Sweet Moonlight - Prince Albert Kukailimoku Kunuiakea

‘Auhea wale ‘oe e Sweet Moonlight
E ke onaona e hea mai nei
Eia hoi au ka maile lau li‘i
I moe i ke anu o uka

Hui:
E kiss goodnight, o Sweet Moonlight
Ke ua kilihune mai nei
Ho‘olai nâ manu luhe me ka palai
Ho‘ope ‘a‘ala o ka nahele

Ua nani no ‘oe e beauty Laniuma
E kahi manu hulu laha a‘ole
Ua hanu ia aku kou meheu
E ka ua kilihune o uka

E ake wale au ea ‘ike la
I ka ua lanipili o uka
Ho‘oipo mau no ke ‘ala huihui
I ka pua o ke ‘a‘ali‘

 

Listen to me o Sweet Moonlight
A gentle fragrance now calls to me
Here I am, dainty leafed maile
That grew in the cold of the upland

Chorus:
E kiss goodnight, o Sweet Moonlight
Gentle rains are falling around
Birds poise aloft amid the drooping fern
That fill the forest with their scent

You are a beauty, Geranium
A bird with feather, rare
Whose footstep is being traced
By the light showers of the upland

I am eager to see
The pouring upland rain
Where I will woo the gentle perfume
Of the a‘ali‘i blossom


Source: G. Cooke collection - Born June 13, 1853, at Kuaihelani, O‘ahu, Albert Kukailimoku Kunuiakea was the illegitimate son of Kamehameha III & his mistress Jane Lahilahi Young, the youngest daughter of his father's (Kamehameha II) advisor, John Young Ka`eo. He had a twin brother, Keoua, who died in infancy and Albert was hānai) to Kamehameha III's queen, Kalama. Described as a handsome Hawaiian man who enjoyed life to its fullest, he was married to Mary Poli but was a womanizer and a drinker. He served in the House of Nobles because he was a high chief, but could not be named heir to the throne because he was illegitimate. He died March 10, 1903, at age 51.


Prince Albert Kukailimoku Kunuiakea