hali mai i oʻu nei that brings/brought [it] to me here
Vocab
ʻAla = Fragrance, perfume
Hiki = To arrive, come
Mai = Directional meaning "here, toward me"
Hali = To bear, carry, transport
(i) Oʻu = To me, my being
Nei = Here
*The entire second line here is an exact phrase used in the last song we've gone through, so we've omitted explanation of vocab for that here. The grammar will still be explained!
*Most of the rest of the vocab of this first section is also brought up in that same song, so these should be familiar
Grammar
A ʻo ke ʻala ka [mea] i hiki mai
It is common in songs to contract the Hawaiian word A and O or ʻO (possessive "of" or Subject marker/Equational Sentence marker) to form aʻo. That is what we're seeing in the words that begin this song. This can also be interpreted as "And..." as is common in English (and other languages), in song and otherwise, as if to continue a thought.
The sentence structure for this line is an Equational Sentence (if you're unfamiliar, look to the laʻana for that here) - ke ʻala = ka [mea]. I hiki mai is a verbal phrase that is acting as an adjective describing the understood word mea to create a Relative Clause: what kind of thing (mea)? The thing [that] came here. It is common in Hawaiian literature to omit that word mea in these circumstances, so much so that you might even see this ka i as one word, kai.
Na ke ahe lau makani
We saw this exact phrase in the previously explained song. This sentence is called an Actor-Emphatic structure, because it emphasizes the Subject (as opposed to the verb, like we see in regular sentences). It is introduced by the word Na + Subject, and followed by a verb with particular markers. The translation is usually along the lines of "It is the [Subject] that [Verbs]."
Hali mai i oʻu nei
This line is a continuation of the previous one. The oddity here is that there is no verb marker, as is practiced in Actor-Emphatic sentences. There are two options as to the reason why: 1) the Past Tense was already mentioned (in the first line), so is no longer needed here, and/or 2) it is purposefully vague as to whether the action is Past or Present - we saw the Past already, but mai and nei imply the Present, the two thoughts clash together.
The word choice of hali is intentionally reminiscent of haliʻa, which we'll see in the next verse.
SECOND VERSE:
Hiki kou aloha, kau mai ka haliʻa Your love comes, the memory settles here
Nou hoʻokahi, It is yours alone
E kuʻu ipo nohea My beautiful sweetheart
Vocab
Kau = To place, settle
Haliʻa = Fond memory of a loved one; To recall fondly
Nou = It is yours
Hoʻokahi = One, alone
Kuʻu = My (connotes affection for the following noun)
ipo = Sweetheart, lover
Nohea = Attractive, good-looking, handsome/beautiful
Grammar
Hiki kou aloha, kau mai ka haliʻa
This line is straight-forward, with simple Present Tense verbs and Subjects. Haliʻa not only looks like our aforementioned verb Hali, but could very well be related etymologically:
Hali ʻia (= To be carried, brought [passive]) → Haliʻia → Haliʻa
Nou hoʻokahi
Nou is the N-Possessive meaning "Yours." You might see the resemblance to K-Possessives like Kou ("Your") and K-Less Possessives like ou ("of you, yours"). Nou emphasizes who possesses the object, hence its relation to our Actor-Emphatic marker Na.
Hoʻokahi is the quantity "one," and can be taken further to mean "only one," or "alone." Here is another example of this translation, in a short ʻŌlelo Noʻeau.
E kuʻu ipo nohea
Here is a Vocative sentence, meaning the speaker is talking to the person following the marker E. The speaker is relating this line to the previous one and solidifies that he is indeed talking to his lover.
CHORUS:
Kuʻu lei aloha My (dear) love lei
E kuʻu lei makamae My (dear) precious lei
Aia me ʻoe ka haliʻa, ka ʻanoʻi The (fond) memory, the longing, is with you
a nēia puʻuwai of this/my heart
Hoʻokahi mea nui, (There is) One important thing
o ka leo o ke aloha of the voice of love OR it is the voice of love
Ke pane mai ʻolu āu When your comfort responds to me
Maha nei puʻuwai It soothes my heart
Vocab
Lei = Garland, usually of stringed flowers worn around the neck; figuratively can refer to a child or a younger sibling, from when an adult carried a child on his shoulders like a lei; this figurative meaning can be taken even further to refer to a husband, wife, sweetheart.
*This is the same thing English does with the word "baby"
Makamae = Precious, valuable, treasure
*"Precious" in English also refers to value, though more often we use it figuratively to be synonymous with "dear" or even "adorable"
ʻanoʻi = Desire, longing, thirst; Desired one, (taken further to mean) lover; Cherished, beloved Nēia = Same as kēia, "this," but connotes "right here, with me, of me"
Puʻuwai = Heart (literal and figurative)
Leo = Voice
Pane - To respond, answer, speak
ʻolu = Cool, pleasant, comforting
Maha - To ease, soothe, calm, comfort, relieve; (taken further to mean) To be complaisant towards one, to exercise affection towards one
Grammar
Kuʻu lei aloha, E kuʻu lei makamae
This is another simple sentence, both Vocative (calling out to a person). The speaker is calling his loved one a lei. As discussed in the Vocab section above, this is a double meaning to refer to his lover, not to a literal garland necklace. Aloha and makamae are endearing adjectives to express his love for her, yet can also apply to the necklace.
Aia me ʻoe ka haliʻa, ka ʻanoʻi a nēia puʻuwai
This translation with Aia can be done literally: [The objects] are with you, in location. This is similar to the Aia structure that uses i (Aia iā ʻoe) to translate to "To have" ("You have the [object]"). This line can be translated in this way as well: You have [the objects]. Going through this line literally will sound backwards to English, so understand the structure first before continuing. The objects that the lover has are ka haliʻa, ka ʻanoʻi. There is an implied comma between this two nouns, to avoid adding an extra syllable in the poetry. The speaker describes these objects further by adding a nēia puʻuwai, or "of this heart right here," i.e. "my heart."
The total translation thus far is: The memory, the desire of my heart is with you.
Knowing this, we can take the Aia meaning even further: [The objects] are of you, [The objects] belong with you.
(Aia) Hoʻokahi mea nui,
With numbers, there is no need to include Aia (especially since it was already stated in the previous line). So we can translate this as "There is one important thing." Nui can refer to someone's physical size, or the size of importance.
o ka leo o ke aloha OR ʻo ka leo o ke aloha
Since there are no ʻokinas in the original lyrics, it's hard to tell the intended meaning of this line. If there are no ʻokinas, then the o would be a Possessive "of": "of the voice of love." If there are ʻokinas, we would then have an Equational Sentence: "it is the voice of love" ("it" referring to the previous line's "important thing.")
Ke pane mai ʻolu āu
Ke here most likely refers to the function of "When, upon [doing something]." It could also be a Present Progressive tense marker, using the Directional mai rather than, or just implying, the second marker nei.
ʻolu is likely the Subject here, rather than the Adverb since Adverbs are positioned after the Verb, but before the Directional.
The final word of this line could be the K-Less Possessive āu, to mean "(the gentleness) of yours." However, sometimes in songs/poetry au can be a form of iaʻu, the Direct Object. The first option might make the most sense since we already have the Directional mai to reveal the Direct Object.
Maha nei puʻuwai
The nei functions twofold: 1) it is a repeat of our nei and nēia, emphasizing the speaker himself and his heart and emotions, and 2) it is an abbreviation of penei, "like this, thus."
There is an implied Direct Object marker i before puʻuwai. A more effective way to look at it is as if Maha puʻuwai is a Compound Verb - "It is heart-soothing."
THEMES
Once you understand the double meaning (kaona) of lei, you realize that this is a love song, a man speaking lovingly to his woman. Because of the use of the word ipo (lover), we know that this song is romantic in nature and cannot be applied to family or dear friends. All the adjectives the composer ascribes to his lover (aloha, makamae, etc.) can also be appropriately applied to a lei. Note that in the original translation of the title (in the table of content of our source), the composer calls it "My Leialoha," not "My Love Lei." This continues the thought of lei's double meaning, as if it's a sort of nickname or pet name he's giving his woman, and explains why it is written as one word, not two (Lei Aloha).
The repetitions of nei and nēia tell us that the emotions he's revealing are a part of him; one can almost imagine the speaker pointing to his chest as he does so. He also repeats the words kuʻu and puʻuwai, both words similar in spelling, but also in their echoing people and ideas deeply dear to him.
Lastly, you might have noticed that the composer utilized A-Class Possessives, rather than O-Class Possessives, when referring to emotions (feelings are a trait regularly attributed to O-Class). This is in addition to our observation of Hali / Haliʻa, as the memory is actively brought to him, instead of as a passive, uncontrollable thought - and acts belong under A-Class. Even hiki, the act of arriving, is reiterated twice, personifying aloha, as if it was its choice to come and settle in his mind. This is perhaps applied to portray intent - he is making love, creating intimacy and pursuing it, not simply feeling it. And it is not of a risqué desire, but a beautiful, calming, comforting one, like the way one feels upon admiring a lei.
Of course, there is never just one interpretation of poetry. What are your thoughts on this mele? What are some feelings that this one sparked for you? Which audio version of the song do you prefer? Share your manaʻo below so we can benefit from your perspective!