In Hawaiʻi, each island has a host of songs they call their own about places and people. What island you’re from usually impacts your repertoire quite a bit. Here’s one of Maui’s most beloved tunes called “Haleakalā Hula.” This song is about Maui’s highest mountain, Haleakalā, which is 10,023 feet tall.
In the summer of 2012, while I was in the Institute of Hawaiian Music on Maui, my cohort took a Hawaiian music through hula class. We were pretty hopeless dancers for the most part, but we had fun and learned this song which is why I feel a fond connection to it and still play it at performances.
This tune is written in a very traditional verse-verse-verse style with easy chords. This means the chord progression repeats for every verse and all that changes are the words. Each verse speaks of a different piece of Haleakalā’a beauty.
Because of this fairly dry song structure, it’s standard in Hawaiian music to add a Hawaiian vamp in between each verse. Just strum D7 for two beats, G7 for two beats, and C for two beats. This helps break the song into chunks and differentiate the parts.
Translation available on Huapala.
C F C
Kuahiwi nani ʻoe Haleakalā
G7 C
Kaulana hoʻi ʻoe kū kilakila
C F C
ʻO Makawao ia ua kaulana
G7 C
I kāohi ia iho o ka lāʻau
C F C
He ʻūkiu e ka ua o ka ʻāina
G7 C
Me ka makani aheahe ʻoluʻolu
C F C
E aho no ʻoe a e komo mai
G7 C
A e hoʻolaʻi ka malu o ke ao
C F C
Puana ka inoa i lohe ʻia
G7 C
Kuahiwi nani ʻoe Haleakalā
