Hawaiian Cowboy - Words & music by Sol K. Bright

Ulu lei, ʻo lei lehua
Lei lehua, ʻo lei lehua
Lei lehua, ʻo lei lehua
ʻO nā lei, lei uʻi ē

He wahi lio Lehua kou inoa lā
Hanohano wale ʻoe Hawaiʻi lā
E like kou holo ʻana me ka ʻōʻio lā
Ke kolo, ke kuli, ke kuʻi kolo iho ʻoe
ʻAuhea wale ʻoe te wahine holo lio
Pua nani aʻo Hawaiʻi lā
Aloha i ka Hawaiian cowboy

Ulu lei, ʻo roselani
Roselani, ʻo roselani
Roselani, ʻo roselani
ʻO nā lei, lei uʻi ē

He wahi lio Roselani kou inoa lā
Kilakila wale ʻoe o Maui lā
E like kou holo ʻana me ka ʻōʻio lā
Ke kolo, ke kuli, ke kuʻi kolo iho ʻoe
ʻAuhea wale ʻoe te wahine holo lio
Pua nani aʻo Maui lā
Aloha i ka Hawaiian cowboy

Ulu lei, ʻo lei ʻilima
Lei 'ilima, ʻo lei ʻilima
Lei ʻilima, ʻo lei ʻilima
ʻO nā lei, lei uʻi e

Haʻalele mai au i Honolulu lā
Hoʻi mai au i ka ʻāina malihini
Ke kau ʻana aku i ka lio Kaleponi
Ua fāfā mai lā ʻo Lehua
He wahi lio kalakoa ko
Ka ʻāina malihini lā
In San Francisco by the Golden Gate
Aloha i ka Hawaiian cowboy

Haʻina mai o ka puana
Lei lehua, ʻo roselani
Haʻina mai o ka puana
ʻO na lei, lei uʻi e

I'm heading for the last roundup
ʻAuhea wale ʻoe te wahine holo lio
E like kou holo ʻana me ka ʻōʻio lā
Ke kolo, ke kuli, ke kuʻi kolo iho ʻoe
ʻAuhea wale ʻoe te wahine holo lio
Pua nani ʻoe Hawaiʻi lā
Aloha i ka Hawaiian cowboy

Roselani dandee
Is the pride of Maui Island
She can surely cut a caper
On the lava by the sea
When I lower my spurs
To her tender little sides
She'll wiggle and whinny
And wiggle all the way
Off to the hills
And to the slopes of Polipoli
We'll ramble through the bushes
Where the heifers love to play
Roselani loves her Hawaiian Cowboy

Trot (my) wreath, o wreath of lehua
Lehua wreath, o wreath of lehua
Lehua wreath, o wreath of lehua
The wreaths, the beautiful lei

You are a fine horse, Lehua is your name
Magnificent one of Hawaiʻi
Your ride is smooth like the bonefish
You crouch, work the knees, and you post
Listen you, oh horsewoman
Beautiful blossom of Hawaiʻi
The love of the Hawaiian cowboy

Trot (my) garland, o garland of roses
Heavenly rose, o heavenly rose
Heavenly rose , o heavenly rose
The garlands, the beautiful lei

You are a fine horse, Roselani is your name
Majestic one of Maui
Your ride is smooth like the bonefish
You crouch, work the knees, and you post
Listen you, oh horsewoman
Beautiful blossom of Maui
The love of the Hawaiian cowboy

Trot (my) wreath, o wreath of ʻilima
ʻIlima wreath, o wreath of ʻilima
ʻIlima wreath, o wreath of ʻilima
The wreaths, the beautiful wreaths

I depart from Honolulu
Coming back to foreign lands
Mounting a California steed
Lehua said "don't do that"
A horse of many colors has
The foreign land
In San Francisco by the Golden Gate
Who loves the Hawaiian cowboy

Tell the refrain of
Garland of lehua, roses
Tell the refrain
Of the wreaths
, the beautiful wreaths

I'm heading for the last roundup
Listen you, oh horsewoman
Your ride is smooth like the bonefish
You crouch, work the knees, and you post
Listen you, oh horsewoman
You are the beautiful blossom of Hawaiʻi
The love of the Hawaiian cowboy



Solomon K. Bright

Source: Solomon (Kolomone) Kamaluhiakekipikealiʻikaʻapunikukealaokamahanahana Bright's father was Andrew Iaukea Bright, half Hawaiian and half Castilian. His mother, Alice Keahi Kekipi was pure Hawaiian. Sol K. Bright, Sr. on tour with a 5-piece band and 2 hula dancers in 1933, composed this song at the Tahitian Hut in San Francisco. Playing to a packed house, he was asked during intermission about cowboys in Hawaiʻi. He told them about the 1908 rodeo in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where his cousin, Ikua Purdy of the Big Island, accompanied by 3 other cowboys from Hawaiʻi, won the grand prize. This event is recorded in the song "Waiomina". After intermission, on his way to the stage, he noticed the guitar player with a woman who put a $20.00 bill on the table everytime the musician would yodel. He told the guitarist, "You take 16 bars and let me have 16 bars". Bright started yodelling his 16 bars and composed this song on the spot Translation Puakea Nogelmeier, Hui by Kaiu Kanoa, Hawaiian Text edited by Puakea Nogelmeier © 1936