Ilihia Gionson wrote a great piece that appeared in “Ka Wai Ola O Oha” about the origins of this song. You can listen to Kama Hopkins’ recording of it below.

 
E ku‘u hoa pūnaewele, ‘eā My network friend
I hāpai ‘ia kou inoa ‘eā Your name has been mentioned
Kainō ua kama‘āina, ‘eā It seems that we are acquainted
Wahi a nēia Alo Puke, eā According to this Facebook thing.
 
He mau hoa like paha, ‘eā Perhaps we have similar friends
Hele i ke kula ho‘okahi, ‘eā Who went to the same school
A launa ma kehahi ‘ano, ‘eā Or met in some other way
Pehea lā ho‘i ka pilina, ‘eā? How indeed are we connected?
Pi‘i mau a‘e ka heluna, ‘eā A numbers keep climbing
Ma ka pahu ‘ula‘ula, ‘eā In the red box
He memo hou nō ho‘i, ‘eā A new message
‘Akahi a ho‘okau ‘ia, ‘eā Has just been posted
 
Mai ho‘ololi i ke kūlana, ‘eā Don’t change your status
Ke kalaiwa i ke alanui, ‘eā When driving the road
O hālāwai auane‘i, ‘eā Or you might meet
Me ka ulia ka‘a ‘ino, ‘eā With a bad motor vehicle accident
 
Hiki mai nei he makana, ‘eā A gift has arrived
Kohu mea ‘ono ka ‘ikena, ‘eā Which looks like a cake
He ki‘i wale nō na‘e, eā But is just a picture
I hiki ‘ole ke ‘ai ‘ia, ‘eā Which cannot be eaten
 
Lohe ‘ia ka leo moa, ‘eā The sound of the cock is heard
Kūpina‘i i ke analipo, ‘eā Reverberating beyond the horizon
Ua aha ‘ia nā hola, ‘eā? What happened to the time?
Lilo i ka hana lapuwale, ‘eā It was lost in worthless activity
 
Pio iho nei ke ku‘ina, ‘eā The network connection has dropped
I hea ku‘u lawe lima, ‘eā? Where is my mobile phone?
Hā‘ina ‘ia ka puana, ‘eā Let the story be told
Ku‘u mau hoa Alo Puke, ‘eā Of my FaceBook friends.

Sung to the melody of Hilo Hula. (“Kaulana Mai Nei ‘o Hilo, ‘ea”)

One comment on “Facebook Hula

Bobbolink says:

This is wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing this.

I am reminded of something I think about often… Uncle George Naope cautioning us that we already have a lot of mele of the past, and we need to remember to document the present.

This is a wonderful example of what Uncle George was talking about!

Mahalo!

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