The Makee was an interisland ship named after James Makee, he was a trader, rancher and whaling ship captain. It wasn't uncommon for several songs to share the same melody - copyright wasn't an issue in those days. This song shares the same melody in part with another Ta Maoli. It went in search of the Makee and found it shipwrecked on the reef outside of Kapa`a Kauai. The Malulani was the sister ship of the Makee. The Makee was a metaphor for a woman who breaks up with her lover and just leaves cold without any clue as to where she has gone. At a gathering or a paina many people in the audience would either sing along or dance to the song because they all knew the most popular songs of the time. This style of music was highly participatory. Hula o Makee is a hula ku`i song, that is it is folk song which goes with a particular type of hula that was popular among the common people during the monarchy period and post monarchy. La la ea e ea ea ea can be found in many songs and chants.įorm Hula Ku`i: Strophic = couplet- each line is broken into two separate musical phrases.

The interjection of nonsense syllables to create time is a common practice in Hawaiian poetry. In this instance la placed at the end of the phrase simply to provide rhythmic continuity. Goes to show you how the incorrect language can be used in a song and passed on from singer to singer unawares. Another knowledgeable friend has told me that la is the correct way. Perhaps this will spur some better comments. 'ia' is the third person pronoun, and 'e ia nei' is an affectionate term for your squeeze, which fits the kaona of the song.

my hawaiian is not great, but 'ke huli hele nei' means 'to be searching here and there', and so i translate, shakily:Īs 'The Malulani, there, searches here and there' Keola d would be the source i would turn to (no pun) with huli hele ^_^) but i sing 'la' meaning 'there'. Since that is one of the songs the hula club dances to and for which Paul plays guitar and sings, he wants to make sure he is singing the song correctly. However, one version by Mike Ka`awa on his Hwn Boy recording clearly says 'la e' as is one with Danny Akaka on Na Mele Hula Volume 1 and one with Dennis Pavao on Young Hawai`i Sings Old Hawai`i. Most of the recordings we have heard say `ia e - at least I think that is how it would be written because the spoken or sung version is pronounced ya-eh. The dilemma is discrepancies between the written versions in both Na Mele Aloha and on, which are the same, with many of the sung versions on so many different recordings. Please, can any of you in the know help Paul and I with the lyrics of Hula o Makee.

Paina o waikiki hula